In today’s fast paced society, where money is a God and the Wall Street Journal the Bible by which many people live their lives, Christianity has been pushed aside in favor of secular success. Contemporary Christian music song lyrics are reaching out to bring people back to God and change the face of Christianity as we know it.
Contemporary Christian music song lyrics and the up-tempo music that accompanies them have once again made Christianity popular song lyrics. The Newsboys reached out to the cynical youth of the country through their songs Shine (“Shine, Make ’em wonder what you got, Make ’em wish that they were not, On the outside lookin’ bored”) and Breakfast in Hell (“When the toast is burned, And all the milk has turned, And Captain Crunch is waving farewell. When the big one finds you, May this song remind you, That they don’t serve breakfast in hell.”), launching them into bestselling hits among both the Christian and secular community. Artists like Amy Grant and Chelsie Boyd have seamlessly blended these song lyrics and popular musical tunes. The old and the new have begun to meld to develop a new genre of music like nothing ever seen before.
What’s the lesson in this? These lyrics are bringing Christian music out of the Renaissance and making it real for a new generation of Christians. Contemporary services and the lyrics that bring God into today rather than the past or the future have begun to inspire more teens and young adults than ever before to dedicate their hearts to God. Christians who have an enthusiasm for the Lord that couldn’t be expressed in the sedate, circumspect methods of worship that their parents practiced can now praise in the new, contemporary style.
The best part is that these lyrics are hammering it home to people that God is as relevant today as he was in the days of the Isrealites. Today’s Christians are facing a whole new set of challenges. Society’s morality has degenerated rapidly, and without something substantial to give them hope that God will be there for them they are all too likely to turn their backs on the church and find their strength and support elsewhere.
Contemporary Christian music song lyrics carry a message of strength and renewal to those whose faith has grown tired in the face of the endless buffeting of society’s criticism. They serve to remind Christians and non-Christians alike that God is everywhere, he sees everything, and with a little bit of faith he’ll be there today just like he was yesterday.