Since 1985, the Newsboys have been topping the charts of contemporary Christian music (CCM). But many Christian artists are deconstructing and becoming “exvangelicals.” Apologist Sean McDowell sat down with two Newsboys, Michael Tait and Jeff Frankenstein, to discuss how deconstruction has played out in Christian music.
“Is there something wrong with the contemporary music scene and evangelicalism as a whole that we need to address?” asked McDowell.
As Some CCM Artists Lost After Deconstruction, the Newsboys Have Kept God at the Center—On and Off the Stage
Michael Tait, previously of DC Talk, has been the lead singer of the Newsboys since 2009, and Jeff Frankenstein has been on keys for the Newsboys since 1994. Especially in the 80s and 90s, contemporary Christian music soared in popularity.
Since that time, however, many contemporary Christian artists have gone through deconstruction with varying outcomes. McDowell referred to the “former people of DC Talk or the co-founder of the Newsboys saying he’s an atheist, and Jars of Clay going a certain leftward direction.”
The three attempted to uncover the root of deconstruction and how it has affected Christian music artists.
“Man is innately flawed. Man has free will,” Tait said. “We can sometimes be tempted to go off and doubt and wonder.” He spoke of his own conversations with God, especially when he’s asking God questions, adding, “Sometimes you have to search in the Word for the things that are hidden for us.”
Frankenstein shared his own experience of not feeling free to doubt and ask questions growing up. He empathizes with those who are now asking questions. “As Christians, we’ve made a lot of grave errors when we react to hearing about other believers deconstructing,” he shared. “We’ve started with judgment first, instead of approaching the situation with compassion.”
Deconstruction stems from “a lot of different things” Frankenstein explained. “I think the 80s and 90s culturally was such a different time” where kids were “forced to be a certain way where you weren’t given that free will to decide for yourself.” He spoke of the implications of Christian hypocrisy.
A person’s walk with Christ “isn’t setting you free, just by rules and regulations,” he argued. “Maybe you haven’t seen the true spirit of God.” Frankenstein said that people today are often isolated, without others seeing “the person you really are” and with unchecked information from social media feeding their minds.
Tait mentioned how important confession is in his own life. He admits that he’s “messed up” and then “gets back up.” Some who are going through deconstruction “fall into that dead place of craziness; they never come out of it.”
The Christian music industry is a business where profits are made by selling albums and tickets. McDowell wondered about the temptation to “value competence and giftedness over character and depth.”
“There’s a pattern that you see happen where this pure thing that you brought to the table now has to be marketed and manipulated and put into the system with these gatekeepers,” explained Frankenstein. “It loses its innocence.”
