I don’t remember the nineties very well. Probably because I had yet to figure out things like basic speech or how to walk as the decade was closing. The funny thing is that to this day I have an affinity for Christian music in the nineties. If you ask me, the 90’s CCM had some of the best music.
I wouldn’t have any concept of 90’s CCM without my Dad. He’s always showing me the music that was playing on the radio, that he used to listen to when he was my age. It’s crazy to think about, music was very different back then. My Dad would hear music on the radio, and would have to learn to recognize it. Whereas I just listen to stuff from Spotify, my Dad would actually have to recognize the singer/band, and then if you really liked their single, later the album.
The world of nineties CCM was very different than what we have today. Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant were the ultimate crossover artists. Petra was re-defining what Christian music was. DC Talk was creating music that was in a genre all it’s own. Steven Curtis Chapman was writing music that went far beyond gospel music and five line praise choruses. In other words; nineties CCM was just awesome. This was before companies figured out that there was a serious market to exploit. Pretty much every successful band/singer/group owes their success to the nineties.
‘The Great Adventure’ by Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my absolute favorites. One of my favorite scenes from the movie ‘I Can Only Imagine’ was seeing a young Bart Millard rock out to this tune when he thought no one was around. (By the way, Chapman was on fire for basically the entire decade)
‘I Believe’ by Wes King is a song I’ve pretty much grown up with. Easily one of the best expressions of Christian faith I know of. By the way, to the uneducated, Wes King laid the foundation for all the new guys today. Show some respect.
‘Go West Young Man’ from Michael W. Smith epitomizes all of nineties Christian music. Soaring vocals, passionate energy and expressing a desire for more than ‘Churchianity’.
‘Liquid’ from Jars of Clay is a wild song. It has one of the best openings I’ve ever heard. Some fantastic acoustic work and grungy vocals. This was the nineties after all.
‘Mercy Came Running’ from Phillips, Craig and Dean was another song my Dad I listened to A LOT. I can probably still recall every single lyric. It put a big smile on my face when I saw Nick Jonas singing this on ‘The Voice’.
‘Jesus Freak’ by DC Talk redefined Christian music. Raw, explosive, and with a serious message behind the music. This is still a rallying cry for all of us to stand firm in our faith, even if we look like freaks.
‘Beyond Belief’ from Petra was just great. My Dad used to have a bunch of WOW albums from this glorious decade. I heard ‘Song of Moses’, ‘Creed’, and ‘Beyond Belief’ on an endless loop. To this day Petra is still one of my favorite bands.
You know what I love most about nineties CCM? That was when Christian music came into its own. People started writing passionate songs about their faith in God, and it was authentic. This was the era of televangelists and megachurches. Let’s not kid ourselves, this led to some terrible things as well. There was Jim Bakker and the downfall of PTL, Jim Bakker, and several other terrible scandals. Yet here we are. Still here despite every attempt to utterly destroy and discredit faith. Paul puts it way better than I can;
“We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10)
