Gray Sabbath: Jesus People USA, the Evangelical Left, and the Evolution of Christian Rock

330 Pages·2015·6.619 MB·English

by  Shawn David Young

JESUS PEOPLE USA
E V A N G E L I C A L L E F T
THE
EVOLUTION
AND THE OF
CHRISTIAN ROCK
SHAWN DAVID YOUNG
GRAY SAB BATH

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JESUS PEOPLE USA,
EVANGELICAL LEFT,
AND THE EVOLUTION OF
CHRISTIAN ROCK
SHAWN DAVID YOUNG
Columbia University Press
New York
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Young, Shawn David.
Gray sabbath : Jesus people USA, evangelical left, and the evolution of
Christian rock / Shawn David Young.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-231-17238-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-231-17239-4
(pbk. : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-231-53956-2 (ebook)
1. Jesus People—United States. 2. Evangelicalism—Illinois—
Chicago—History—20th century. 3. Christian rock music—
United States. I. Title.
bv3793.y685 2015
277.73'110828—dc23
2014045628

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
Th is book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America

c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover Design: Jordan Wannemacher
Cover Illustration: Jessica Grieb
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
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For Martha, Wesley, and Camden Young

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CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. THE LARGEST AMERICAN COMMUNE 20
3. THE BLESSING AND CURSE OF COMMUNITY 52
4. BIG SHOULDERS, BIG HISTORY: WHY CHICAGO? 103
5. THEOLOGY, POLITICS, AND CULTURE 130
6. THE CHRISTIAN WOODSTOCK: VERNACULAR RELIGION,
INFLUENCE, AND CONFLICTING WORLDS 173
7. THE FUTURE: EX-MEMBERS, SECOND GENERATION,
AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS 222
8. CONCLUSION 262
Notes 275
Bibliography 299
Index 309
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PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A
ll that mattered was music. More important, all that mattered was
good music with a deep message. Th at’s the addiction that drove me
during college. I played in bands, attended concerts, and remained
active in a local church. My musical tastes were very specifi c. If Chris-
tian music, then it had to be heavy metal, progressive, alternative, indie, or
avant-garde—anything interesting. I still remember when my wife (then
girlfriend) suggested a music festival in the Midwest. Th is one, she insisted,
was not your typical event. In fact, when we arrived at my fi rst Cornerstone
Festival, she warned me that I was about to see many odd things. And I did.
For the fi rst time in my life I experienced something that was (in many
ways) indefi nable. My musical tastes were quite eclectic, ranging from
Bach to the Beatles, Metheny to Metallica, Rachmaninoff to Rush, Kiss to
King’s X. For the most part, Christian music concerts and festivals did not
off er the same quality as the so-called secular industry, at least in my esti-
mation. Cornerstone changed that perception.
It would be an understatement to say I developed my worldview as a
young adult as a result of this rather multivalent event. And yet the augurs
of the written word began to complicate things for me. Graduate school
brought with it a new understanding of text, people, and ideas. Th e study of
culture cast new light on the peculiarities of popular religious expression. In
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