Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians - Way of Life Literature

“For a while there we all did, we were all drinking. However, Ididn’t know that it was that bad. … He [Tim Gaines] never didin public and we never did till the Against the Law tour. I don’tknow if you know a whole lot about that, but … that was kindof the rebellious tour, a rebellious record and we kind of venteda lot out of our systems on that record for the bad and we alldid some drinking and there are some things that happenedthat were the exact opposite of what we always stoodfor” (Interview with Michael Sweet, March 1, 1998,www.michaelsweet.com/interview.html).Oz Fox added:“To be honest, Stryper wasn’t what we should have beenspiritually speaking ... there was sin happening in the band. ...And the reason why it was happening is because we didn’tknow the Lord like we should have” (HM, Mar/Apr 97, # 64, p.49).In another interview Michael Sweet elaborated:“We were very sincere and we were serious about our faith andour music and our message but during Against the Law wewere going onstage and telling people about God and comingoffstage and drinking. Going on the bus and having a six packof beer and a twelve pack of beer and going to the bar at theclub we were playing and sitting with people and drinking.at’s just not right. It just doesn’t mix with telling people notto drink” (Interview with Michael Sweet, May 15, 1998,www.getsigned.com/resweet1.html).Like most Christian rock groups, Stryper doesn’t talk aboutdoctrine, but their background is Pentecostal. In a 2006interview Michael Sweet said, “Robert and myself came toknow the Lord through Jimmy Swaggart” (“Interview withStryper’s Michael Sweet, Unrated Magazine, Aug. 2006).Stryper was groundbreaking in the sense that it was thefirst “Christian” metal-glam rock band. ey were breakingdown what few barriers still existed, encouraging Christianyoung people to love any and every type of rock, and theywere very effective.336