Christian pop music

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Christian pop music (also known as Contemporary Christian music) is a genre of popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The genre has its roots in the hippie Jesus Movement of the early 70s. Today, Christian pop is a highly profitable Nashville-based music industry with its own record labels, radio stations, and music stores (see Billboard Magazine's Hot Christian Tracks chart [link]). Representative artists include Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, MercyMe, Rich Mullins, Newsboys, Michael W. Smith, and Third Day.

Many people enjoy the strengths of Christian pop music including its uplifting and positive nature and many listeners feel that it helps them focus on God. Equally many listeners feel that much of Christian pop music promotes a message that is simplistic and at times trite when compared to what they believe is a much more complex and powerful message to be found in more traditional Christian music and texts.

See also

• GMA Music Awards
• List of Christian pop record labels
• List of Christian pop artists
• List of online Christian pop radio stations

Further reading

• Alfonso, Barry. The Billboard Guide to Contemporary Christian Music. Billboard Books, 2002.
• Di Sabatino, David. The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1999.
• Granger, Thom. CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music]]. Nashville: CCM Books, 2001.
• Howard, Jay R and John M Streck. Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music. Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press, 1999.
• Joseph, Mark. The Rock and Roll Rebellion: Why People of Faith Abandoned Rock Music-- And Why They're Coming Back. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1999.
• Mount, Daniel J. A City on a Hilltop? A History of Contemporary Christian Music. http://www.danielmount.net
• Powell, Mark Allan. The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Hendrickson, 2002.
• Romanowski, William D. Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture. Brazos Press, 2001.
• Pruitt, Jim. Contemporary Christian Musician's Survival Manual. Lulu, 2003. http://www.cyshift.com/jarc/ccmsm.html

External links

• [Labby's Christian30 Countdown]
• [The CCM Patrol (A Satirical CCM Blog)]
• [Catholic Music Zine]
• [Christian Music Central]
• [Christianity Today's ChristianMusicToday.com]
• [Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) Magazine]
• [Cross Rhythms]
• [Firestream.net - The Believer's Heavy Music Refuge]
• [HM - The Hard Music Magazine]
• [Jesus Artist Resource Center]
• [Jesus Freak Hideout]
• [The Phantom Tollbooth]
• [Real Magazine]
• [Relevant Magazine]
• [Sound Grid Music]
• [TVU Christian music television]
• [Hot25 Countdown with Az Hamilton]
• [Billboard Gospel Countdown]
• [The Rock Across Australia Countdown]
• [Praise Inc. / Praise Music Philippines] - new Philippine Christian music
• [Punch and Us] - a humorous satire on the construction of Christian music
• [Christian pop's effect upon the music industry]
• [A Decade of Jesus Music 1969-79]
• [Pitchfork Media's 2004 interview with Sufjan Stevens]
• [Pitchfork Media's reflections on Christian music]
• ["Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?" - A 2004 Christian rock documentary]
• [God's Little Rocker]

*[God's Little Forum] Official forum of God's Little Rocker

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