Rock of Ages: Using Popular Music to Illustrate the Scriptural Story

One of the top-selling and most critically-acclaimed CDs of 2004 is U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. From the opening track, the aggressive i-Pod anthem "Vertigo," the Irish rock band proves why it has maintained its popularity for twenty-five years--an eternity and then some for most artists. What is even more remarkable for a band with this sustained level of popularity is the fact that three-quarters of the band members are professed Christians and that their music has always held overtones of biblical themes and spirituality. Their latest offering is no different; the lyrics are steeped in the Christian traditions of peace and social justice and rife with biblical allusions and spiritual concern.

Without much work by the teacher, U2’s music can be employed in the Sunday school classroom to explore a variety of scriptural themes under consideration through the curriculum. In fact, whether your youth are into rock or rap, hip-hop or country, popular music of many varieties can be utilized to great success by teachers seeking to connect the scriptural story to the lives of the youth who make up their Sunday school or small group Bible study classes. Below are some ideas on how to use popular music to enliven a lesson:

• Let Scripture inform the music, not the opposite. It’s often best to start with music and then move to Scripture for the decisive word on a topic. While artists from Bob Dylan to the Black Eyed Peas might have much to say about love or social justice that a maturing Christian can appreciate, we want to make sure youth come to understand songs they enjoy in the context of God’s word, rather than the reverse.

• Connect through biblical allusions. Catalog for yourself popular songs you know which reference specific biblical texts. You will likely find more of these allusions for the story-laden Old Testament than you will for the New. (Of course, count in heavy metal allusions to the book of Revelation and perhaps the tally evens a bit.) Any such references are enough to spark the connection for your youth between the stories of Scripture and those told by artists they know.

• Allow youth the opportunity to make their own connections. No one will be more connected to today’s music than youth themselves. Inform your youth about future lessons so they have a chance to hear their music with informed ears. Before long, they’ll be doing this without even being told and bringing in music of their own to share.

• Use printed lyrics. Printed lyrics offer a point of focus and of reference for youth as they listen to relevant music. If youth will be bringing in their own examples, require that they provide printed lyrics and that they email them to you at least a day in advance.

• Remember quality Christian music. While contemporary praise and worship music is based on certain biblical values, much is not of sufficient depth or popular appeal to consider for class discussion among many youth Sunday school groups. Instead, consider such quality contemporary Christian songwriters as Chris Rice, Kate Campbell or Kyle Matthews. Kyle offers useful commentaries on many of his songs at his website (http://www.kylematthews.com). His CDs are available for purchase on his website or through Smyth & Helwys (http://www.helwys.com/kylematthews/index.html).

• Don’t be afraid to challenge a musical message. As we know, much of what youth listen to blaring out of the radio and their cd players or i-Pods offers little of Christian value. Simply condemning such music is more likely to result in your voice not being heard rather than the opposite. Instead, teach youth to listen to music with ears informed by the scriptural witness, not so that they will condemn what they hear, but so that they can better translate the messages that the world-at-large are conveying. When we allow Scripture and biblical lessons to bleed over into how we listen and understand the music around us . . . and the same must be said for how we view others types of media as well . . . our youth will feel the presence of Christ engaged with their culture, not simply against it.

Keith Gammons serves as Book Acquisitions Editor for Smyth & Helwys Publishing. He is a member of Highland Hills Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia. He wishes his wife would buy him an i-Pod for Christmas.