But by early 90's, I saw that the whole of the "industry," from early Jesus Movement/Jesus Music to the then-present CCM scene, wasn't making much impact on the mainstream American music life. Sure, by then we had Amy Grant and a handful of others making the Billboard charts, but it felt to me that it was due to a bit of charity by the secular industry. I felt we were mainly just playing to the choir. While the music quality got much better, we really hadn't advanced beyond hippies making Jesus Music.
So I quit buying so many albums and let my subscriptions lapse and stopped following the happenings of CCM. I don't miss it. Though Jars of Clay, MxPx, Six Pence and others later charted, it still is the same old. I still bought the Swirling Eddies releases though.
As for aspiring Christian musicians, I believe they need to examine what they want to do with their music. Do they want to "tell people about Jesus" or "make money with my music?" I do believe they are mutually exclusive.
To become a musical missionary for evangelistic purposes to share the gospel of Jesus, you likely would play an instrument or two on street corners, at evangelistic booths, at concert shells at a beach-front park, give out CDs/DVDs of your music. Once in a while you could perform with a band on a concert shell or at evangelistic events. But you will need to support yourself with a regular job just like Apostle Paul did for his evangelistic/church-supporting role. As a music missionary, you have the street-level contact with the people who need the Lord and the joy of sharing the Gospel. And you have no contract binding you, censuring you and you keep your artistic freedom.
To play music to make it your full-time profession, you need to be very good at your music skills. If you are wanting to obtain major label level, you need to realize that most label owners are Jewish who are somewhat antagonistic toward overt Christian lyrics and Christians in general. They tolerated Elvis singing Gospel songs but only because he was already famous. You can be a Christian, be in and play secular music, but your witness would likely be a "behind the scenes" type. Even U2 (if they indeed be considered Christian) can't get away with evangelistic songs in mainstream media. There is a danger however of compromising your faith through the playing of songs that express some measure of sinful conduct. While it may get you and your band some airplay, this is not what you set out to do, to go against your faith in your music. You need to find some other avenue to play professionally as your living.
Ryan Farish is such a Christian who found his way to play professionally and make it in the secular world all the while acknowledging his faith. You may have heard some of his music on the Weather Channel. YouTube has a number of his songs here. His CDs now regularly chart on various specialty Billboard charts. He recently won a Dove award for his work on a Christian music group release. He has done professional work composing music/jingles for various mega corporations. All the while bypassing the typical closed system of the music world. Visit his MySpace page and let the music (all instrumentals except for one Donna Lewis song) that automatically comes on play through. You'll enjoy it!
God's grace to you, Catman Dude
