The Rock Almighty Effect: A History of Todays Christian Songs

 

• Author Nicholas Lewis

Through the years Christian music has seen many changes. Most will tell you that modern Christian music was born of the Jesus movement. Larry Norman was an early pioneer in the genre. In the mainstream music scene there was also a movement toward featuring Christ's message in song. Some of these songs even charted on mainstream charts. One in particular was from the band Ocean.

This God song was a great way to witness to many who may have never heard the message otherwise. While one would think the biggest hurdle would've been non believers, that was not actually the case. Regrettably it was other Christians who would not accept these mainstream Christian songs. There was a belief in the community that "Rock Stars" could not deliver the message in an appropriate way. The resistance could not overpower the will of the people. The movement really began to pick up steam.

The bandwagon effect became the next problem for the genre. Christian songs were being released by bands that were not talented enough for mainstream. The record companies saw this new market and the possibilities; unfortunately there was a lack of talented artists in the genre. In a move of desperation the record companies chose to release music that was not of the greatest quality. In some ways the Christian music movement became a place for no talents to make a name for themselves. Were they truly believers? That is between the artists themselves and God.

Eventually more talented artists started to perform Christian music. Performers who formerly hid their beliefs began to deliver the message. The quality of Christian songs saw a great increase. Petra a Christian band that was an early pioneer in the genre was formed in the early seventies. This band would essentially influence Christian music for years to come. Their popularity really peaked in the eighties.

This popularity carried well into the nineties. Christian music started to branch off into many more styles. For just about every style of music there was a counterpart in Christian music. The genre was finally filled with true talents.

The nineties were time of great growth for Christian music. These artists were able to adapt and grow with mainstream trends. Gangsta rap was also big at the time. Christian rappers like Tbone had an answer for that. Nowadays Christian music is widely accepted. The genre has come a long way over the last few decades. The music was once years behind secular music. That is not the case anymore. The genre as a whole now grows right along with the mainstream.

I never would have thought that I would see a day when Christian albums debut on the Billboard secular charts. Christian songs are regularly featured in films and T.V. The people who oppose Christian music will never go away completely. It is my hope that this will not keep people from exploring this very diverse music genre.

Find out more about Christian Songs at http://godsongsblog.com/. See also this Christian songs article for both sides of the argument.