The Falling Down of CCM
Contemporary Christian Music should not be an industry...
We all have heroes. Not movies stars and the Superman types; real heroes. People that have braved the difficulties of life and refused to give up. Soldiers, politicians, teachers, astronauts (real ones), and so on.
In the Christian heart, we have them, too. These may be missionaries, preachers, teachers, authors, and others. They come in every shade and every mindset. The Billy Grahams, the Mother Teresa’s, the William Seymour’s, etc. Men and women who break the rules to show the grace and goodness of God to the world.
One of the things that sets these great people apart is that fame (if it happens while they are alive) doesn’t twist their purpose. Of course, we know that a few seem to hold fame well, then after they are dead, truth surfaces.
Fame…
When you are gifted and it shows, it is very easy to stumble off the course. I don’t have fame of any sort, but I know how easy it is to get my eyes off of God and do something stupid. But when hundreds of thousands of people have put you on a pedestal, it’s even easier.
And this, ultimately, is the grand problem that has been created in the Contemporary Christian Music industry. Right here is where I usually tell someone, “Please, don’t get me started.”
Being the often failed “man of God” myself, I tend to work to not judge or speak of others. So, I will try to be brief and gracious.
This morning, much to my shock and revulsion, I read several related articles on Michael Tait and his terrible actions as a man representing God and promoting Christianity. Having been a lover of good, godly music since I was a child, DC-Talk and Newsboys have always been a standard in my life. I love their iconic songs and the messages they put forth.
If you are unfamiliar with Michael Tait, he was a founding member of DC-Talk with Toby Mac and Kevin Max. In 2001, they took a permanent hiatus and Tait signed on as lead singer with Newsboys a few years later.
Sexual predators within the realm of fame come to believe they are untouchable. And when you are given the environment by your fans and management and bandmates to continue that thinking, it will spell disaster. But it’s not the disaster of your career or your income, it’s the disaster of those that you choose to affect and the public perception of the God you “supposedly” serve.
So, as the report comes to public notice, we discover that Michael Tait is, in fact, a predator. He has not raped anyone that we are aware of, but he has proven himself to have a “gay” lifestyle and to be in complete opposition to that which he portrays as a Christian man singing worship and Christian contemporary/rap music. In short, he is a fraud at the highest level. While there are many internet sources on this topic, the main one was a two-and-a-half-year investigation by The Roys Report which you can read for yourself here.
What happened? Remarkably, many of the Hollywood elites are raising children that are uncertain as to what they are. Trans folk. Why? Because their purpose in life is to absorb accolades rather than give them to God. This speaks exactly to what Michael Tait has been living. Fame without clear purpose. He is not the first. The door to fame opens with many bad side effects. Sexual perversion is only one of them. Albeit a very big one.
When we drift off course, things go wrong. Unfortunately, it is no different in the Contemporary Christian Music Industry. Which speaks to its own answer. Christian Music should not be an industry. Christian Music should be a call to worship through words and music above everything else. But it is no different than secular music. Just different words.
As you read through the Roys Report on this flagrant series of choices by Tait (that not only destroyed all that he has touched for God, but spits in the face of all those who followed his music), one of the things that jumps up repeatedly is not just the horrible way that Tait acted, but the ongoing actions of our so-called “Christian Artists” behind the scenes. A very common daily thing was to hit the bars, shoot some darts, and consume copious amounts of alcohol. At one point, Tait was also offering cocaine to one of his victims. But this was the processes of the Newsboys as they traveled in their tour bus. Booze was a common nightly thing for them. I am ruined for Tait and the Newsboys as well.
One commentor on a Facebook article I read was blaming not just Mr. Tait, but the Newsboys and their organization as well, claiming they were all aware of it. I am uncertain of his proof, but considering they traveled in tight spaces all over the country on that bus, it would be very hard to believe that they were not.
As it has always been, the enemy will do anything to bring God’s work to a stop. Including homosexual influences over a well know Christian man. The easiest way to drag a man of God to his knees is to give him everything he wants. And that is what the “industry” of Christian Contemporary Music does.
I remember a few years back a well-known Christian singer, Natalie Grant, posted a picture of her and her husband getting ready to walk the red carpet at the CMA Awards. That’s the Country Music Association Awards. She was posing very seductively, and her dress had a slit to the hips almost all leggy as you can imagine. This is where Christian Music is at.
I love Christian music. I will always love it. Especially worship music. But all sorts. I love rap, rock, heavy metal, country, gospel – and yes, contemporary. But like the falling of the great preachers that seems to be happening all the time lately, they only fall when there is some form of a pedestal to fall from. Now I know that my one little, mostly unread article is not going to make a difference. But I hope you will take the time to read the Roy Report (it’s long) on this and see all the steps that are being taken to lead men and women into this place where they believe they are untouchable. That is not a place any Christian should be in. But it is. Christian music is not about Christianity or God anymore. It’s all about success and the “Taits” of CCM are in charge.
So what’s the answer? Still praying…
