We have reached the end of my countdown of the 50+ Contemporary Christian Music projects that had the most impact on my life and ministry through 2006. I have had a blast looking back at some incredible music, and I will continue to revisit some great music each and every Thursday. To see the entire countdown, simply click here. And now it's on to Number One!!!
1) JESUS FREAK- dc Talk- 1995
I had become a dc Talk fan in the early 1990's with their Free At Last album, and I had seen them live and found their mix of hip-hop, rap and rock to be unique. I felt like Toby, Mike and Kevin were leading us into a new era of Christian music. But even as a fan, I was totally unprepared for what I would hear when the song Jesus Freak hit Christian radio in August of 1995. The song blew everyone away, both with the music and the message. When the album dropped in November of that year, Christian music changed forever. The music was current, the messages were bold. I think the majority of the youth in Kissimmee knew many of the songs by heart, and we used the theme of being "Jesus Freaks" over and over again.
FEATURED SONGS
From the opening dis-chord of the electric guitar, this album took CCM songwriting to new levels. So Help Me God rocked as an opener; Colored People talked about how we focus on skin color when in fact we are all colored by sin. The title track (see video below) is still amazing 15 years later. What If I Stumble? and Day By Day would have been the standout cuts on many albums. We met the neighbors of the "Gotee Brothers" for the first time, as Mrs. Morgan recounts the time she threatened to kill a drummer for playing too loud at Toby's house. Between You and Me was a huge hit, as was Mind's Eye. Their cover of Charlie Peacock's In the Light is one of my favorite songs ever. And who can forget the lounge lizard version of Jesus Freak; "How many are here from Shelby County tonight? I see that hand..." Every song was a classic, and every song was a sermon. A great album of musical diversity and faith, and for me, the most influential album of my lifetime...so far! It is a question all Christ-followers should answer in their own lives: What will people think if they hear that I'm a Jesus Freak? What will people do if they know that it's true?
OTHER RECOMMENDED ALBUMS FROM DC TALK
Nu Thang- 1990
Free At Last- 1992*
Supernatural- 1998*
*indicates album is also on this countdown
I totally, whole-heartedly agree! JF is by far my all time favorite album and song and I can't think about either without also remembering FUMC youth group days. Classic in it's own time.
ReplyDeleteYES!!! I still have a picture of Colleen somewhere in the "freak" shirt she bought from one of their concerts!! She didn't care that her non-Christian friends thought she was another kind of freak....
ReplyDeleteshe set them straight haha!!!!
We gave away a bunch of t-shirts that said "FREAK" on the front and had a definition- "An ardent enthusiast"- on the back. Colleen was the best kind of freak... :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE DC Talk. I even wore out one of their cassettes (back when cassette tapes were in) because I listened to it SO much. My younger kiddos LOVE the song "Jesus Freak". I put it on their MP3 player so they can jam to it anytime they desire. :)
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