A Theological Objection to CCM

I enter into posting this with fear and trembling, not only because I have to put "theological" into the title, but also because the points I want to make can seem kind of stogy and killjoy. But I hold them deeply enough that I become incapable of separating out thinking from feeling. My feeling shapes my thinking and vice-versa, when it comes to music. So there's a great big "IMHO" flag over all this. Yet this is a real argument that I'm trying to wage independent of arbitrary tastes or ephemeral fads. It gets pretty "ranty" so if you aren't interested in debate, don't take me too seriously, because I don't really take myself seriously either.

So I'm here to tell you why there's something deeply wrong with the CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) world, the CDs and radio stations that peddle it. My objection is not even to the style itself -- the overly produced, simply conceived, ABABCB song structure -- because once in a while that can serve its purpose, and that is obviously a matter of taste. My objection is not to the happy mood often found on CCM, at least not on a song-by-song basis. Nothing wrong with celebration, and I like to point out that one of the goth-rock-type bands most known for being depressing (The Cure) put out one of the happiest songs about being happy ("Friday I'm In Love"), as well as the fact that "Dance Stop" by Daniel Amos is one of the best excuses to dance, anywhere. In the mid-90's, some genuinely good artists were at work in CCM: Rich Mullins and Charlie Peacock immediately come to mind (where did this caliber of creativity go?). But now I'm bored by the whole thing, and it's not just taste that's at issue.

CCM has evolved into its own beast, and it is driven by money. It's a strange, restrictive profit motive, because not only does CCM need to sell records to be successful, but also it has to adhere to the industry-wide "Jesus-per-minute" standard, it has to avoid a whole list of taboo subjects including pretty much anything specific about life, and it has to have either a raspy-voiced male lead with a guitar or a shiny-voiced floppy-haired toned-down female lead with something that might have once been a guitar but has been polished by post-production into something that sounds more like a synth. (Synth-full music!) You can tell immediately that you are on a CCM station by listening for about 2 seconds -- you don't even need to hear a melody, you just hear the production. The closest thing to it is New Country music, which coincidentally enough is another big seller, just with fewer taboos and JPMs.

The funny thing about musical popularity is that the money acts like a rock tumbler with its stars and tunes: everything comes out shiny and pretty and pretty much the same. The playlist shifts, but there's not enough variation to warrant different shows on the radio at different times. In a word, it's monolithic. And that's what bothers me most of all.

Monolithic music implies a monolithic theology. Is it any wonder that when Jerry Falwell spoke, the news media thought he was speaking for all Christians, when it's clear that "Christian music" has its own radio station and its own sound, 24/7? Is it any wonder that because the Left Behind books sell like hotcakes at Costco and Wal-Mart that people outside of the church assume those represent the views of everyone inside? Why are evangelical leaders making a big splash just to write joint letters in recent months stating that a.) it's good to take care of the environment, maybe we could take some steps to reduce pollution and b.) everything the current political state of Israel does is not necessarily OK? (Two recent letters made headlines because it was such a surprise that Christians have internal debates about these things -- the real headline was "Christians are not as monolithic as we thought"! This is not to side with those leaders but to point out that the publication that "theologically-based thinking is diverse" is a good thing -- "good news" of a sort.)

A monolithic system is not a stable or fruitful system. Our computer systems are nearly monolithically PC now, and that's part of why they're vulnerable to a single well-coded virus, and why Microsoft and academia have spent money and energy to have scores of people dedicated to the swift detection of and erdication of viral threats. Here's the nub: despite what Richard Dawkins may tell you, Christianity has never been monolithic (nor Judaism, for that matter). Before Jesus died: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, John-the-Baptists, God-Fearers, etc. After Jesus rose, the church was inaugurated, empowered, inspired and sent forth, and almost immediately became divided into the "Jerusalem church" and the "outside of Jerusalem church." 1st generation: Paul, James, John, Peter, each was different. 2nd generation: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, each different. Acknowledging this diversity requires that I acknowledge that I myself don't have it all down,* and sometimes God is going to speak to me from someone else. The more superficially monolithic Christianity becomes, the more it has forgotten God; after all, God Himself is a diversity of three parts. When is the last time a CCM song really looked into the mystery of the Trinity, or even dealt with any mystery at all? Sarah MacLachlan does a better job of mystery than CCM, and that's embarrassing. Our ancient creeds and the Lord's Prayer do a better job of handling complexity than CCM. Rich Mullins made a memorable CCM song by just setting the Apostles Creed to music!

The last time a CCM song bolstered someone's perception of God was if that person needed healing, needed to know that God is love, or needed to know that Jesus is God. Those are wonderful points (and in a sense, they're everything you need to know -- but you need to apply them and integrate them with your whole life if they are to change you). I don't denigrate CCM for spreading light in this way. The problem is this is all it does, when music/art can and should do so much more. There is a time for joy, but there's also a time for grief. There is a time for milk, but there is a time for meat.

So I listen to KEXP, even though its own brand of secular pretension and musical homogeneity sometimes gets on my nerves. There's actually a Christian or two who get airplay there, although it can be hard to detect. And my own brand of pretention is probably getting on your nerves by now any case! Well, that's what comments are for. I'm sure I've made a few errors in my statements above -- if you point them out to me, I won't take it personally. After all, a diversity of opinion is what the Internet is all about, no?

Oh, and my solution? There's already a ton of diverse, interesting, and good-sounding music made by Christians out there. If I ran a CCM station, I'd expand the playlist. There's a Christian Irish quartet with a two-character name that I hear is selling some records. Black gospel, singer/songwriters, old country, some of that rock music (you know, for kids!) late at night, maybe even the blues, why not? (Blues always took place in a Christian context, even if the blues singer himself did not always sing from a Christian standpoint!) Specific shows could be themed for specific people who were looking for specific things, like with KEXP. Most of all, the diversity of Christianity would then be authentically broadcast, and that would be a witness to the expansive grace of a triune God.


* I realize the irony of taking a certain tone to declare one's own uncertainty. Did I mention I like irony too?