Three Must-Read Articles About Praise And Worship Music
There are three fascinating, contradictory articles about contemporary worship that came out this past week.
What’s interesting about these articles is that they conflict and complement each other, in interesting ways. The authors of these articles have very different conclusions as to the state of Christian Music today, and the effectiveness of both.
10 Traits of Top CCLI Songs
The first article was written by Marty Nystrom, a worship songwriter most known for the long-lasting standard “As the Deer.” It is worth noting that this song is both beloved (it’s one of only a handful of praise and worship songs that are still in the CCLI Top 100 after thirty years), and also disliked (one diocese has banned the use of the song for its oversimplification of Psalm 42).
Nonetheless, Nystrom identifies those key characteristics that make the worship songs resonate. It gives you a window in the mindset of where praise and worship artists aspire. The other key takeaway is that Nystrom himself is from the framework of old-style praise and worship, acknowledging the newer style. He affirms those attributes in the more recent praise songs that have connected, that resonate with multiple generations.
Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore
This same week, Thom Schultz (who has worked tirelessly in youth ministry for forty years and has followed its trends), has written about why the current praise and worship model no longer works. People aren’t singing, at least not like they used to. The framework has shifted.
The key takeaway here is that these first two conflicting conclusions, are based on two sets of presuppositions that are not contradictory. So, while the positives of the first article are to be taken as an understanding as to why some songs have been introduced in churches, the negatives are to be taken as a warning as to the excesses of the current framework.
Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore
Who Killed the Contemporary Christian Music Industry?
The third article gives context as to how this all happened. Christian contemporary music was once a dominating music genre, but when the digital revolution happened, its sales plummeted.
On reddit, I had responded to this article as to why I think this was so:
In the late 90s/early-00s, there was a movement within CCM to be “roaring lambs.” That was, to appeal to mainstream radio. After all, Amy Grant, Michael W Smith, Jars of Clay, dcTalk, Bob Carlisle, Switchfoot and P.O.D. successfully did so. MercyMe did so with an explicitly Christian song! Not to mention Christian covers of secular songs making their way into CCM radio (i.e. Salvador’s lesser cover of Los Lonely Boys’ Heaven).
While this was happening, some of the biggest CCM names started transitioning into P&W. If an album underperformed, they always followed it up with a “hymns” project–after all, hymns were in the public domain, and they open up new markets. If not a hymns project, then a praise and worship covers project, guaranteed success by covering songs that have gained traction in CCLI’s Top 25 charts.
With the division of CCM between P&W and the secular charts, there wasn’t much room left for CCM to be… CCM. By openly questioning their raison d’être, they pulled the rug out underneath them. They’ve no reason to exist anymore.
Which makes this an interesting time for churches to enter into the world of contemporary praise music. Food for thought.
Who killed the contemporary Christian music industry?
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What are your thoughts about the current state of contemporary worship in the church? Share your thoughts below.