Integrational Christian Bands - The Misfits

In Brian Schill's (2007) article, he outlined Howard and Streck's topology of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) that divided Christian rock bands into three groups: separational, transformational, and integrational.

Having grown up going to church my whole life (until university), I am familiar with quite a few separational bands. On the other end of the spectrum, I can't name any transformational bands, other than the one discussed in class - U2. Obviously, the one group of Christian rock bands that I am (and probably most of us are) most familiar with is integrational rock bands.

“Integrational bands, while not explicitly evangelical rhetorically or behaviourally, give listeners all the sounds and style of today’s most popular rock and roll but offer symbols, lyrics, and lifestyles that remain consistent with Christian values.”

From Schill’s definition of integrational bands, it seems to me as though there is an enormous range of artists that can fit into this category - all the way from Switchfoot, to Relient K to Carrie Underwood. This definition is so vague that even Kanye West could be considered an integrational artist!

For 8 years, I played drums as part of the worship team at church. We always sang songs written by separational bands such as Hillsong or Chris Tomlin. Although they were good songs and added a lot to Sunday service, they were redundant and seemed irrelevant to many people. One Friday evening, our church had a “seeker sensitive” service where members of the church were encouraged to bring non-Christian friends. The worship team leader saw this opportunity and thought it would be appropriate to integrate popular music with Christian themes, such as “Dare You To Move” by Switchfoot and “Hanging By A Moment” by Lifehouse. I was horrified, and so was the rest of the church.

Ironically, this sort of music (although Christian) just seemed as though it was something that didn’t belong in church. In the song “Dare You To Move”, the lyrics are almost a call to worship. . . however, when singing it in church, not one person in the service dared to move. When singing “Hanging By A Moment”, I swear I heard crickets in the distance. Not one person responded to these songs because they were “too secular” for church.

I find it interesting that Switchfoot is more successful after having returned to the label of Gospel music. It was almost as though their music was “too Christian” for popular culture.
Other than bands who have publicly stated that their music is not at all related to their religious beliefs such as Paramore and Evanescence as well as country music artists, it seems as though integrational bands are the odd-balls in the music industry. They don’t seem to fit in mainstream culture and they don’t seem to be appreciated in the church.