Welcome to Lyrics That Preach!
The more I listen to the Classic Christian Rock genre of music that I grew up on, the more I am amazed at the power of the lyrics and the anointing that seems to rest on the sounds that come through the speakers. Without fail, the energy of the message that comes forth stirs my soul.
Unlike the trends of today’s top performers, like the overwhelming amount of praise & worship, the Christian bands of the 70’s and 80’s were truly pioneers. Sadly, the church at the time, simply couldn’t accept what these bands were accomplishing at their concerts. Documented reports of bands like Petra, would bring pastors and church leaders back-stage, to witness hundreds after hundreds of people responding to an altar call and making a decision to follow Christ.
The other reason I think this music was so powerful, was that many bands, especially Petra, would include the Scripture verses in the album covers… so when reading the lyrics, as you listened to the cassette or CD, you could open your Bible and read the Scriptural basis for the lyrics.
Hence, it’s only fitting that the lyrics are capable of inspiring sermons; they were founded straight from God’s Word.
That’s not to say today’s artists don’t write songs that aren’t grounded in Scripture… but the difference for the pioneer bands of this genre, was the unwavering commitment to winning souls for Christ and encouraging Christians, whether they were new in the faith or seasoned believers to continue to grow in their relationship with God and the knowledge of His Word. In the battle for church acceptance, they understood lives were on the line of eternity and thus, I believe God granted them favor… and the anointing is still alive and well on their music years and decades later.
I’m very excited about this project. While there are other great blogs devoted to this genre of music, I think this is quite a different perspective and I can’t wait to see what God has in store.
Stay tuned!
- PNC
PS: Don’t forget to join me daily, as we pray for pastors, in the fight against ministry burnout.