Opinion of Contemporary Christian Music

[Joe Biden 2020]

I love Contemporary Christian Music.  The radio stations K-Love and Air1 are great for that genre.  K-Love is a softer-contemporary and Air1 is a more alternative-contemporary.  Both stations are cousins in the same building in Sacramento, California and are both completely listener-supported.  It reaches the younger generations in a way the old traditional hymns cannot.  I personally prefer the old traditional hymns such as the Old Rugged Cross, How Great Thou Art, It is Well with My Soul, etc.  The newer stuff is still wonderful, though, such as I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me and Blessings by Laura Story.  As long as it preaches the Word of God and does not compromise the message, I don't have a problem with it.  That includes the music that BRTD likes.  If it does not compromise the Central Message of the Bible, namely that everyone is a sinner and is condemned to hell but that God sent Jesus Christ His Son to be born of a virgin, dwell among men, be tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin, and die for us and take our rightful place on the cross, and that we will be resurrected with Him if we simply believe in His name and His sacrifice; it's fine.

I chose Option 2 for this poll, but not because I like Contemporary Christian any less, but that I like the Hymns even more.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I don't think there is any reason to pit CCM against traditional music. They're two very different things with rathern different purposes, I think. I don't think CCM belongs in church, but it instead exists as a spiritual supplement to church in your everyday outside life. Tradition hymns work so much better for actual church purposes.

I tend to listen to CCM on the radio whenever I'm in my car on the east side (the selection on the west side is awful ) partially because, although CCM tends to be as a whole musically temperate without too many highs or lows or particular innovation, it does not generally have nearly the general awfulness that much of the rest of the radio has. Pop stations are extremely repetitive and of very poor quality, I can't stand country music, and there aren't many stations with the type of secular music I enjoy (unfortunately some CCM stations are adopting songs with pop conventions more and more, eg songs with rapped verses and pop choruses by some guest singer). Air1 tends to be the station I listen to the most, but it can be hit and miss.

My personal music that I listen to on a regular basis is probably ~1/3 CCM. Some of my favorite bands are in the CCM genre, ranging from a bit harder bands like Skillet and Red to more mainstream CCM such as Matt Maher and Tenth Avenue North and Sanctus Real to slightly more experimental bands like Gungor and Rend Collective Experiment along with other random bands like Needtobreathe and relient k.

I saw Sanctus Real and Skillet in concert this past February.  They were part of the Winter Jam 2012 Tour.  Also there was For King and Country and other bands.  Skillet was the "main attraction".  It reminded me of a UFC fight night in the structure where the other bands were the first two or three 3-round fights as an appetizer in a given night and then Skillet is the premier fight of the night as the main course. (My Apple trainer is a big UFC fan!)