Apostles of Rock is the first objective, comprehensive examination of the contemporary Christian music phenomenon. Some see CCM performers as ministers or musical missionaries, while others define them as entertainers or artists. This popular musical movement clearly evokes a variety of responses concerning the relationship between Christ and culture. The resulting tensions have splintered the genre and given rise to misunderstanding, conflict, and an obsessive focus on self-examination. As Christian stars Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, DC Talk, and Sixpence None the Richer climb the mainstream charts, Jay Howard and John Streck talk about CCM as an important movement and show how this musical genre relates to a larger popular culture. They map the world of CCM by bringing together the perspectives of the people who perform, study, market, and listen to this music. By examining CCM lyrics, interviews, performances, web sites, and chat rooms, Howard and Streck uncover the religious and aesthetic tensions within the CCM community. Ultimately, the conflict centered around Christian music reflects the modern religious community's understanding of evangelicalism and the community's complex relationship with American popular culture.

The riveting, untold story of the “Father of Christian Rock” and the conflicts that launched a billion-dollar industry at the dawn of America’s culture wars. In 1969, in Capitol Records' Hollywood studio, a blonde-haired troubadour named Larry Norman laid track for an album that would launch a new genre of music and one of the strangest, most interesting careers in modern rock. Having spent the bulk of the 1960s playing on bills with acts like the Who, Janis Joplin, and the Doors, Norman decided that he wanted to sing about the most countercultural subject of all: Jesus. Billboard called Norman “the most important songwriter since Paul Simon,” and his music would go on to inspire members of bands as diverse as U2, The Pixies, Guns ‘N Roses, and more. To a young generation of Christians who wanted a way to be different in the American cultural scene, Larry was a godsend—spinning songs about one’s eternal soul as deftly as he did ones critiquing consumerism, middle-class values, and the Vietnam War. To the religious establishment, however, he was a thorn in the side; and to secular music fans, he was an enigma, constantly offering up Jesus to problems they didn’t think were problems. Paul McCartney himself once told Larry, “You could be famous if you’d just drop the God stuff,” a statement that would foreshadow Norman’s ultimate demise. In Why Should the Devil Have all the Good Music?, Gregory Alan Thornbury draws on unparalleled access to Norman’s personal papers and archives to narrate the conflicts that defined the singer’s life, as he crisscrossed the developing fault lines between Evangelicals and mainstream American culture—friction that continues to this day. What emerges is a twisting, engrossing story about ambition, art, friendship, betrayal, and the turns one’s life can take when you believe God is on your side.

Contemporary Christian music-it is the innovation of the hour in our age of church history. It has taken the Bible believing church by storm. When a fundamental church institutes CCM as it's musical style, it always moves into the new evangelical hemisphere. Where CCM comes, new evangelicalism follows, as certainly as the tail follows the dog. Reverent worship disappears, sound doctrine declines, and the holy living is despised. Why does this happen? This wonderfully written book will give you the answer. Missionary Spencer Smith confronts the issues with a loving approach that instructs the reader on public and private Biblical standards concerning music. In his research, he even met many CCM "artists" that reinforce the case being presented and many of those stories are laid out for you. Although our world may be changing and many church services have become similar to that of a circus, God has not left us without a musical blueprint to practice. Although some may attempt to muddy the waters, this book washes away all the filth, so that we might see Jesus. This excellent volume should be read, reread, and applied. Brian R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Broadway Baptist Church

An insider's look at the birth, evolution and growing popularity of Christian rock music. Unprecendented sales for music groups such as DC Talk and the Supertones, as well as the recent successes of crossover artists such as Jars of Clay, MxPx and Sixpence none the Richer have inspired interest and further investigation in this very underrated area of Rock.

For many churches today, music has become one of the most important factors in attempting to reach unbelievers with the gospel. Writing from his own personal experience as a former worship leader, Dan Lucarini questions the use of contemporary music in the worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.