Rock, rock, rockin' at heaven's door

By Steve Beard

If I ever get stuck in an elevator with Bob Dylan, I am dying to ask him why he has been opening so many of his recent concerts with the song "I Am the Man, Thomas." After all, out of more than 40 albums of his own to choose from, why is he opening with a cover song from the old Stanley Brothers?

The song is about the conversation between Jesus Christ and the man that all Sunday school alumni know as Doubting Thomas. "Look at these nail scars here in my hands/They pierced me in the side, Thomas, I am the Man/They made me bear the cross, Thomas, I am the Man/ They laid me in the tomb, Thomas, I am the Man/In three days I arose, Thomas, I am the Man."

Is it a reassertion of his Christian conversion back in the late 1970s? Or was it merely a spasm of eccentricity to keep his fans scratching their heads?

Of course, the latter option does not explain why he has also been singing "Solid Rock" from his 1980 album Saved. In it, Dylan proclaims: "For me He was chastised, for me He was hated/For me he was rejected by a world that He created…Well, I’m hangin’ on to a solid rock/Made before the foundation of the world/And I won’t let go, and I can’t let go, won’t let go."

It would be unfair to speculate on Dylan’s motivation for returning these gospel-centric songs—and others such as "Gotta Serve Somebody," "Man of Peace," "In the Garden," or "I Believe in You"—to his playlist. Nevertheless, Dylan has always been a prophetic poet on a quest to find God and it’s only reasonable to assume that he believes in what he sings. It is also worth noting that the godfather of folk rock is not the only musician showcasing faith in his art.

Doing her passion

A few years ago, Lauryn Hill’s solo album sold 14 million copies and garnered five Grammy awards. Rather than finding joy in the success of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, she felt trapped and dropped off the musical radar screen. During that time she "ingested pure Scripture for about a year" with a spiritual mentor.

Last year, the hip-hop diva resurfaced from her hiatus and recorded an "Unplugged" session for MTV. The recently-released recording consists of Hill, an acoustic guitar, and an open microphone. Rolling Stone said Hill’s new album "celebrates the rare occasion when a mainstream musician manages to truly walk it how she talks it." The magazine observed that Hill’s "willingness to take her audience to vulnerable places feels more revolutionary than self-indulgent" and concluded: "Through it all, this tender renegade purposefully does what she’s gotta do to keep her music sacred. The results are sometimes messy, but more often they’re miraculous."

Her two-disc project—that includes more than 25 minutes of rambling conversation with the audience—has been met with some mixed reviews. However, the spiritually-renewed songwriter may not be as concerned with the critics as she once was. "I think the Lauryn Hill of then was looking to be validated, was hoping to be accepted, looking for acknowledgement from everyone except the One who made me," she explained to MTV. "At this point, the things I am led to do are things that I know He wants me to do….I’m just trying to be, obey God and do my passion, and tell everybody else that life is a waste if you ain’t doing that."

A new breed

A few years ago, I took my family to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. It was during one of the documentary films about the history of rock music that I was stunned by an observation made by Bono from U2. He said, "The greatest rock and roll is produced by those either running toward God or running away from Him."

It is in that spiritual wrestling—which often includes wandering away and returning home—that the creativity and freshness of art is often engaged. Never before have we lived in such a time when so many artists are so open about their faith. I am not talking about "Christian rock" purchased at the Bible bookstore. I am talking about mainstream artists who are willing to do their passion, as Lauryn Hill would say.

New albums from artists as diverse as Michelle Shocked, KRS-One, Creed, Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, Tom Waits, Kasey Chambers, Moby, the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Spiritualized, Bruce Springsteen, Buddy and Julie Miller, and India Arie weave overtly spiritual references throughout their music—some more noticeably than others.

Few, if any, of these albums would be found in the "contemporary Christian music" section of a record store; and there is a reason. Not all of these artists are confessing Christians—many of them are merely seekers on a pilgrimage. Having said all that, God seems to be unwilling to be left without a witness in every aspect of pop culture. As the British preacher Gerald Coates once said, "God is doing more behind our backs than in front of our eyes."

This new musical breed is not producing songs about faith, as much as songs inspired by faith—touching upon all aspects of human relationships. As C. S. Lewis wrote, "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects—with their Christianity latent." Like the lyricists of the Psalms, these musicians probe, lament, rejoice, challenge, and even banter with the Almighty—all the while giving flight to our discouragement and reminding us that there is hope.

Headbanging in the lion’s den

These rockers may be hip to God, but they are looking for an audience outside the four walls of the church. Two of the largest musical tours during the summer are Ozzfest for the tattooed and pierced metalheads, and the Vans Warped Tour for the skateboard and BMX punk crowd. This year, the Warped Tour will include spiritually-connected bands such as MxPx, Five Iron Frenzy, Stavesacre, and the Halo Friendlies—an all-girl band.

At Ozzfest, the faith-inspired band P.O.D. (Payable on Death) will be on the main stage with acts such as Rob Zombie, System of a Down, as well as Ozzy Osbourne. As the British rock magazine Metal Hammer put it, "Most Christian rock, you can chuck to the lions, but P.O.D. have taken a formula that was getting sad and tired and infused it with new life. A water-into-wine miracle?" Unhinged praise for the soulful foursome has also been found in the pages of heavy metal magazines such as Circus, Hit Parader, Revolver, as well as Rolling Stone and Spin. They gain respect because they are straight-up real, stick to their convictions, and avoid the kinds of Christian clichés that makes our faith seem trite.

In June, Hit Parader magazine recognized P.O.D.’s singer Sonny Sandoval as one of the top ten stars of new metal music for his "positive attitudes and God-fearing beliefs within a straight-between-the-eyes hard rock context." The magazine noted that Sandoval was "one guy whose ego and self-worth are never determined by how many copies of his band’s latest disc, Satellite, are sold, or how many groupies visit the band back stage after a show. In sharp contrast to such normal rock and roll standards, this is a performer that’s got his priorities in the right order—his music, his friends, his family, and his religion all top Sonny’s list—not necessarily in the order." Not a bad commendation.

P.O.D. seems to look at their hard rock life with a sense of mission and good humor. "At every Ozzfest show there’s horns and devils somewhere," Sandoval told the Daily Telegraph in England, "there’s some kind of darkness somewhere. But the thing is, this is a stage, homey, and those fools are entertainers. And you know what, it shows! It’s fake. On stage, they’re all ‘rock and roll, the devil, f-this and f-that.’ Backstage it’s all about caviar, three catered meals a day, personal trainers, and therapists for all the people that don’t know how to handle this rock and roll life."

At the same time that P.O.D. sees through the hype and showbiz, they also take the spiritual environment very seriously. "When you come to see P.O.D play in some secular club—don’t come to be entertained," Sandoval said in an interview with the website SoulBlaze.com. "Come to fight this fight with us. Come out to shine for the Lord.… If you’re here you are going to light this place on fire with us. Don’t come here and expect it to be youth group, church rallied-up by P.O.D. It’s warfare going on, dude! So buckle up, grab on to the power and the authority that you have been given to sing and dance and worship Him and shine."

P.O.D. is equally intentional about reaching out and befriending the bands with which they play. Sandoval says that God has given clear guidance: "Every band member, every band you play with; go out there and love them like I would. Every crowd that you play for; go out there and love them like I would."

In the latest issue of Circus magazine, Sandoval describes what a "freaky" experience it was to recently be in a rehearsal room next to shock rocker Marilyn Manson. He even told the rock magazine how he prayed about the situation: "Lord, I just pray that this man would hear our music and be blessed by it hopefully. Lord, he would see your Spirit and know that guys like us love the Lord and for whatever reasons that he has been turned off by Christianity or from Christ, that he would sense something real while we play."

The two bands saw each other in between sessions. At one point during a break when everyone was skateboarding and drinking coffee, Manson was looking at P.O.D. and then turned and walked away. "I was like ‘whoa, I wonder what God was showing him while he was watching us,’" admits Sandoval. "What kind of things, just the spirit that God had around us while he was watching us play."

There is not a neatly wrapped-up Touched By An Angel conclusion to the story. Sandoval may never see Manson again—but he is praying for him; and so should we. After all, even a skeptic like Thomas was won over by a smile and a pair of nail-scarred hands.

Steve Beard is the editor of Good News magazine and the founder of thunderstruck.org.