Selling Out

August 15, 2007 by David.

For those of us who are old enough to remember Petra - and even more, remember them when the lead singer was Greg X. Volz - the idea of Christian music is not a new one. While bands like Petra (and for me, White Heart, Bride, and a few others) offered alternatives to the mainstream music of the time, there was always an underlying problem with many of these “Christian” bands.

They were selling out.

I don’t mean selling out in the packed venue sense. I mean selling out in the critical, laying aside your values sense. Don’t get me wrong - I loved a lot of that music and occasionally still listen to some of those 20+ year old CDs (yes, I know, I’m getting old). And I believe that the members of those bands were truly looking to offer an alternative to the music of the time. And to be frank, bands like Pillar, Skillet and Seventh Day Slumber have musical careers partly because of bands like Petra.

But bands like Petra made some decisions that now, looking back, I can’t get behind.

First of all, many of these bands labeled what they were doing a “ministry.” ARGGHHHHH! The problem I have with this is simple. If what you’re doing is a ministry, then do not charge the people you are ministering to. Can you imagine Jesus telling his disciples “…guys, let’s feed these people. With this bread and this small fish, we will feed the five thousand. Oh, by the way, make sure to collect a cover charge of $35 per person to cover our expenses and provide a living.” Uh…no. Yet, many “Christian” bands do the same thing.

Again, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy many of these bands and I actively listen to several of them. What bothers me is the idea of using Jesus as a marketing ploy to sell more albums. If your music can’t sell itself, then don’t use Jesus to push your sorry CD onto the brainwashed masses. And certainly don’t call what you’re doing a ministry if you’re charging kids $30 to $80 for tickets to come to your “ministry.” I understand that concerts and CDs take money to make, but there are other ways of doing things as a ministry.

For one, if you’re truly a ministry, then ask people within the church to donate. Although I never cared much for his music, Carmen practiced this for most of his career. All his concerts were free. He would ask wealthy Christians to donate to help pay for his concert, but never charged for non-Christians to attend. It saddens me that many of these “ministries” don’t follow this incredible lead.

In fairness, many of the newer bands have avoided calling themselves a “ministry” for the reasons stated, and that’s fine. I enjoy their music and for many of these bands, the quality of their music is now rivaling mainstream bands and in some cases, outclassing the mainstream outright. It’s also interesting that some of these bands are now getting signed to mainstream music labels and finding bigger success. Switchfoot and POD both started as “Christian” bands, but now have broader appeal and much bigger sales. It’s nice to be able to listen to a CD without having to worry about what words are spewing forth and whether what you’re listening to is safe for your kids. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about these bands - they are mostly family friendly.

I’m going to stop short of calling the entire Christian music industry sell-outs, but the line is a fine one and is often crossed. I’m still not sure that having separate recording labels makes sense. I’d also like to see Christian bands tour with mainstream bands. Music is music is music. Good music, Christian or not, should sell out venues regardless of who is doing the singing. Or why the singing is being done.

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