Three Albums for Progressive Christians (Who Struggle With CCM) — Liberal Christian Mom

If you dipped into the Christian youth culture of the 90s and early 2000s, you couldn’t escape Christian contemporary music (CCM), or the implication that a Christian teen shouldn’t really need any other jams. Who needed secular hits when we had gems like The Newsboys’ “Breakfast in Hell,” in which the listener is reminded that, on top of all its other shortcomings, hell does not serve a complimentary breakfast?

Even as a teenager with a CD case filled with DC Talk, ZoeGirl, and Audio Adrenaline (mixed in with Alanis and the Goo Goo Dolls), I skipped that “Breakfast” track. Maybe you, like me, went to Christian concerts and raised your hands, not so much “feeling the Spirit” as wanting to be a part of the experience, included in the group.

I still dip into mainstream Christian music now and then, particularly in times of stress. I always know that it won’t fill me up for long, whether because of a theological bent I can’t fully support or a type of positivity that I can’t sustain. Monday evening can feel very far from Sunday morning, and Sunday’s music can’t change that. When I feel discouraged about the state of the world, lyrics that engage with specific realities and aches while acknowledging God’s presence — even if presence is all that can be assured — are healing in a way that no praise song could be.

If you feel the same, fellow liberal Christian mom, try listening to one of these three spiritual and substantive albums.

Through the Deep, Dark Valley — The Oh Hellos

The Oh Hellos aren’t a “Christian” band, but at least two of their albums (including this one) are deeply indebted to C.S. Lewis and/or stories from scripture. This sibling folk duo has been around for a decade, and while I’ve listened to more of their work, Through the Deep, Dark Valley is what sticks in my Recently Played list. It’s a concept album about the creation story in Genesis, and it includes a wink to Narnia fans with the track “The Lament of Eustace Scrubb.” You’ll probably enjoy their style if you wish that Of Monsters and Men and Mumford and Sons were still on Top 40 radio.

Why It’s For LCMs (liberal Christian moms):

True, the garden of Eden isn’t a favorite tale of progressives, having been used to justify the oppression of women and all manner of problematic practices in the name of “original sin.” As a folk band rather than an officially “Christian” outfit, the Oh Hellos are under no pressure to paint a specific theological picture of this story. What emerges instead is a song cycle that feels like a watercolor painting of the emotional beats of Genesis 2–3. Adam sings of the joy of first seeing his wife, Eve declares she was born “a second child / With a spirit running wild, running free,” and the inevitable sorrow at separation from God is tempered with the knowledge of redemption. In a way, this album recovers the story of Eden from its difficult history, transforming it from a cudgel into a tapestry.

Favorite Track:

“Second Child, Restless Child”

Stand-Out Lyrics:

“It’s been a long road, losing all I’ve owned

You don’t know what you’ve got until you’re gone

It’s a nasty habit, spending all you have, but

If you’re doing all the leaving, then it’s never your love lost

If you leave before the start, then there was never love at all

Heaven knows I’m prone to leave the only God I should have loved Yet you’re far too beautiful to leave me.”

• From “In Memoriam”

Peopled With Dreams — John Mark McMillan

John Mark McMillan can be found in Spotify’s Christian genre category, but typically only under its “alternative Christian” playlists. McMillan’s music definitely has an indie feel, his resonant baritone mixing alternately with backing choirs, synths, and unadorned piano in ways that cause his work to defy genre classification. Over two decades of songwriting, McMillan has been transparent about his struggles with faith as few Christian musicians feel they can be. His previous album, Mercury and Lightining, is worth a listen too if you want something more on the angsty side.

Why It’s For LCMs:

There’s a reason that you’ll rarely hear McMillan’s music on Christian radio stations, and why his work is labeled “alternative” — it eschews easy answers and tries to get at the complexity of sustaining one’s faith through life’s uncertainties. McMillan’s lyrics build imagery that doesn’t conform to the typical, often trite metaphors of praise music, as when he sings “Christ Jesus, would you dream us up again when we’re gone?” I don’t know what that means, exactly…but I like it. Finally, he’s a parent, as you can see in the lyrics below.

Favorite Track: “Pilgrim”

Stand-Out Lyrics:

“Come down from your mountain, your high-rise apartment

And tell me of the God you know who bleeds

And what to tell my daughter when she asks so many questions

And I fail to fill her heaviness with peace

When I’ve got no answers for hurt knees or cancers But a Savior who suffers them with me Singing goodbye, Olympus, the heart of my Maker Is spread out on the road, the rocks, and the weeds.”

• From “The Road, The Rocks, and the Weeds”

Keeper of Days — Jon Guerra

I discovered this artist through the podcast The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, a fascinating documentary that shows how easily megachurches (and those who run them) can become toxic. Guerra describes his music as “devotional music — less Sunday morning worship music and more Monday morning prayer music.” It’s lovely music for writing or driving, and classical musicians (especially classical guitarists) will find a lot to love on this record.

Why It’s For LCMs:

These songs do not shy away from the uncertainties, doubts, and real crises of the world in favor of mainstream Christian music’s vague references to trials and troubles. Here you’ll find references to nuclear war, the unanswered question “where are you hiding, Lord,” and an interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount that forgoes the more comfortable “poor in spirit” translation to unmistakably talk about the materially poor as the inheritors of the Kingdom of God. The album’s release in 2020 implies that these songs were written during the Trump administration, and Guerra’s lyrics show him wrestling with what Trump’s ascendance means for Christianity in America. The final verses of “Citizens” seem to reference the 45th president himself, a clearly political stance that you would never hear on Christian radio stations: “there is a wolf who is ranting / all of the sheep, they are clapping…love has a million disguises / but winning is simply not one.”

Favorite Track:

“Citizens”

Stand-Out Lyrics:

“There is a man with a family

He has a wife and a baby

He broke the law just to save them

Working for three bucks an hour

Truly you said we were equal

Everyone’s heart is deceitful

Everyone born is illegal When love is the law of the land

Coming to you for the hungry

Eating the scraps of this country

Didn’t you swear you would feed them

Tell me you won’t make them go

I need to know there is justice

That it will roll in abundance

And that you’re building a city Where we arrive as immigrants And you call us citizens And you welcome us as children home.”

- From “Citizens”

Do you have more albums to add to this list? Am I wrong about what’s currently on mainstream Christian radio? Please share in the comments!

Originally published at https://www.liberalchristianmom.com on March 7, 2022.