Saturday, September 27, 1997

Christian rock music can reel in the young

By Tom Schaefer

Knight-Ridder Newspapers

They bounced up and down to ear-splitting music.

They banged against one another in a mass of bodies near the stage.

They body-surfed across a wave of upstretched arms.

I knew Christian rock music was big, but I didn't think it was this big. Or this energetic.

Almost 20,000 teen-agers assembled at the fairgrounds in Sioux Falls, S.D., last Saturday (9/20) to listen to the music of the Newsboys, an alternative Christian band from Australia.

Oh, yes. And to hear Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham, preach a gospel message.

It was the second day of a three-day crusade organized by 200 churches in the Sioux Falls area. Already this year, Graham's crusade has blitzed Mississippi and California, South Dakota and two cities in South Africa. It's due to arrive in Wichita on Oct. 26.

Graham's goal is to link the age-old gospel message with a contemporary sound and reap a new generation of Christian followers. That's why the Newsboys, as well as such performers as Paul Overstreet and Michael W. Smith, play a crucial role in a Graham crusade. Their music is the bait. Graham casts the line. And, if Sioux Falls was any indication, thousands are reeled in.

Last Saturday, it was the music that grabbed my attention while I was getting out of my car ... a half-mile from the crusade site.

When I arrived at the grandstand area, I was amazed at the sea of young people jumping up and down, waving their arms, rockin' to the pulsating sound of six animated musicians from Australia.

Were these baited teens typical of those who attend, say, a concert by Beck or Metallica? No way. The majority at this concert, I daresay, were churchgoers or had friends who were. After all, churches sponsored the crusade. Besides, it was hard to find anyone with pierced or tattooed body parts, symbols of a new generation of rock-loving teens.

Still, these young people were rockin', and even some baby boomer parents were moving to the music. (Wasn't it the boomers' parents, and pastors of those parents, who, 30 years ago, branded all rock 'n' roll as "Satan's music"?)

The times are a-changin'.

In the past 15 years, Christian rock has generated a following among teens that parents are happy to endorse, partly because of their desire to find a substitute for rock music that they find objectionable. And leading the pack in putting this born-again version of rock into Christian service is Franklin Graham. In this, as in much of his crusade style, he adheres to principles taught by his father.

When Billy Graham was a young evangelist, he was criticized for having gospel quartets at his crusades. They weren't singing traditional hymns, railed the righteous. But Graham believed that they would bring in those who liked the music. They were the bait he needed to fish for souls.

Almost 50 years after he began his crusades, Graham still tries new techniques to lure an audience.

Three years ago, a rally in Cleveland he helped organize featured Christian rock groups for one of the nights. To his amazement, more than 62,000 young people showed up. Later, he conceded that he had been apprehensive about following what he called the "electric energy" unleashed at the concert. How would his spoken word ever reach such an excited crowd?

He got his answer when he started preaching and the vocal throng was suddenly silent. That night, hundreds came forward to commit their lives to Christ hook, line and sinker.

I don't know how many young people were spiritually changed by attending the Newsboys concert in Sioux Falls, or how many will respond to the music of Smith, the contemporary Christian singer, and other musicians when they come to Wichita.

The fact is, rock ' n' roll, no matter how it's dressed up in Christian clothing, will never be mistaken for a John Wesley hymn. And those who dislike the music will not be baited by it.

But one thing is certain: There will be a crowd when the music is played, and those committed to evangelism will be ready to cast their lines, with fervent prayers, into a sea of souls.

(Tom Schaefer writes about religion and ethics for the Wichita (Kan.) Eagle. Write to him at the Wichita Eagle, P.O. Box 820, Wichita, KS 67201, or send e-mail to tschaefer(at)wichitaeagle.com )