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While some have sought to make Christian music more relevant by adding an electric guitar or a hip-hop beat to it, others prefer to listen and worship through more traditional forms of music, such as hymns. But should Christian music be limited to a designated genre, or can faith-based themes be effectively portrayed through any number of styles? Though people may disagree on which style they like best, there's no denying that Christian or Gospel music is widely sought after. A 2009 report from the Gospel Music Association indicates that Christian music sales total about half a billion dollars per...

What’s your favorite Christmas song? That’s a very subjective question. Some like to hear about “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” – others love to think about bells “jingling.” Yet, others tear up (with good reason) thinking about a “Holy Night” so long ago. They may even want to fall on their knees. Christmas is more than a day in December – it is a season. Reminders of this are all around us – from the weather, to gatherings, to the music on the radio. It is not unusual for savvy media outlets to saturate their formats with all things...

OKLAHOMA CITY, - Shoppers at an Oklahoma mall enjoyed a holiday treat as a flash-mob of singers performed Handel's Hallelujah Chorus in the food court, observers said. Inspired by similar performances making the Internet rounds on YouTube, more than 1,000 people participated in the spontaneous rendition at the Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City Saturday, The Oklahoman reported. Carol Sander, a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Choir, helped spark the Oklahoma City event by sending an e-mail to some friends, and the idea quickly went viral on social media Web sites. Sander she was surprised by the number of people...

Yes, Christian rockstars are real. But Katy Perry isn’t one. She years ago gave up on Christian music, and her image is anything but.Last week Perry appeared on a cliched cover of Rolling Stone under the headline: “Sex, God & Katy Perry: The Hard Road & Hot Times of a Fallen Angel.” Perry told the magazine that she is still a Christian. Christianity Today’s entertainment blog excerpts one of the more choice quotes while revisiting a review the evangelical magazines sister’s publication wrote eight years about Perry’s Christian music: “God is very much still a part of my life. But...

www.catholicnewsagency.com Johnny Cash remembered for his faith-based music Johnny Cash. Rome, Italy, May 26, 2010 / 09:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Johnny Cash was remembered for how his music “sang the faith” in an article published on Sunday in the Italian Bishops’ Conference’s newspaper Avvenire. Without his faith, the article said, "the voice of Cash would not have been the same."The bishops' newspaper remembered the man who, though he "knew" prison and nearly died of a drug overdose, "still ... at a certain point in his life, took from it a possible Meaning, with a capital letter." Cash dedicated the...

She isn't employed by the show and viewers never see her sparring with Simon Cowell. But Leesa Bellesi exerts her own kind of pull on "American Idol," Fox's top-rated singing contest that has a unique if often-unstated link to Christian churches. Bellesi, who runs a Christian nonprofit in Lake Forest with her ex-pastor husband, visits tapings frequently, has befriended numerous finalists and helps wrangle funds and scout temporary housing for families who trek cross-country to see relatives perform on "Idol." Bellesi said that churches form a base for the young singers as they try to win votes and establish fan...

A rising star on the Christian music scene is returning to the public eye with a new identity after a mysterious seven-year absence spent mostly on the other side of the world. Jennifer Knapp is not only coming out with a new album, she is also "coming out," a term the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter considers "very bizarre" as she nervously relaunches her career.. The 36-year-old Kansas native, who dated men during her college days, is braced for a backlash from religious fans who faithfully shot down whispered rumors about her sexuality over the years. On the other hand, she said in...

Award-winning Christian music artist Jennifer Knapp has returned from a seven-year hiatus with a bang. Aside from touring with provocative singer-songwriter Derek Webb and preparing for the release of a new album, Knapp is confirming what some had for years suspected – she’s gay. In interviews with The Advocate, Reuters, and Christianity Today – all published Tuesday – Knapp spoke openly about her sexuality while making it clear that she is not a pro-gay activist or even a self-described lesbian despite being in an eight-year relationship with a woman. “I'm just a normal human being who's dealing with normal everyday...

he date of May 21st, 2008, was the worst day of Steven Curtis Chapman's life, for it was then that Chapman's five-year-old daughter, Maria Sue Chapman, was killed in an accident. It occurred ten days after Maria's birthday when Maria was accidentally hit by her older brother Will while he was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser pulling into the driveway of their home in Franklin, Tennessee. Maria, the youngest in the family, was one of three daughters whom Steven and his wife Mary Beth had adopted from China, and she was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Maria died...

You may remember that The Star Spangled Banner, America's national anthem, was written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, but did you know it is a religious song? Originally written as a poem, Francis Scott Key instructed others to sing the words to the tune "Anacreon in Heaven" written by John Stafford Smith. Although "heavenly" sounding in title, The Anacreotic Song was actually a bar song that got "saved" so-to-speak. Here are the patriotic words to the first stanza, which most U.S. citizens learned as children and still sing before baseball games, and every time one of our athletes win...

For more than three decades, they sang Mozart in Latin, Bach in German, and Cole Porter and Stevie Wonder in English, from Alice Tully Hall in New York to Royal Albert Hall in London. For the audiences that marveled at the Boys Choir of Harlem, it was an additional wonder that the young performers with world-class voices had emerged from some of the most difficult neighborhoods of New York. December was always a busy month, as the choir toured the country’s premier concert halls and appeared on television Christmas specials. But this year, the boys are nowhere to be found....

Here is video of Christian Music artist Chris Tomlin on Fox and Friends this Christmas morning, singing "Emanuel(Hallowed Manger Ground)" with the help of the Watoto Children's Choir. . . . (VIDEO)

Lauren Green was third runner up in the 1985 Miss America contest and a winner of the talent competition for playing immaculately a Chopin etude, "Opus #4 in C Sharp." She continued her music while working as a television journalist in Minnesota, Chicago, and New York: She entered the Van Cliburn Competition and has written a fascinating theoretical essay about the connection of music, physics, and faith. Green grew up going to church and Sunday school. Today she goes to Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York and is a FOX News religious correspondent. One continuity throughout the years, since she...

Two years ago, the USCCB released a document of revised guidelines for liturgical music titled "Sing to the Mountains" -- er, "Lord." In its 88 mostly tepid pages are found a meditation on the scriptural and theological foundations for the use of music in worship, notes particular to the celebration of special rites within the Mass, and handy tips for ordained and lay liturgical ministers, such as the suggestion that cantors "possess the ability for singing and a facility in correct pronunciation and diction."   And, as with so many products of committee, its prescriptions perform a two-step waltz:...

Just a post, to see what favorite song inspires freepers in praising the LORD? I have many, but I will say the one that connects to my soul like no other is *Through the Fire* by Jason Crabb and the Crabb Family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP4OvUU-ZHU&feature=related

What about Bad Music? by Dr. Jeff Mirus, October 9, 2009 It is a feature of human nature that all normal persons respond emotionally to music. For this reason, music is often described in emotional or quasi-emotional terms. It may be languorous or bombastic, martial or lyrical, peaceful or agitated, soothing or exciting, and so on. But in addition to the connection between music and human moods, music is also perceived as beautiful (or ugly) and the human intellect naturally wishes to understand those properties of music which, if properly manipulated, produce beauty. Finally, the essentially moral character of the...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a school district's refusal to let a band play a religious piece at a high school graduation, saying the superintendent had reasonably decided to avoid a constitutional controversy by ordering a secular program. The district's veto of an instrumental version of "Ave Maria" by German composer Franz Biebl at the 2006 graduation ceremony in Everett, Wash., did not violate students' freedom of speech or religion, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

If you asked me who some of my favorite artists are right now, without hesitation I would say Natalie Grant, Nichole Nordeman and Britt Nicole. I know many of my friends haven't heard of them. I love to introduce people to these artists because they just might love their music too. Grant, Nordeman and Nicole are widely known in the mainstream Christian contemporary music world. There is so much talent in and outside of the church. This week, I wanted to share some artists with you who are not LDS but are fellow Christians with a faith-promoting message. In addition,...

Minutes after he learned a jury had sentenced him to death, killer James Broadnax laughed at the mother of one of his murder victims as she told him how he had devastated her life................ Patterson said television interviews Broadnax gave after the crime, in which he boasted about killing the two men and expressed no remorse or sympathy for their families, influenced jurors more than the defendant’s impassive demeanor in the courtroom.

Popular Christian rock band MercyMe was involved in an automobile accident Saturday that resulted in the deaths of two people and the hospitalization of a third. “Car just hit our tour bus,” tweeted MercyMe frontman Bart Millard from his iPhone around an hour after the early morning accident. “We are ok, but 2 of the 3 in the car did not make it. The one that did is pregnant. Please start praying.” According to The Associated Press, police in Fort Wayne, Ind., were told by witnesses that the tour bus was going through a green light about 1:15 a.m. Saturday...

CHICAGO — At a gathering of Church composers and musicians recently, Msgr. Anthony Sherman asked how many people had looked at the revised order of the Mass. Almost everyone raised a hand.Msgr. Sherman, the executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship, might have predicted the reaction during his breakout session at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians Convention in Chicago. After all, new Mass texts require new music — and pastoral musicians are preparing to provide it. “Given that music is integral to the celebration of liturgy, composers will have an important role to...

Sunday Poll: In your church, what kinds of songs do you sing? A Daily Poll

SHERWOOD PARK — Rob Evans, the Donut Man, might still be a Protestant but he doesn’t protest anymore. In fact, he is a happy Catholic, in love with Jesus, the Church and the sacraments. As he has put it, “To be Catholic is to experience authentic freedom to live, to love at extraordinary levels, and to learn the ways of the Master — the way that leads to the sanctification that we’re all called to.” A Catholic for the past three years, Evans, 55, is a children’s entertainer and a self-described Donut Repair-man who knows that life without Jesus is...

Nearer, My God, to Thee - Words: Verses 1-5, Sar­ah F. Adams, in Hymns and Anthems, by William Johnson Fox, 1841; verse 6, Ed­ward H. Bick­er­steth, Jr. Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Refrain Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee! Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone. Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God to Thee. Refrain There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n; All...

I Stand Amazed (How Marvelous) Verse 1 I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene And wonder how He could love me A sinner condemned unclean Chorus How marvelous how wonderful And my song shall ever be How marvelous how wonderful Is my Savior's love for me Verse 2 He took my sins and my sorrows He made them His very own He bore the burden to Calvary And suffered and died alone Verse 3 When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see 'Twill be my joy through the ages To sing of...

Counselor suspended after teens hear Christian music Accused of 'exposing children to unapproved religious activities' A Southern California counselor with nearly two decades of experience with foster children is challenging a decision that she be punished after four teens she took on an approved day-long outing encountered a beach festival – and heard Christian music. The 18-year employee, according to the lawsuit, took four teen girls from the Orangewood Children's Home, which was launched as a private facility but now is owned and run by Orange County. "What happened to this counselor was insane and unjust," said Brad Dacus, president...

For decades he was a fixture on the Billy Graham Crusade stage and on televisions in living rooms around the country. Now, George Beverly Shea, the award-winning baritone who is often described as "America's Beloved Gospel Singer", will reach a new milestone in his storied life - the century mark. Shea will celebrate his 100th birthday on Sunday, February 1. One day later, he will be the guest of honour during a special private gathering of family and friends at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina. "On the ladder of life, I have reached...

Wonderful Medley for the Christmas Season! Thanks for viewing.

“Yet for all the high-level packaging, The Priests really are the genuine article, who deliver the classic church music they have always sung, from Ave Maria to O Holy Night, in perfect harmony.” ....

The Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union fired off a letter to the mayor of Thibodaux, La., warning that the small town's promotion of a city festival featuring Christian bands may be a violation of the First Amendment. The Thibodeauxville Festival, which draws nearly 12,000 people to the town whose population barely exceeds 14,000, has featured fun, food, street dancing and bands from a variety of genres for the past 16 years. But when the ACLU spied the city's seal on a flier that also promoted the Christian bands performing at the festival, it took action. Marjorie Esman, executive director of...

THIBODAUX — The American Civil Liberties Union has taken issue with the city’s promotion of “Christian Music and Dance” at its upcoming Thibodeauxville festival, claiming it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the event, contends the ACLU has mistakenly assumed the festival is backed by local government and no part of the First Amendment was violated as charged. Only government can violate constitutional provisions, which in general do not apply to the private sector. In response to a complaint filed by Thibodaux retiree Charles Mosley, the ACLU’s Louisiana branch has asked...

It isn't every day that a group of Catholic monks find themselves on the pop charts. Yet that's what happened to the monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Vienna, whose CD of Gregorian chants has become a runaway hit. After its European release in May, "Chant: Music for the Soul" became the top classical album in Britain before crossing over to the pop charts, at one point outselling recordings by Madonna and Amy Winehouse. Even before its U.S. release on July 1, the album became the most popular classical recording in this country, thanks to copious downloads...

Rich Cook had it all: a dream job in his chosen field, Christian music; a solid marriage and three adoring daughters; a home in Orange County, a paradise in his eyes, worlds away from his New Jersey roots. But something was wrong. "I'd been around a long time, and I knew what it was," said Cook, 63. "I had to do something. The bottom line was changes had to be made." Cook was gay. And by the mid '90s he decided it was time to acknowledge it to his family and the world. ... Cook and his wife divorced. His...

"Funeral arrangements have been made for the 5-year-old daughter of Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman." "Cinderella" video w/SCC explaining inspiration for song SCC Blog video with Maria Sue

NASHVILLE, Tenn - The 5-year-old daughter of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman was struck and killed Wednesday by a sport utility vehicle driven by her brother, authorities said. The girl, Maria, was hit in a driveway on the family residence Wednesday afternoon by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by her teenage brother, said Laura McPherson, a spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol. McPherson said no charges are expected. "It looks like a tragic accident," she said. She said several members of the Chapman family witnessed the accident, which happened in Williamson County just south of Nashville. The brother...

One Toronto church decided that they had enough of divisiveness this Lenten season, and decided to take a stand. No more would incendiary rhetoric be used to inflame the passions of the congregation. No more would the United Church endorse an outdated theology, at least not the West Hill Protestant United Christian Church. Their pastor struck these dreaded words from their Easter hymnal …. Jesus Christ? That triumphal barnburner of an Easter hymn, Jesus Christ Has Risen Today – Hallelujah, this morning will rock the walls of Toronto’s West Hill United Church as it will in most Christian churches across...

A Michigan church filed a federal lawsuit after police officers, led by a local prosecutor, entered the sanctuary at least twice without a warrant, alleging the church's music was too loud. In one instance, they threatened to arrest church musicians for disorderly conduct. Faith Baptist Church, with a congregation of about 10,000 members, is suing local officials in the Township of Waterford, Mich., in a First Amendment case a church attorney said could have national ramifications in establishing what local governments can do in regulating churches. The suit -- alleging the township violated the church's freedom of religious expression, freedom...

Yet another painful experience of modern Evangelical “worship,” once the fury and chagrin has drained away, awakens in my mind this scene from my boyhood: It is a summer Sunday evening service in a little Baptist church in rural Michigan, hard by the fields and woods. Everyone who plays an instrument (all “acoustic” in those days), young or old, skilled or not, has been invited to accompany the congregational singing, for that is what is done on Sunday evenings, when the service is less formal. The minister stops the music near the end of the hymn, taps the pulpit, and...

Bad news for fans of Boston fans of Bill Bennett, Dennis Praeger, Mike Gallagher, Sean Hannity, Michael Medved, and Hugh Hewitt: WTTT AM 1150 has apparently changed its format from conservative talk to Spanish language religion. Salem Communications also owns WEZE AM 590 and WROL AM 950 in town but I don't believe any of the shows will wind up there (we'll see). Boston still has WRKO AM 680 (mostly conservative), WTKK FM 96.9 (mostly conservative), and WBZ 1030 at night (middle of the road)

ROME (CNS) -- Catholics, Anglicans and Methodists filled Rome's Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls with some of the most famous hymns written by Charles Wesley at a service marking the 300th anniversary of the Methodist reformer's birth. The songs, featured in hymnals across denominational lines, were the focal point of the Dec. 3 ecumenical evening prayer service in the Catholic basilica. The Rev. John Barrett, president of the World Methodist Council said, "It was mind-blowing really" to celebrate Wesley and sing his hymns "in Rome with an ecumenical gathering." "I think Charles Wesley would be thrilled. He did...

One of the world's oldest styles of religious music is attracting a host of new enthusiasts.Gregorian chant is usually associated with monks in monasteries, but it's being heard more often now in regular services. Its growing popularity brought 70 representatives of choirs from Northern Ireland to a chanting workshop in the Dominican Convent in west Belfast. The college chapel became a study for a day as experts passed on advice on how best to perform the ancient melodies. Principal tutor Donal McCrisken said Gregorian chant was an excellent medium for vocal training. "You have to sing it very purely -...

This is an excellent music video about Christmas. Christmas With a Capital "C"

I'm having some problems with music in Catholic America. Part of it is my problem. I spent fifteen years in the Anglican Church with the New English Hymnal--which is probably the finest hymnbook ever published in the English language. Musically and liturgically it was the best that traditional Anglicanism had to offer. Catholic music in England--well we won't even go there. Apart from a few islands of decent church music the Catholic church in England was a wasteland. I am discovering that in the USA it is not much better. My problem is that I am actually unfamiliar with most...

WASHINGTON(October 9, 2007) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will vote at their annual Fall General Assembly on the approval of the document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, a revision of the guidelines for music at Mass. The document “represents a significant rethinking of the structure and substance of what needs to be said about this important aspect of the liturgical renewal,” said Bishop Donald Trautman, outgoing chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, in the documentation sent to the Bishops for their review. The document retains and refines some of the more important...

Mormon Tabernacle Choir- 75th Anniversary Six members of the staff traveled to Washington, DC in November to represent the Choir in receiving the National Medal of Arts. Standing with President and Mrs. Bush are (l to r) Announcer Lloyd Newell, Tabernacle Organist John Longhurst, Choir President Mac Christensen, Choir Directors Craig Jessop and Mack Wilberg, and Assistant to the Choir President, Stan Parrish. Choir President Mac Christensen poses with President and Mrs. Bush following the awarding of the National Medal of Arts.

In India Thousands of Youth Rock for Jesus and for Life with Canadian Musician David MacDonald By John-Henry Westen POTTA, India, August 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the inspiring occurrences which took place on my recent speaking engagement in India was getting to know another Canadian - singer/songwriter David Macdonald.  Although I knew David by reputation - he is the main musician at the annual March for Life in Ottawa every year - I had not until India had a chance to speak with him in person.  David is a fascinating man.  A pop musician who can do fancy...

Label terminates contract before album releases and confuses everyone NEW YORK – As the hip-hop industry's tradition of wholesome, thought-provoking lyrics has slowly decayed since the 80's, one artist wants to buck the trend by adding a new level of linguistic complexity to his lyrics. Tru Dawgma, a self-proclaimed "exegetical elaborator," insists that his new style will help counteract hip-hop's recent reputation of promoting only superficiality, sex, drugs, and violence. But not everyone appreciates Dawgma's approach, as God's Fro Records recently terminated his contract and stated, "Most of our listeners don't have a GED, let alone an M. Div.!" God's...

God of our Fathers (National Hymn) Daniel C. Roberts, the 35 year-old rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, a small rural church in Brandon, Vermont, wanted a new hymn for his congregation to celebrate the American Centennial in 1876. He wrote "God of Our Fathers" and his congregation sang it to the tune Russian Hymn. In 1892, he anonymously sent the hymn to the General Convention for consideration by the commission formed to revise the Episcopal hymnal. If approved, he promised to send his name. The commission approved it, printing it anonymously in its report. Rev. Dr. Tucker, who was...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES - Singer-songwriter Derek Webb, formerly a member of the contemporary Christian band Caedmon's Call, won rave reviews for his 2005 solo album, "Mockingbird," which dealt with themes of war, politics and social justice. The following are excerpts from an interview with Mr. Webb, whose most recent release is "The Ringing Bell": Question: What is your relationship with Sojourners, an organization that expresses Christian commentary on faith, politics and culture? Answer: Sojourners seems to be about people who think spiritually and yet socially. They see the implications of spiritual ideas in terms of social action. I definitely make...