Crossroad Radio

As a radio host/producer, longtime freelance writer for music publications, and my general passion for music, I often get asked what music I listen to personally and what artists/bands I find compelling.

I don't know how you feel about Christian music - the term or the genre it encompasses. 

Let's deal with the term first.  So many different opinions abound as to whether music itself can even be considered "Christian."  Whatever.  I'm not going to debate that here.  For the purposes of this new series (which I'm completely stoked about by the way) I'm going to use the term Christian music, mostly because it's widely known as such, to describe music made by professing believers that expresses that faith, whether overtly or in parabolic form. 

Now for the genre.  For the longest time it seemed that people liked Christian music because they wanted to and not necessarily because of the artistic quality.  I can remember the days of being a new believer in high school and wanting to share my faith with my friends through the music I was listening to.  Unfortunately, much of the music was cringeworthy back in the day and I often found myself more than a little embarrassed to cop to listening to it, not because of the message but because the artistic integrity was questionable at best.  Sadly, sometimes that's still the case. 

I truly believe that God means for professing Christian artists to set the standard rather than producing a carbon copy of whatever might happen to be popular on the radio at the time.  After all, He's the creator of the universe and has given us the ultimate gift through Christ's work on the cross.  We as believers have every reason to be steering the ship when it comes to the arts.

Now I'll get to the point.  Although it may not seem to be so, there are many artists out there doing just that.  So I'm pleased to begin this journey that I've loving titled "50 REASONS WHY I'M NOT EMBARRASSED TO LIKE CHRISTIAN MUSIC."  Over the course of the next few months I'm going to be updating my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/david.bumgarner1, with a video or song from a band or artist that rises above the norm and, in my opinion, gives us music that creatively expresses their walk with Christ in a way that engages both us, as believers, and the world in need of the message of hope.  Notice I didn't say "TOP 50."  This isn't a countdown and will be in totally random order.  When I have something interesting to say about the artist, I'll say it.  When I don't, I'll let the music do the speaking.

If you've been a Christian music supporter as long as I have you probably remember those days that I've just described as days when it would have been tough to come up with 5-10 bands or artists you could present to your friends without turning a few shades of red.  My hope with this series is to give props to and shed light on the artists (however big or small) and hopefully boost their audience while enlightening you on some music that you may not have heard of (although occasionally you'll catch one of your already established favorites in there too). 

Should be a fun ride!  Be sure to check the page daily for updates and join the discussion! I'd love to read your thoughts and keep the dialogue flowing on this topic!