Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music.

Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music. By Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, c. 1999. Pp. viii, 299. $29.95, ISBN 0-8131-2105-1.)

Contemporary Christian music (CCM) is a business phenomenon that generates a billion dollars in annual revenues. Integrated since the 1980s into a powerful religious book and music industry, cynics dismiss its religious motivation as long since co-opted by commercial demands. This thoughtful study by Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck, whom the dust jacket identifies as one-time CCM disk jockeys, suggests that the story is much more complex. Drawing from the analytical tools of sociology and from an interpretive framework based on art criticism, the authors define CCM as "a 'splintered' art world characterized by distinct and occasionally competing rationales" (p. 13).

Howard and Streck trace the origins of CCM to the late 1960s transformation of popular music that followed the emergence of "Rock and Roll" as a defining element of youth culture. CCM was marketed as and became an acceptable alternative to rock for evangelical Christian youth. The authors base their analysis on the discography of the music, and on popular magazines containing articles describing and critiquing new CCM releases as well as interviews with leading artists. The authors argue that CCM artists write and perform three different types of music, which they label "Separational CCM," "Integrational CCM," and "Transformational CCM." The artists and periodicals of each type are frequently in conflict with the others and have constructed contradictory defenses of their art. Howard and Streck interpret these defenses using the five-part theological typology developed by Richard Neibuhr to explore the Christ-Culture dilemma that Christians faced in reconciling their faith and their worldly lives. This typology includes: Christ against culture, Christ above culture, Christ and culture in paradox, Christ as transformer of culture, and Christ of culture (pp. 42-45).

"Separational" CCM justifies itself, in this analysis, as a ministry: it positions itself as Christ against Culture through evangelism, praise, and exhortation to youth. "Integrational" CCM, by contrast, sees itself as "sanctified entertainment" (pp. 82, 97, 99-100). It developed rationales that the authors identify with the synthesis of Christ of culture. Through successful "crossover" singers like Amy Grant, who reaches broad popular music audiences, "Integrational" CCM presents a wholesome alternative within popular music, positions its artists as mainstream performers who witness to Christ in their lifestyle choices, and defends its lyrics as a Christian commentary on everyday life.

"Transformational" CCM has been more problematic for CCM fans and critics alike. From the mid-1970s a few artists like Mark Heard conceptualized their work as a serious art form with an explicit aesthetic component that is enhanced by a social critique seeking to transform church and society. The authors suggest that these artists exemplify the dualism of "Christ and culture in paradox," as well as the more radical position of "Christ as transformer of Culture." As a result, "Transformational" artists face increasing difficulties in the commercialized world of Christian music. "It is difficult to offer an honest, truthful critique," the authors write, "humorous or otherwise, to an audience that is frequently uninterested in critical thinking" (p. 144).

The authors admit that artists move from one to another of their three typologies, and they conclude that, in attempting to define itself in the midst of its internal conflicts, CCM has become increasingly introspective. That introspection reflects the increasing self-isolation of much of contemporary evangelicalism, which sees Christian artists recording in Christian studios for distribution through Christian stations, and Christian merchandisers marketing in Christian stores and advertising in Christian media. As a result, say the authors, "CCM no longer accessorizes contemporary Christianity, it essentializes it" (p. 219).

In the late twentieth century, conservative evangelical Christians participated actively and with partial success in the politics of a secular world, which they sought to transform into their own image. The thoughtful analyses and conclusions in Apostles of Rock are thus invaluable to historians and other scholars who attempt to understand the dynamics and results of that political upheaval, particularly in the modern South.

CONSTANCE B. SCHULZ University of South Carolina