Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians - Way of Life Literature

the unsaved. ey didn’t use worldly methods to attract mento a holy gospel. e CCM philosophy is spiritual confusion.When God grants men conviction of their sin andrepentance, they are ready to turn from the world and its vainpleasures. ey yearn for something different, somethingholy. When the Lord gave me repentance at age 23, frankly, Iwas ready to sing the traditional songs and hymns. I stilledloved rock music for a short time, but I knew that it wasintimately associated with the evil of my old lifestyle and Iyearned for something holy and set apart from this wickedworld. I did not find the old hymns boring or corny. In fact, Istill enjoy the very songs and hymns my godly grandmotherloved. ough I was a rock-loving hippie I didn’t need anytype of rock music to draw me to the gospel, and I don’t needrock music to help me worship God.Franklin defends his close relationship with the licentiousworld of secular rock by claiming to be a light in thedarkness. His philosophy of witnessing, though, is notscriptural. He holds the non-judgmental philosophy of theecumenical movement.“Sometimes I’m an ear. ey [secular musicians] know they’retalking to somebody who’s not going to judge them. ... Youknow, to reach the secular world, you don’t beat them over thehead with the Bible. You do it the way Jesus did it. You feedthem first, then you preach to them” (Kirk Franklin, CCMMagazine, December 1998, p. 38).is is a biblically ignorant statement. In His earthlyministry, Christ preached to people long before He ever fedthem. e first thing the Lord Jesus Christ did in Hisministry was cry out “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is athand” (Mat. 4:17). Christ’s “negative” preaching eventuallycaused the crowds to stop following Him (John 6:61-66).Christ preached righteousness and holiness (e.g., Matthew5-7). e unsaved world has always found such preaching tobe “judgmental.” e fact that it is God’s judgment and notman’s makes no difference to those who are rebellious.116