Why I Left The Contemporary Christian Music Movement by Dan Lucarini (2002, Paperback)

When reading this book, keep in mind that what Dan Lucarini shares is his personal experience concerning CCM. To my mind, Lucarini does not necessarily distinguish between contemporary Christian music which could be appropriate or effective for leading congregational worship, and ccm which is not appropriate for that, but which is perhaps more appropriate for me to listen to at home or in my car.

Where I agree with Dan is that CCM is not only about music (tempo, tune, etc), but esp. when it comes to leading congregational worship, it also includes elements of 1) a message (i.e., is it worshipful!) 2) dress, esp. we ladies: are we in modest dress or are we being stupid about our appearance, leading worship wearing low-cut tops and short, tight skirts, etc. (don't say "men shouldn't be looking at me, they should be concentrating on worship;" get honest and be outrageously courteous on this; 3) method of presentation (i.e., volume! we need to hear ourselves praise our God, and cannot do that above "performance-type" worship leading. On these things I agree with Dan, we do need to give these elements close, honest scrutiny and biblical evaluation.

However, while this is needed, I do not believe that all CCM is to be discarded, as I understood Dan to say. The first CCM writer/recording artist that comes to my mind is Michael Card. While his music is not written for corporate worship, M. Card is an extremely gifted musician whose goal it is to glorify God in both his music and his life. I can think of nothing offensive in his music whatsoever. While not all CCM is of Card's calibre, there are other CCM composers/artists whose work is noteworthy and whose music I feel is quite suitable/appropriate for corporate worship.

I do understand Dan's personal position, because of his former association with rock bands/rock music (and the life style that usually accompanies it). But I am not convinced, from this book, that nearly all CCM should be thrown out the window. I believe there is a workable middle ground to be found in this area.

I feel that Dan did a great job in writing this book and has been blessed with a revelation on many of the growing worldly trends of music ministry. I feel that this book is sincerely written with intention to benefit and strengthen believers, maintain church unity and open ones eyes to the dangers of dead faith. It was easy to read and certainly a blessing for me.

This is an excellent book. This book should be mandatory reading for Christian pastors, youth pastors, and music pastors/leaders. Before or after reading the book, you may still take a position that is in disagreement with the author. However, if you are in one of these church leadership positions, you should know why there is much opposition to CCM in the church. If you have love for the people, you will certainly read this book to gain an understanding of how CCM affects different people.