Family Force 5
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Contemporary Christian Music’s Sinking Witness

Chelsen Vicari reports Sunday morning worship sets lack depth and reverence.

Admitting the problem is the first step towards recovery. So let’s admit it: if we swop the lyrics of a Taylor Swift ballad with some of today’s contemporary Christian worship songs, no one would know the difference.

Others have noted the “Jesus-is-your-boyfriend” style worship songs clogging the airwaves of contemporary Christian radio and Sunday morning worship sets lack depth and reverence to the Almighty. They’re right. But there’s an even bigger problem when contemporary Christian songs downplay, even scold Christian’s public witness for the sake of couch-potato Christianity.

Last week a fellow pro-life, pro-family activist turned on his local “family-friendly” contemporary Christian radio station while driving his kids to camp. As his kids were belting the words to a new hit, my friend was shocked by the lyrics.

The song was Family Force 5’s “Let It Be Love,” number #14 on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs list. Of course this means it is one of 20 songs that local contemporary Christian radio programs play over and over ad nauseam. The song’s lyrics go:

I’ve never seen a soul set free
 Through an argument
 I’ve never seen a hurt get healed
 In a protest…
 It’s not about the stand we take
 But the grace we give

For my friend, the first line “I’ve never seen a soul set free through an argument” couldn’t be further from reality with the conservative Christian movement. In addition remembering that the Apostle Peter urged Believers, “[A]lways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)

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Don Chapman

Don Chapman‘s passion is for the Church, music and technology, and he blends all three into resource websites devoted to contemporary worship: Hymncharts.com and Worshipflow.com. He’s the editor of the weekly Worshipideas.com newsletter that’s read by over 30,000 worship leaders across the world.

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