The Jesus Music Reviews

The Jesus Music is a documentary film about the rise of a music genre that became known as Contemporary Christian Music. Spanning the rise of an empire from the early hippie musical creations of the 1960s and 1970s, all the way through what is now a multi-billion-dollar industry, the film interviews the biggest names in the business to record the journey of how this unlikely blend of religion and modern music was able to integrate with the message of the church.It began with the music. People have always needed music in their lives. Musical artists in the 1960s were at the culminating point of a musical revolution that was symbolic of the external revolutions going on in the world around them. When the counterculture was getting burnt out on the drugs and experimentation with new ideas and foreign religions, they came back to what they knew - Christianity.In Costa Mesa, California, there was a church called Cavalry Chapel that could see the gripping effect that popular music had on people. They changed lyrics from otherwise non-religious pop songs to include messages about faith; this performed well in their audience by allowing them access to great sounding music that now had a more pointed religious tone.However, many churches in the USA had been set against "Rock N Roll," pointing to its profane lyrics, tainted musical artists and crowds of hedonistic listeners as not in line with their faith-based message.Billy Graham, an early adopter of onboarding religious musicians to create more music and tour spreading the good word, was not always enough to convince other Christian leaders that this music could be used to help capture and retain their audience.Musical performers who loved God and wanted to include more faith-based lyrics in their music included new genres over the years, such as hair/metal band Stryper, hip-hop rapper and singer Toby Mac, urban contemporary gospel choir singer Kirk Franklin, as well as mainstream CCM artist Amy Grant. They each have an opportunity to discuss their own backstory and how they were able to make a name for themselves in a contentious musical genre.Written and co-directed by Jon Erwin (I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine) and co-directed by his brother Andrew Erwin (I Still Believe, I Can Only Imagine) The Jesus Music manages to capture cheerful, well-shot and interesting interviews from a truly unique and varied cast of real-life characters. The Erwin brothers decidedly harness their own love of the Church and the genre here.Of note, most of the musicians interviewed in The Jesus Music were not always a part of the Church. They came from varied and unique backgrounds, finding solace and comfort in creating music to praise God as part of their newfound beliefs. Despite their own religious convictions being in harmony with the messaging of the church, most of the artists struggled for the church's approval of their music, and of themselves.Even for its broad smile, optimistic messaging and rosy veneer, The Jesus Music decidedly runs shallow and refrains from exploring any themes too dark or not aligned with love and happiness. The irony of any Church disapproval of all these artists who are trying to spread Christianity is muted. But the greatest sin is that the film is not very musical, with short snippets of audio and disjointed musical clips rather than truly incorporated the music into the messaging.The Jesus Music may not find an audience outside of its fanbase, but it delivers a simple and happy message of tolerance and all togetherness that overcame all odds. Hinting at messages and themes that might not be expected in a religious documentary, this divine effort almost feels like a branch of proselytizing to get even more people on board with the message that the filmmaker artists are trying to portray, the same message that the musical artists in the film are trying to portray in their own way - that God is good no matter by which method one chooses to love and spread the good word.