Okay, I know that this is supposed to be a blog about pastors and conflict, but I’ve always wanted to write an article about my favorite Christian songs (and artists). Since the topics on this blog can get kind of heavy at times, I thought I’d lighten it up a bit by sharing with you ten songs performed by Christian artists that mean a lot to me. I’ll count down songs ten through six today and follow up with songs five through one another time.
I believe that a great song is one that is (a) well-written, (b) authentically sung, (c) powerfully performed, (d) lyrically engaging, and (e) either moves you to tears or inspires you to take action. Here are ten Christian songs that do that for me:
Number 10: “Little Pilgrim” by Love Song. Back in the early 1970s, there wasn’t really a genre like “contemporary Christian music.” Other than Larry Norman and some other stray artists, most of the relevant-sounding Christian music was originating from Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. I was blessed to be present in Calvary’s small, original church building on a summer evening in 1970 when Chuck Girard and Tommy Coomes played “Front Seat, Back Seat,” a song they had just written. I loved the song as well as the artists, and when Lovesong came out with their self-titled album, there wasn’t anything like it in the Christian world.
“Little Pilgrim” is the last song on their second album. It’s the story of a spritual seeker who looks for meaning in life in all the wrong places …
‘Til you’re resting in the arms of the only one who can help you
‘Til you give your heart and your soul and your body and your mind and your life to the Lord
I heard lead singer Chuck Girard sing this song many times in the 1970s and heard him sing it again last May at Calvary Chapel Phoenix on Lovesong’s last tour. After the subject of his song wanders all over creation, Chuck ends the song this way:
And it’s a glad thing to realize
That you’re not alone no more
That you found your way back home
Back home
Love Song often ended their concerts with this song. I wonder how many people came to Christ after hearing it. It drives me into the arms of Jesus every single time.
Live version, introduction by Bill Hybels: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSsckEGG2Mw
Number 9, Number 9: “A Rose is a Rose” by Susan Ashton. Although she didn’t write her own songs, Susan Ashton had a knack for choosing great material (much of it from songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick). On her self-titled third album, this last song describes a person whose confidence is so shot that she can’t get the jeers of critics out of her ears. While it’s not explicitly a “Christian” song – God isn’t mentioned anywhere in the lyrics – it’s the kind of thing that a good friend would say to someone who wants to give up on life.
You’re at a standstill, you’re at an impasse
Your mountain of dreams, seems harder to climb
By those who have made you feel like an outcast
Cause you dare to be different, so they’re drawing a line
While most of the song is performed on piano, a killer violin picks up during the first chorus and continues playing throughout the song. These words in the final verse always touch me:
To deal with the scoffers, that’s part of the bargain
They heckle from back rows and they bark at the moon
Their flowers are fading in time’s bitter garden
But yours is only beginning to bloom
If you’ve never heard this song, check out the sample on iTunes. It’s worth it. If American Idol ever discovered it … well, never mind … they won’t.
Fan video version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mftgkJgMrMI&feature=related (voice is speeded up a little)
Number 8: “Asleep in the Light” by Keith Green. In my mind, this song is like putting the words of Jeremiah the prophet to music. It’s a scathing indictment of the church of Jesus sung in both an angry and tender voice. When the song came out, I couldn’t stop listening to it. One Sunday morning, when I was a youth pastor and had a chance to preach, I read the lyrics during my message because (a) there was no way I would be allowed to play the song in church, and (b) if the song had been done live, I might have been fired. Why the commotion? In an intense, passionate voice, Keith Green sings:
The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
Cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave,
And you, you can’t even get out of bed
This song is especially powerful when viewed with the picture that inspired it: a hoarde of people drowning while those on the pier above them leisurely enjoy life, oblivious to those below.
Fan video version: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=ApuMzfYlcjiy79wG5AfucLdG2vAI?p=keith+green+asleep+in+the+light&fr=my-myy&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8
Number 7: “Irish Day” by Iona. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Irish music: U2, Van Morrison, the Corrs, Enya, and Enya’s older sister Moya Brennan, who is a believer. (I even like “The Unicorn Song” by the Irish Rovers.) Iona is a Christian group that specializes in progressive rock. They do something that few other artists do: they sing about the way that the Christian faith came to their country. This song is about Columba who first brought the gospel to the British Isles. It’s beautifully played and sung and includes lyrics like these:
Here before my time
Walked men of faith and truth
In a land that was dark
They followed the way
Bringing sweet light
On an Irish day
If you love the Celtic sound, you’ll love this band – which is getting ready to put out their latest CD in a couple months. They’re touring Europe right now. I would love to see them in concert someday.
Original studio version: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGdS4a6bRN2GEA4LdXNyoA?p=iona+irish+day&fr2=sb-top&fr=my-myy&type_param=
Number 6: “My Glorious” by Delirious? This British band revolutionized Christian music by merging rock with worship. Their lyrics can be quirky and they sound more like U2 than U2 does at times. Like Bono’s band, they write soaring anthems that can be sung in arenas – or churches. Toward the end of their existence, they became impassioned about both missions and social justice issues (sorry, Glenn Beck).
This praise anthem from their classic worship-oriented CD Glo rocks hard but is so fun to sing that I’ll continue to sing it both in this life and the one to come:
God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we’ll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My glorious! My glorious!
Sounds kind of like “my precious” but I consciously try to put Gollum out of my mind.
I’d love to hear from you about your favorite contemporary Christian songs as well. Feel free to share …
Restoring Kingdom Builders 
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