The Christian Music Industry and Fashion

I attended the Dove Awards and was brokenhearted. I saw all these beautiful Christians, wonderful people, with this wonderful, revolutionary message of Jesus, who, instead of saying, “Look, fashion doesn’t matter, hip doesn’t matter,” were saying “World, please accept us, we can be just as hip as you, just as fashionable, only in a religious way.”

- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I think this quote from Donald Miller cuts right to the heart of something I have been thinking about for a long time since being involved in the Christian music industry (CMI).

Does the way that we dress help or hinder the gospel?

One could say that we take the Hudson Taylor approach and dress like the culture that one is trying to reach. So one could say that dressing like the culture shows that we are not some weird cult and bridges a gap of connection that might be there due to misrepresentation by the secular culture or something like that. I get that. The problem with this in Christian music is that in Christian music generally speaking (there are always exceptions), we primarily are not a missional organization (some would argue me on this) but rather a means to encourage the faith of those who are already Christian.

So if the main point of Christian music serves to encourage the believer, why do we need to dress at the height of coolness, as defined by the secular culture? I would submit a few thoughts:

First, like Donald Miller stated above, we are inherently insecure and feel, “less than” in our profession. Due to this underlying lack of confidence which leads to an intense craving for some sort of validation, we strive to emulate what we see as the definition of what is cool (I don’t know anyone who works in Christian music who thinks that mainstream Christian music is the definition of cool. This has to be a sign of something desperately wrong with our industry, I digress, more on that later) and attempt to show that we can be just like them.

Second, we need a means by which we can separate ourselves from those that we minister to. I kind of feels sinfully good to know that you are dressing way cooler than the average person in the church who comes to your show. No one would admit this, but I believe it’s an underlying attitude that we all hold to one degree or another. It serves as a barrier between the artist and “common people”. Again this is the exact model of the secular culture and thus we use it. Part of being “rock and roll” is to look the part. You are defined by the clothes that you wear. Dress for success, baby! Sometimes when approaching someone who is completely armored up in all the most current of rock and roll fashion is creates an intimidation factor. Immediately before even exchanging a brief hello you are forces to wonder, “Gee, this guy/gal really must be cool, I wonder if I can hang with it?” Feelings of insecurity can be sort of a knee jerk for those that the cool Christian artist comes in contact with. I fear that this sort of thing may be a very subtle hindrance to the gospel.

Another problem with high fashion in CMI is that often times it can become exceedingly distracting, if not put in check. I remember seeing Kevin Max as CreationFest in PA about 5 years ago. Kevin is by far one of my favorite vocalist and artist of all time, stemming back to his days as a member of DC Talk. (Please buy his Christmas album, it's amazing) Anyway, he came out for his show dressed in full white face make-up and angel wings. Now does this necessarily mean that he can’t be a witness for the gospel in his show dressed like this? Well, I would have to probably say no, but there sure are some challenges there, with the primary one being that I don’t remember a thing about Jesus from his show, but I sure do remember what he wore on stage. Does music have to give verbal assent to Jesus in order for it to be worthy music? By no means, but at least if you work for a “Christian” record company and are performing at a “Christian” music festival then I think there should be a different standard in terms of the missional goals of your music.

Do I think that all artists in CMI need to wear the typical pastor’s uniform of khakis and a simple cotton button-down? (But wouldn’t it be so cool if there was a band that did and just rocked your face off?) Of course not, but I think that we need to be aware of why we wear the clothes that we do and consider the fact that what we wear may have a negative impact on the gospel and the people we are trying to minister to with it. For sure, this is an issue a lot like money, where there are no clear black and white rules. The only rule being hopefully that the Holy Spirit would rule in our decision making process.