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 PrintableVersion Can we rock the gospel?Rock music's impact on worship and evangelismRock n’ Toll?CAN WE ROCK THE GOSPEL? I first read John Blanchard’s Pop Goes The Gospel (hereafter PGTG) at about the time I went to university as an impressionable and somewhat Pharisaical son of the manse. Nearly a quarter of a century on I don’t think it did me that much good, and I regret not having invested more of my earlier years reading greater works. Then, a couple of years ago a friend hit me over the head (figuratively) with Dan Lucarini’s Why I Left The Contemporary Christian Music Movement (hereafter WILTCCMM). I had been enthusing about the work of a modern hymn writer, and he felt I needed a healthy dose of reality. Can We Rock The Gospel? (hereafter CWRTG) draws heavily on PGTG and WILTCCMM and ‘our experience in handling the vast amount of feedback that both titles generated’. Indeed, two thirds of the chapter headings are identical in PGTG, and a lot of the material is the same. ‘We didn’t intend to write this book, our publishers made us do it’ (that’s not quite what they said, but it’s close). I’d have to agree that many of the issues highlighted by this book certainly need addressing. Christians behaving badlyCWRTG is overflowing with real and current examples of Christians behaving badly — no — sinfully. It is an extremely sad catalogue of worldliness (e.g. idolatry, selfishness, materialism, sensuality, divisiveness, lovelessness, etc). It is generally accurate, authoritative, well researched, and makes for very depressing reading. As the EP website puts it: ‘This book is a highly provocative and hard-hitting examination of the pop scene and the use of rock music in evangelism.’ The symptoms may be well documented, but the diagnosis and proposed cure are less convincing. The thesis of the book is that rock is essentially and absolutely incompatible with Christian worship and evangelism, and that those who think otherwise must repent. Of course, in view of the symptoms, the need for repentance is undeniable. But who needs to repent? And what do they need to repent of? Principles of Scripture?Having read True Worship by Vaughan Roberts and having begun Worship by the Book by Carson et al, I’m disappointed by the scope of the worship language in CWRTG. For example, is it helpful or right to refer to the room in which we meet as ‘the sanctuary’? Doesn’t that support the case for loud crashing cymbals? Scripture rules all that we do for God, not least the way we praise him, yet Blanchard and Lucarini leave me pretty much in the dark as to how to draw out principles from Scripture (reading passages in biblical-theological context) and how to apply those principles across different cultures, including today’s. But the book is at its weakest in its definition of what rock music is, and in its assertions about which musical forms are acceptable for church use. Much is made of the evils of ‘back-beat’ (a form of syncopation actually found in many cultures). Some pretty sweeping generalisations are made, and the distinction between subjective and objective sometimes becomes rather blurred. Many sources are quoted, but we rarely hear what these sources think about the book’s overall thesis. And all of this really matters when such strong conclusions are drawn, and such harsh judgements are pronounced. Instead of making rock music a scapegoat, perhaps the current crisis just needs more work on the biblical theology of church, worship, and culture? PGDH
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