After exiting the Christian music industry, these artists engage religion on their terms

(RNS) — When former Christian artist Michael Gungor first hosted a caller belief organization successful Los Angeles this year, believe began not pinch an organ blast aliases sermon bid video promo, but pinch blowing bubbles.

Appropriately dubbed “Play,” Gungor envisioned nan arena — which featured painting, dancing, firm singing and meditation, but nary belief creed — arsenic a ceremony that “redefines worship.”

“I want to beryllium successful a room and spot each other’s eyes and smell each different and perceive each different singing retired of key. This is thing we’ve ever done arsenic a species,” Gungor said. “I deliberation there’s thing important, really grounding and quality astir it.”

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Gungor’s thought of believe wasn’t ever truthful experimental. In packed churches and performance venues, thousands erstwhile sang on to nan set Gungor’s 2010 deed “Beautiful Things,” a opus that became a imperishable fixture connected nan setlists of younker group bands. But successful 2014, Gungor’s critiques of nan Christian euphony manufacture — arsenic good arsenic his nationalist musings connected Genesis arsenic a poem alternatively than historical truth — led to his removal from nan Christian euphony business. Now, aft a agelong process of wrestling pinch his inherited evangelical religion — documented connected his podcast “The Liturgists” — Gungor says he’s much willing successful embracing nan existent lived infinitesimal than being tethered to a group of belief beliefs, though he describes Christianity arsenic his “native tongue.”

For those for illustration him who person “deconstructed” — a celebrated word coming for nan process of questioning and sometimes letting spell of nan teachings of one’s religion contented — Gungor still sees a desire for ritual and for communal gathering. He recognizes nan powerfulness of nan corporate — and intends to constitute non-dogmatic euphony for corporate, if not religious, worship.

“We’ve gotten free of immoderate of nan shame-based worldly and immoderate of nan dogmas that were oppressing and hurting a batch of us, but now we’re benignant of conscionable wandering astir unsocial … What are we missing? Is location thing we tin find backmost here?”

In nan past 2 decades, respective Contemporary Christian Music powerhouses — Audrey Assad, DC Talk’s Kevin Max, Hawk Nelson’s Jon Steingard, among respective others — person publically exited nan CCM industry. For galore of these musicians, questioning nan industry’s theological parameters meant becoming unwelcome successful mainstream CCM spaces. Years later, aft interrogating their beliefs, a fistful of these onetime CCM artists are revisiting religion successful immoderate fashion, trying connected elements they’d antecedently discarded and penning euphony for listeners who mightiness beryllium much belief than religious. In galore ways, these artists’ break from organization Christianity and hunger for a broader shape of belonging exemplifies national belief trends.

One of nan earliest CCM artists to publically depart nan manufacture was Jennifer Knapp, who burst onto nan Christian euphony segment pinch her debut medium “Kansas” successful 1998. But while Knapp was drawn to Christianity’s teachings connected quality dignity and divine love, she soon realized that nan Christianity promoted successful nan CCM world drew difficult lines astir who belonged, and who didn’t. Her lyrics astir nan Christ’s humanity and questions astir nan necessity of substitutionary atonement — nan thought that Jesus died arsenic a substitute for humanity — began to tie criticism.

“I was already getting critiqued astatine nan clip and being fundamentally told you weren’t a Christian anymore,” said Knapp. “And past I was like, oh, well, I’m wondering what you guys are going to deliberation astir my intersexual orientation.”

In 2002, Knapp “pushed nan eject button” connected nan Christian euphony segment and her faith. When she returned successful 2010, it was arsenic an openly cheery musician nary longer publishing euphony nether nan Christian banner.

For longtime Bethel Music signaling creator William Matthews, it was successful portion nan rigid homogeneity of nan Christian Music manufacture that yet led him to locomotion away. Raised successful a Black Church of God context, he came to Christian euphony by measurement of spontaneous believe models promoted by Morningstar Ministries successful Charlotte, North Carolina, and nan International House of Prayer successful Kansas City, Missouri. Though skeptical astir nan beingness of hell, Matthews, who spent his evenings watching Bill O’Reilly connected Fox News, mostly felt astatine location successful nan prophetic area of nan Christian euphony world. In nan early 2010s, he led believe astatine nan conferences of charismatic leader Lance Wallnau, now known for his pro-Trump prophecies.

But by 2015, Williams recovered non-violent Christian theology a much compelling approach. He watched arsenic anti-immigrant rhetoric and guidance to nan Black Lives Matter activity reached a fever transportation successful evangelical circles and grew disappointment pinch what he saw arsenic nan Christian euphony industry’s “conservative bias.” After spending astir 15 years reasoning he’d been bridging cultures arsenic 1 of nan only Black group successful white-majority evangelical spaces, he was shattered to observe that galore of those he’d grown adjacent to seemed ambivalent toward racism.

“That led maine to really locomotion distant from Christian music,” said Matthews.

He attributes nan CCM industry’s evident blimpish slant to its target assemblage of “white, suburban, Midwest aliases Southern moms.” In catering to that demographic, Christian power executives and Christian bookstores are known to censor songs aliases albums that transverse blimpish theological aliases governmental boundaries.

“What nan CCM industry, aliases Christian music, is trading is security,” said musician Derek Webb, founding personnel of nan Christian stone set Caedmon’s Call. “The group who tally aliases look to beryllium gatekeeping nan CCM manufacture are not doing that arsenic a intends of holding immoderate benignant of civilized plumb line.” Webb believes nan pushback usually has much to do pinch a company’s bottommost statement than individual convictions.

Despite nan Christian euphony industry’s restrictions, exiting nan manufacture often intends leaving down grounds labels, nan Christian euphony show circuit and power play and requires promoting euphony to a marketplace that’s overmuch little defined. While immoderate boundary-pushing Christian artists for illustration Semler and Flamy Grant, 2 queer artists who’ve scored apical spots connected nan Itunes Christian charts, person recovered occurrence via societal media and streaming platforms, galore onetime Christian artists are branded “too Christian” for mainstream euphony spaces and “too secular” for explicitly belief ones.

“It’s this benignant of nary man’s land, algorithmically,” said Gungor. “I still person much listeners of ‘Beautiful Things,’ than thing other I make.”

Creating euphony for a much nebulous belief assemblage mightiness not guarantee commercialized success, but if it intends creating euphony that feels authentic, for galore erstwhile Christian artists, it’s worthy nan tradeoff.

Known for his provocative attack to songwriting, Webb says his lyrics origin him to some “shed” astir a 4th aliases 3rd of his assemblage each 18 months and summation caller listeners. After 30 years successful nan euphony industry, he’s comfortable pinch nan ebb and flow. In 2017, 3 years aft his divorce from chap Christian creator Sandra McCracken, Webb released “Fingers Crossed,” an medium documenting his departure from Christianity. But though he still considers himself an agnostic, his latest album, “The Jesus Hypothesis,” grapples much explicitly pinch Christian themes.

“I wanted to spell backmost into nan rubble of wherever each this was pulled down and burned down, and wherever I was successful present pinch an ax before, I want to travel backmost successful pinch a scalpel,” he said of nan album.

Webb’s return to nan debris of his Christian religion coincided pinch a return to Caedmon’s Call, which precocious produced a re-record of its self-titled debut medium successful grant of its 25th anniversary. The 2022 merchandise is emblematic of nan ways respective erstwhile Christian artists person been coming backmost to reclaim elements of their belief heritage.

More than a decade since her return to nan euphony world, successful May, Knapp offered a re-release of her first album, “Kansas 25.” She graduated from Vanderbilt Divinity School successful 2018, and now views Christianity arsenic a root of contented whose teachings connected liberation person fueled her ain LGBTQ+ advocacy. The outpouring of support for “Kansas 25,” Knapp said, caused her to spot her early euphony successful a caller light.

“If ever I had immoderate bitterness astir my domiciled wrong of evangelical Christianity, aliases interest that possibly I tied group down, exposed them to excessively overmuch belief trauma because of nan blimpish evangelical abstraction that I came from, this was a existent joyousness to beryllium capable to witness, that our religion tin thatch america something, and it tin grow beyond immoderate of nan harms sometimes that our smaller belief spaces connection to us,” said Knapp.

Gungor’s adjacent task has emerged from his desire to spot communal songs that waste and acquisition belief lyrics for much cosmopolitan themes, for illustration emotion and unity. This fall, he gathered pinch complete 20 different songwriters successful Colorado for a songwriting retreat to statesman penning and signaling euphony for nan project, called The Mystic Hymnal.

After a agelong hiatus from Christian music, William Matthews, too, is releasing new, honorable songs astir spirituality. Earlier this year, he was invited by nan evangelical authors of a caller anti-culture warfare statement to constitute and nutrient a corresponding medium intended to telephone nan religion retired of governmental idolatry. Titled “Return to Love,” nan September medium was recorded by artists from a scope of theological and governmental perspectives and is designed for those who are “full of religion aliases struggling to believe.”

“I’m ever successful nan mediate of wrestling. Does religion moreover matter to my life?” said Matthews, who leads believe astatine a progressive LGBTQ-affirming religion successful Los Angeles wherever erstwhile evangelicals regularly attend. “I will say, successful my life, I’ve someway ever managed to travel back. Maybe it’s cyclical. You’re ever returning location aliases to a consciousness of location aliases to a amended look of home.”