Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music

by Jay R. Howard, John M. Streck

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.

Genres: Music, Religion

312 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Rob]

With a neutral stance applying Niebuhr's "Christ and Culture" categories, the authors map out three major positions of contemporary Christian music (CCM) artists and explain the motivations and characteristics of each. Interludes between chapters provide glimpses of the CCM world to illustrate the positions. A recounting of the history of CCM and the facts of music business further reveal why CCM is the way it is. This is a great read for someone trying to make sense of it (maybe as reflection on one's past) or to understand Evangelicals. But it is a bit of a time capsule as it was written in the late 1990s. It's still one of the most important books on CCM.

[Michael]

My first thought to sum up this book was that it was weak, but it's more apt to say it is strongly wrong. The use of Niebuhr's "Christ and Culture" framework was promising, but ultimately fails as the authors apply it to CCM. They immediately go awry by using a Leslie Phillips lyric to kick off the Separationist chapter. It seemed they were setting up two strawmen, slayed by a third-way-ism path (Transformational). And i say that as someone whose favorite artists were placed in that Transformational bucket. I found that misguided and even insulting. Further critiques: over-focus on supply, while mostly ignoring demand; misdiagnosis of causes and effects; awkward Interludes. Rather than Niebuhr, perhaps 1 Corinthians 12 is a better model - various artists all part of the same body, fulfilling different roles.