Steve Camp and Petra

[Epyon5757]

OK...I'm 25 and probably one of the younger people on this board...and Swaggart I've heard the name a few times and know nothing about...but who is Bill Gothard? I've never heard his name, and I grew up in a church family. What did these guys say against Christian Rock, and why were they so adamantly against it?

It strikes me as harmful to the church in general if you're not gonna play stuff that gets the unchurched into the church. I have a severe issue with ANYONE in a position of authority for Christianity condemning something that has been proven - by groups like Petra, Newsboys, and now groups like Kutless and Jars of Clay (although their path was made easier by the likes of Petra kicking the door until the people trying to keep them out gave up fighting them) to be a powerful tool to deliver the message of Christ with.

After all, you can't really preach to those that need it if you can't get those in need OF Christ into the church to listen to the message in the first place.
In my town, music is the hook...especially with the music program U of I has. Champaign-Urbana runs about 65,000 permanent population - and about 15,000 of the permanent population are grad students either at U of I or at any of the...seven...colleges in a 100 mile radius. On top of that, U of I adds another 40,000 to it during the school year. That's about 60 THOUSAND young adults. Best way to get their attention is with contemporary music.
I'm not saying we need to play hard-rock or secular music - but at some point you have to abandon the hymn book and modernize your music selections in an effort to reach out to the community and those who are searching for Christ. My church runs about 150 people - mostly 20 to 45 age group. There's about 20 retired folk (75 and older) that go to our church that are holding our church back from going from blended to completely contemporary and doing more community outreach - because they don't think our church needs to "do" or "be" anything more than it is. Those people are wrong, and the younger people in the church all know it, but the elderly hold just enough power in my church to keep anything worthwhile from being done. It's like having the US Congress as your church - constant bickering between young and old, neither side with enough strength to gain a majority and neither side with enough humility to compromise.
These attitudes have killed a ton of churches over the years, including one that my father pastored.

[greenchili]

Yeah like I said before. The biggest enemy of the church, is the church itself.

"Heaven is taken by the bold"..

Like you know, those bold enough to declare Jesus Christ as Lord....