Christian Rock

The Personal Testimony of a Former Rock Musician

by Robert G. Truelove

Rock music is life for many young people. It was for me until August of 1993.

As the lead guitarist in an Atlanta area band, I looked like the average rock musician -- long hair reaching almost to my waist and grungy clothing. Sadly, I also lived the lifestyle many associate with the typical rock musician, including heavy drinking, drugs, smoking, and gross immorality.

Then in August of 1993 a radical event transformed my life. The Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul.

Immediately my life changed. I no longer found joy and excitement in an immoral lifestyle. I still loved rock music but I refused to listen to the secular rock. Instead, I turned to Christian rock.

When the Lord saved me, He gave me a great desire to serve Him. Within myself I reasoned that I could best do this by using my talent and experience as a rock musician to start a Christian rock band.

For a year the Lord allowed me to pursue this course. Finally, in complete resignation to the Word of God, I abandoned my plan.

During that year, the Lord through His Word taught me two things:

1. God desires that Christians live lifestyles separated from the world. That means that Christians should not act like, look like, or talk like the non-Christians in this world.

2. The Gospel of God's grace is sufficient to win the lost to Christ.

My desire to see others come to Christ was genuine. That's why I wanted to begin a Christian rock band. My reasoning, however, was faulty. I thought that if I sounded like the world and looked like the world, the world would listen to me and turn to Christ.

In reality I demonstrated a lack of faith in the God-ordained methods of preaching and teaching the simple truths of the Gospel to reach sinners.

Today, I desire that the world would see Jesus Christ in me. How could that be if I continued to sound like and look like the world? No one would have any real, spiritual confidence in me.

Numbers of people have made professions of faith at Christian Rock concerts. Where are those people a year later? two years later? five years later? The failure of the Christian rock experiment is evidenced by an almost total lack of continuing fruit. Lives are not radically changed for the glory of God.

The Gospel of Christ alone is sufficient to meet the needs of the lost. Sinners cannot be entertained into Heaven!

One of the biggest arguments of Christian rock musicians is that, "The crowds will not come if we don't play rock music." On this point they are correct. Yet, on this point they condemn their own methods.

How many people who sit regularly for two to three hours in a rock concert would sit as enthusiastically through an hour-long Bible sermon?

Nevertheless, to admit that we must add "something" to the Gospel of Jesus Christ before people will receive it, is to deny the very power of that Gospel to convert sinners.

Nowhere in the Scriptures do you find a true minister of Christ with such a faulty view of the Gospel. Never do they use entertainment as a tool of evangelism.

The Apostle Paul was an intelligent and talented man, but his methods in reaching the lost were very simple. He said, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Again he said, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18).

To this truth I have resigned myself -- "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16).

Amen!