The Basics
I looked for histories of Christian rock on the internet, but was rather disappointed at my findings, so I looked elsewhere. What I eventually found, were several books which, hopefully, should tell me what I want to know. This article is the first of several book-based articles on Christian rock.
So, I've read a book on Christian rock, and now I'm an expert! This book is Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music, by Jay R. Howard and John M. Streck (University Press of Kentucky, 1999; ISBN: 0-8131-2105-1; about 300 pages, depending on how you count 'em). I better give my disclaimer right now. I was totally joking when I claimed now to be an expert!
It's quite easy to say Christian rock is just rock music that's Christian. The book pointed out that the answer isn't quite that simple. The authors point out three kinds of contemporary Christian music (CCM): separational, integrational and transformational.
The Separational school (Christians must separate from the world) suggests that Christians should avoid worldly things, and therefore, Christian music should avoid all worldly things. All Christian music should be about the Gospel, or be praise and worship toward God. That seems pretty straight forward, until you consider the other two forms of CCM.
The Integrational School (Christians can, at times, blend in with the world) doesn't draw such tight boundaries. Christian artists don't have to always present obviously biblical music, so long as their music doesn't contradict the Bible. Non-Christian kids need "good" music they can identify with. That way, they might be more easily evangelized later. This school includes artists who've made names in both Christian and mainstream music. To get God's word out there, one has to consider the audience. Is it God, or is it Man? The next school doesn't seek to please an audience.
The Transitional/Transformational school (Christians are in a state of transition from worldly to Heavenly) of CCM says Christians are Christians, but live inseparably in a worldly world. We're all human, and suffer human temptation, blacksliding, doubt and more. Transitionalists consider themselves true artists, when compared to the other schools. They sing what's on their minds. If God gave us a gift, we shouldn't be shy about it. This means that songs about the joys of sex within marriage aren't out of bounds, nor are songs about succumbing to temptation. We're human, and so is our experience with life.
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