Whatever happened to call-to-repentance songs?

The other day my wife and I were searching for some music to listen to as we worked on a remodel project. I decided to go old school.

“Alexa,” I barked. “Play songs by Keith Green.”

Green was a popular singer/songwriter from the early days of Jesus Music. He composed and sang worship standards such as “Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful” and “There is a Redeemer.” (Keith Green’s voice was silenced in 1982, when he and two of his children perished in an aviation accident)

But Green was best known for a type of Christian music that has virtually disappeared: the Call to Repentance (C2R) song.

C2R songs were common in early Jesus Music

C2R songs are designed to convict the listener of his own sin. Here is an example of C2R lyrics, from Keith Green’s Asleep in the Light (1978).

“Oh, bless me, Lord!
Bless me, Lord!”
You know, it’s all I ever hear!
No one aches
No one hurts
No one even sheds one tear
But, He cries
He weeps
He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back
And keep soaking it in

Oh, can’t you see such sin?!
‘Cause He brings people to your door
And you turn them away
As you smile and say:
“God bless you!
Be at peace!”
And all Heaven just weeps
’cause Jesus came to your door
You left Him out on the streets

When is the last time you heard a song like this in church? On a Christian radio station?

Keith Green wasn’t the only Christian singer of the 1970s whose songs called believers to repentance. Artists such as Larry Norman (partying) Randy Stonehill (smoking) Resurrection Band (divorce) and Russ Taff (naked ambition) stocked their albums with songs that called out specific sins.

The audience wanted comfort – not correction

In the 1990s Christian musicians began to realize the audience for C2R songs was very thin. Churchgoers wanted songs that:

— were positive and encouraging

— made them feel comforted (not corrected) by Jesus

— could be sung in church

Michael W. Smith’s career arc chronicles the move away from C2R to worship songs. He rocketed to fame in the 1980s, stocking his albums with C2R songs that dealt with touchy topics like hypocrisy, teen sex and suicide. But in the 1990s Smitty reinvented himself as a praise and worship singer. This kept his career alive, while other Christian musicians that failed to make this transition fell into obscurity.

Why C2R songs sound so out of place today

Here are three reasons C2R songs sound so out of place today:

1. We are the children of the self-esteem generation. Songs that point out our shortcomings don’t make us feel good about ourselves. Similarly, Christian radio promises us songs that are positive and encouraging. Calls to repentance are downers.
2. Most of today’s praise songs are sung from the perspective of the disciple. We are the speaker, telling God how we feel about him. C2R songs are sung from the perspective of God (or a prophet) telling us how the Lord feels about us.
3. Modern praise songs tend to deal with human depravity in general terms: God I need you; I’m lost without you; I’m so broken; I’ve failed you, etc. They don’t deal with specific sins. This is by design, so the songs can appeal to the widest possible audience.

Is it time for the return of C2R songs?

Call-to-repentance songs are hard to listen to. It’s easy to praise God, telling him how wonderful he is. It’s difficult to listen to God, and to hear how depraved we are.

Millions of men have stopped singing in church. One reason: the lryics and sound of contemporary worship music tends toward the feminine. But C2R songs have a more masculine feel. They focus on our actions, not our emotions. They demand change. And they challenge rather than comfort.

What do you think? Would you welcome the return of C2R songs? Is there still a place for convicting lyrics in Christian music? Would the return of C2R songs be a boon to men?

Click here to join the conversation at the Church for Men Facebook page.