Directory of Contemporary Worship Musicians - Way of Life Literature

“e deafening screams of Stryper’s congregation, the blindingbanks of strobing floodlights and the stomach-flapping volumecreated a scene of complete chaos. Michael looked up at hisdrum-pounding brother and yelled, ‘Robert! Robert! Come ondown!’ Bob descended from his platform and stood on the lipof the stage. As Mike handed him an armful of books, heshouted, ‘Here’s something we always throw out to the crowd.’Bob pitched Bibles like baseballs, but no one bothered tomention it was the holy Word of God or that it had the powerto change lives forever. ...“Aer Robert returned to his drummer’s perch, Michaelscreamed into the microphone, ‘YEAH! He’s the one and onlyway!’ en the band launched into ‘e Way’ and ‘Calling onYou.’ Long, drawn out bass, drum and guitar solos followed,just like at any other rock concert. Oz Fox fell to his knees,mouth open, head bobbing and hair flying as he cranked out asizzling and scorching mega-decibel lead that quicklydegenerated into white noise. It sounded like a sawmill thathad just been hit by a Cruise missile. All this was your basicbrand of rock star ego-tripping. I asked myself: ‘How does thisjunk glorify Jesus Christ?’“When the band lit into ‘You Won’t Be Lonely,’ girls screameduntil their voices gave out, spurred on by Michael’s hipbouncing wiggle. ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’ finally closedthe concert. As the boys from Stryper walked into the wings,Clowes Hall erupted into a deafening bellow — ‘STRY-PER!STRY-PER! STRY-PER! STRY-PER!’ e Lord Jesus was thelast thing on anyone’s mind.“Band member Oz Fox says: ‘We don’t like to tell people we’re aChristian band, because the metalheads would be turned off.I’m not saying Christian bands are bad, but a lot of times it’snot what the kids want to hear. e kids’ll say, “I don’t want togo see THAT, I don’t want to have somebody preaching atme...” So we tell people we are “God rock”’ (Youth!, January1987, p. 8).“Aer five minutes of roaring pandemonium, Stryper returned.A thunderous ovation shook the roof. A sweat-soaked MichaelSweet declared, ‘We don’t sing about sex and booze, and we346