Hollywood Holiness

Sixpence None the Richer, dc Talk, Jars of Clay and Insyderz are Christian bands giving us Jesus punk, techno-dance, alternative rock and blue-eyed soul. We may not like the music or we may even suspect that some of these artists are using the name of Jesus to catch the wave of secular success. But we shouldn't let that obscure the fact that we are all called to be both artists and the art for an observing world.

MxPx, Sixpence None the Richer, dc Talk, Jars of Clay, World Wide Message Tribe, The Ws or the Newsboys. Christian rock bands.

This is not grandma's music. It's not John Wesley, Fanny Crosby or Bill Gaither. You won't hear anything resembling it in the elevator, frozen foods section of the grocery store or in many churches for that matter. These artists will give you Jesus punk, techno-dance, alternative rock, blue-eyed soul, retro-swing and more from edgy labels such as Tooth & Nail and 5 Minute Walk. Prepare your rigid, righteous self to be rattled with a rock riff that's hard, holy and hair-raising.

These artists are all part of the contemporary Christian music world, a growing chunk of a nearly 1 billion dollar-per-year industry. Although a generation ago it was easy to separate the Christian sheep from the secular goats, today the tunes of groups such as dc Talk and Insyderz all have a sound that would mix right into any Top 40 play list.

Last year, Sixpence None the Richer's...