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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 15, 1985
PAGE 9
yellow stripes. Piles of makeup, spiky hair and enough dangling
chains to tie up half the elephants in Africa complete the pic
ture of the up-to-date heavy-metal rock group. Even the music,
the sound of a swarm of angry insects electronically amplified
several thousand times, fits the image.
But wait� don't walk away without listening to the words of their
song•••"So many bands give the devil all the glory. It's hard to
understand we want to change the story. We want to rock one way
on and on. You'll see the light some day. I'll say Jesus is the
way.
n
The group is actually called Stryper, a name inspired by the
biblical assurance that "with His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah
53:5). Instead of throwing drumsticks into the audience, these
metal missionaries toss out about 500 imitation-leather copies of
the New Testament.
"We are rock-'n'-roll evangelists," says
Drummer Robert Sweet, 24. "Stryper is a modern-day John the Bap
tist crying in the world of rock for those who don't have the life
of Christ to turn on the light switch. Our message is J-E-s-u
S."
Stryper is only one of dozens of groups•••all part of gospel, a
musical category that also includes soul gospel and hymns. But
these new entertainers create sounds that have never been heard
in churches, sounds that range from Stryper's heavy beat••.to the
mellow pop of Amy Grant, who last week won her third Grammy for
her song Angels. Indistinguishable--except for their lyrics-
from their secular counterparts, these performers represent one
of the most interesting, fastest-growing trends in the music
world: Christian contemporary music, .2!. evangelical
E2E····
Its
chief audience is the generation of the New Squares, primarily
young whites, 24 to 35, who like the beat of rock but disavow the
drugs and sexual permissiveness that are associated with it.
"The people who buy my records like danceable, modern music, but
they don't want to feel guilty supporting music with trashy
lyrics," says Steve Taylor, 27, who sings his own songs. "Rock
is associated with evil, but that is guilt by association. Music
is music, and it is the vehicle of expression for my generation."
The rationale behind "Christian Rock" is really nothing new. The false
churches have a tradition of absorbing the customs of this world and
coating them with a veneer of so-called Christianity.
And while we're on the subject, that new record cut by 45 American pop-rock
artists for the benefit of African famine relief, contains an interesting
phrase repeated again and again throughout the song: "We are the world, we
are the children." Truer words were never sung. But since the lyrics are
repetitious and lack a bit of originality, the writers should have included
passages from II Cor. 4:4, John 8:44 and I John 2:15-17, to name only a few.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau