Studying the cultural history of contemporary worship music means I listen to a lot of albums. Arriving at the dissertation stage of my doctoral studies has required listening to 40 years’ worth of music from one of the most significant movements in modern church life””the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. It’s a lot of music. And trust me, there’s a lot of ugly.
But because I also serve as a worship director at a local church, listening to contemporary worship music is not just a scholarly exercise””it is also serious pastoral business. My people need solid spiritual food from their church music. They need songs that will sculpt their theological imagination and give voice to their praises, prayers, and confessions. The good news is that both as a researcher and as a worship leader, I have found many artists worth hearing.
To find these artists, I had to go beyond the Top 25 song list from the ubiquitous Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI). Today hundreds of talented songwriters are crafting excellent music that will never land on the CCLI charts. Their craft is just as good as that of the heavyweights, and their songs are more musically and theologically diverse. Consider three that represent the breadth and range you’ll find beyond the charts: Liz Vice, Miranda Dodson, and Cardiphonia.
This article is so true… I’ve grown quite discouraged by Christian radio, especially as local Christian stations become franchises of KLove, etc. KLove has a place, but they play the same 20 or 30 songs over and over again ad nauseum. Even though I’m usually only ever in the States for 4 – 6 weeks each year (some years less…) by the end of each trip, I’m totally sick of those songs!! I can’t imagine I’d ever listen to Christian radio if I lived in the US full time.
There’s SO much good new Christian music out there beyond the top 40. Cardiphonia has been a good resource for me ever since I started following them on Twitter. Noisetrade has some excellent (free) Christian music, and via Bandcamp one can also download music direct from the artists. I’ve loved the hymns albums from Sojourn and Red Mountain Church.
I’m also thankful for the We Are Worship sites (there are separate US & UK sites) which have free worship music downloads each week, and the Worship Together site which also showcases new songs and makes free resources available. Graham Kendrick has been recently posting TONS of his music on YouTube, including oldies you can’t find in the US, and brand new songs too.
And of course as any reader of Lent & Beyond will know, I love Classic CCM music… more and more of the great CCM oldies are available on iTunes and Amazon or YouTube these days, so really there’s no excuse to have a boring and repetitious Christian music playlist or to sing the same 15 contemporary worship songs over and over and over again!!