An article composed by Josh Hearst, from http://www.revealarts.com:

Country singer Loretta Lynn sings these words on her celebrated new album, Van Lear Rose:

Why, I’ve heard people say

Why is this tree bent?

Why, they don’t have God to know

That’s the way it was meant.

We’re not to question what He does

Cause God makes no mistakes

It’s hard to imagine a more straightforward and sincere affirmation of God’s sovereignty; Lynn’s lyric sounds almost like it could be a paraphrase of a Psalm. This is not the vague, unspecific spirituality of Creed or the hollow “props to the Almighty” that you might hear a rap star utter; this is real, down-to-earth Christian faith, smack dab in the middle of an album that has been acclaimed by critics in Rolling Stone and every other magazine of its kind.

Of course, country music is rooted in the tradition of old-fashioned church music, so such religious fervor in a Loretta Lynn song is not exactly shocking; even a cursory listen to recent albums by the likes of Sam Phillips, U2, and The Innocence Mission, however, reveals that Christians making music in the so-called secular realm are not exclusive to country music. They span the entire spectrum of pop music, from pop to rock to folk to hip-hop to jazz.

Whether or not you particularly enjoy these specific artists is a matter of personal taste, but one has to wonder: If unabashed expressions of Christianity are not only tolerated but celebrated in mainstream music, why, exactly, do we need our own contemporary Christian music industry?

It doesn’t take a philosopher or theologian on the level of Augustine or Luther to realize that the Christian music industry is largely, if not entirely a product of Christian isolationism, one of the biggest obstacles that the modern church faces. The us versus them mentality that proclaims all music made outside of the protective umbrella of “Christian music” to be edifying and all music made in the wasteland of “secular music” to be wicked and immoral and irredeemable is na ¯ve, narrow-minded, and ultimately opposed to the teachings of King Jesus, who regularly associated with cheaters and cowards and whores.

And so, in an effort to save our souls from the degrading and corrupting effects that real interaction with a non-believer might have, the church has constructed the our own brand of music-largely carbon copies of popular mainstream bands-so that we can enjoy the latest trends in pop music without having to live with the fear that we might stumble across something challenging to our faith. Our happy little musical ghetto is safe and comfortable-just the way we like it.

The problem with this manner of thinking is twofold:

One, there are numerous professing Christians who are striving to make beautiful and excellent music-inspired and informed by their faith in Christ-outside the boundaries of contemporary Christian music.

The church is quick to laud new music by Michael W. Smith or Third Day, but where were we when these albums came out?

 · On last year’s sprawling, epic album Ohio, Over the Rhine gave listeners two discs of soul-searching, Psalm-like poetry. Each disc concluded with an impassioned prayer to the Divine. On Disc 1, “Changes Come” pleaded for Jesus to come and “turn my world around.” Disc 2’s “How Long” asked the age-old question of how long we must endure suffering and pain on earth; Job and King David would be proud.

 · Daniel Lanois’ 2003 album Shine is as prayerful as any album I’ve ever heard. I cannot imagine a song more blatantly worshipful than “Falling at Your Feet,” a beautiful duet with U2’s Bono that was pulled straight from the Scriptures.

 · The title cut on Sufjan Stevens’ new album, Seven Swans, sounds like it was taken right out of the book of Revelation: “I heard a voice in my head/ ‘I am the Lord, I am the Lord, I am the Lord.'” Elsewhere, he recounts the biblical tale of “The Transfiguration” and links the story of “Abraham” to the promised Messiah.

 · And who can forget the powerful anthems of Christian faith that U2 have recorded over the years? There’s the gospel message in “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the exhortation to love one another the way Christ loved us in “One,” the prayerful, Psalm-like plead of “Wake Up Dead Man,” the sweet ode to “Grace” on their last album. the list goes on and on.

.and that’s just off the top of my head. These and many, many other artists demonstrate that no, Christian musicians and poets do not need the safe, sanitized bubble of “Christian music” to express their faith through art; they can do it freely, openly, in what I like to call the real world.

The second problem with embracing “Christian music” and rejecting everything else is that Christians aren’t the only ones singing the truth; yes, even the unsaved can give us truthful insights into the world around us. As David Dark wrote in his essential book Everyday Apocalypse, “there isn’t a secular molecule in the universe, no matter outside the scope of its coming kingdom, no nook or cranny exempt from the redemption it announces.”

Why has the church been so reluctant to embrace these artists?

 · On Hail to the Thief, Radiohead gives us troublingly prophetic warnings about the consequences of greed and self-centeredness. The wages of sin are indeed death, and Thom Yorke’s lyrics, while written from the perspective of an unbeliever, are ample proof of that.

 · On Heathen, David Bowie warned us of the dangers of dwelling on the past before launching into a surprising dialog with the Divine.

 · On Reveal, REM exhort us to simple, childlike faith (“The Lifting”), challenge us not to settle for too little (“Imitation of Life”), remind us not to be enslaved by our own past (“She Just Wants to Be”), and shows us the importance of courage in the face of trying times (“I’ll Take the Rain”).

The question, then, remains: Why do we need a Christian music industry? Why don’t we tear down that infernal wall once and for all? Who do we so fervently support an industry that is, at best, gratuitous; at worst, irrelevant and even harmful?

In a world where we have artists who are Christians, who write great, non-propagandistic lyrics, who are unashamed of their faith, who can gain acceptance outside of the contemporary Christian music industry. why, exactly, do we still need that industry?

The short answer is that we don’t. I’ve already mentioned several musicians who illustrate that Christians can create excellent art that deals explicitly with issues of faith, and they can do it without the qualifications or labels associated with “Christian” and “secular” music.

The Christian music industry, then, is a voluntary ghetto. Some choose to stay within its safe walls, afraid of what they might find on the other side. Others have realized that there is nothing they can do in the ghetto that they can’t do out of the ghetto, and have embraced a life of artmaking free from foolish, gratuitous labels. They have realized that the air outside the ghetto is not toxic; stepping out of our self-made confines isn’ t going to kill us. They have realized that the gospel message is one of engagement, not isolation.

For many, these are arbitrary observations. Thoughtful audiophiles have likely already seen the fruitless, unnecessary nature of contemporary Christian music. I applaud such people.

To everyone else, I propose a new way of thinking. I propose that we follow the example set by Leslie “Sam” Phillips and turn our backs to the absurdities of contemporary Christian music. I propose that we evacuate the ghetto that is crumbling around us under the weight of its own pointlessness. I propose that we make a joyful noise unto the Lord and don’t try to keep it hidden amongst our own people.

After all, if Loretta Lynn can do it, why can’t we?

–Josh Hurst