Questions About CCM Music

An interview with David J. Stewart | May 2007

I was recently interviewed and asked some questions about CCM. Here are my replies...

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for your e-mail. Here are the answers to your questions...

1. How long have you been running the site? How did you come to start the site?

ANSWER: I began this website in April of 2005. It is the Lord's website, and my purpose is to get the truth out to people. The circumstances behind the beginning of the website would require a book, as I would need to tell my life's story. However, in a statement, the Lord used a series of dramatic events in my own life to bring me to the place where I saw the need for a website.

2. Is your site well-received among music fans?

ANSWER: No. Sadly, most youths today are worldly. I say this kindly, but honestly. The Word of God plainly states in James 4:4 that we are not be be friends with the world...

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

Although CCM fans claim they are not following the world, they certainly are. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

CCM (i.e., Contemporary Christian Music) artists look, sound, dance, and perform just like unsaved artists. Several unsaved artists, including Michael Jackson, have openly admitted that their fans are influenced by the music itself, regardless of the words. There is a demonic spirit invoked by all rock music.

3. Often times, those who speak out against things unholy are targets of defamation. Have you had any experience with defamation or ridicule because of your site?

ANSWER: I have been strongly criticized by many CCM fans, accusing me of not having the love of God. There are a few "nerve roots" that I have hit upon through my website, and CCM music is certainly one of them. I was recently threatened with a lawsuit by a CCM band member, but I am protected by the 1st Amendment. The truth needs to be preached. I have no ill-intent towards anyone, but CCM is a bridge between today's Christian youth and the unsaved world. It's a bridge we need to burn.

4. How do you discover the information you write about on your site? If you're against anti-Christian music, why do you spend time researching it?

ANSWER: I find information in books, articles, online, published interviews, etc. I ask the Holy Spirit to show me the truth, and then I compare any particular artist to the teachings of the Bible. Someone needs to expose the evils of CCM, because the rockers themselves are misleading the the fans. There is nothing "holy" about today's Christian Rock. And by the way, there's no such thing as "Christian" rock. It's all heathen. Rock music is more addictive than crack cocaine, and it's destroying America. CCM has become a billion dollar industry. God has commanded all believers to refute any works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). We are to stand up against the evildoers (psalm 94:16). Just as John the Baptist took a stand against Herod's adultery (Mark 6:18), so must we as Christians take a stand against open sin in public. Jesus became angry over sin (John 2:15), and hated iniquity (Hebrews 1:9). So should we. One fact cannot be denied--CCM didn't come from old-fashioned, God-fearing, Bible-believing, churches--it came from the sinful world. Before there was ever a CCM recording, there was worldly rock music.

5. Why do you think anti-Christian music is so popular today? Why do you think people continue to readily accept anti-Christian music?

ANSWER: It is because of man's sin-nature. The sinful world is highly appealing to the carnal flesh. Most professed "Christians" today are not Christian at all, i.e., they have never been born-again in Christ Jesus--they have churchianity without Christianity. CCM allows professed Christian young people to indulge in demonic music, while claiming it is of God. The Israelites were guilty of the exact same type of deceptive thinking in Jeremiah 7:9,10...

"Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

6. How can dutiful Christians spread our message of the evil presence in music most effectively?

ANSWER: Although most youths won't listen, some DO. We have a responsibility as Christian believers to contend for the faith, take a stand for righteousness, and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world. Some believers have criticized me, saying that I'll never reach people for Christ with my confrontational methods. On the contrary, I receive messages nearly every day from people, thanking me that they have found the Lord through my ministry, or thanking me for helping them grow in the Lord. The Bible is the most offensive Book ever written to the sinful world. In fact, many people refuse to get saved because of the Bible Itself (John 3:20). So why do many believers today adopt the foolish idea that we must compromise and accept the wicked if we are to win them to Christ? Nothing could be further from the truth. If God wanted us to dip-our-sails, and be tolerant of wickedness to win the lost, then He would have written the Bible very differently. The truth is that the Bible hits hard against sin, which is why so many unbelievers are corrupting It today. Christian Rock makes as much sense as Christian Adultery. We need to preach against the evils of worldly music--in our churches, online, and anywhere else it shows it's ugly face.

7. Many teenagers falsely idolize celebrities instead of relying on holy testaments. Why do you think this is and how can good Christians remedy this?

ANSWER:

The Bible condemns seeking the praises of men (John 12:43). The Scriptures tell us to follow Christ, and those who are following Christ (Philippians 3:17). The reasons why many teens today are following the world is because they are WORLDLY. It is tragic that the world's youth are following sinners instead of a Holy God. Mankind is prone to rebellion (Ephesians 2:2). It is our sin-nature that causes us to praise the wicked, and idolize those who are of the Devil. The remedy is preaching! As my faithful pastor, Dr. Jack Hyles, used to say...

"Old-fashioned, Spirit-filled, Christ-honoring, sin-hating, soul-winning, Bible preaching! It is the hope of the church! It is the hope of the nation! It is the hope of the world!"

8. Please elaborate on your background: faith, education, occupation, etc.

ANSWER: I grew up in Chicago. My parents served the Lord working with skid-row missions. Billy Sunday was saved at the Pacific Garden Mission, where I was blessed to have spent much of my youth. That's where most of my old-time religious influence comes from. I attended the great Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993), and was blessed to sit under the life-changing preaching of Pastor Jack Hyles, my mentor. This was at the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. After graduating, I worked with my father up until 2001, who pastored a mission on Chicago's notoriously crime-infested West Side. After the death of both my parents, the Lord impressed upon my heart to start a website. I started on my own, with no teacher, and didn't know what I was doing. I learned through trial and error. After a couple years, I realized that I had the potential to reach far more people for Christ over the internet than I ever could pastoring a church. By the grace of God, I am presently receiving over 8,000 visitors a day. I never accept any money, as this is a labor of love for my Savior.

I also began a new website in may of 2006 at... www.soulwinning.info

Kindest regards,

David J. Stewart