Re: FYI

by Joe C Tue Jul 14, 2015 1:18 am

deathisgain wrote:
hellig wrote:Gipperman, if you need someone to wack some kneecaps...

Just sayin'.

He's in Boston, he's surround by a bunch of goons that would gladly ~~whack~~ take care of some one.

Q: Why did the Boston Bruins goon retire early?
A: He was ice fishing and got run over by the zamboni!

Very Happy

by Throne of thorns Tue Jul 14, 2015 2:21 am

The christian tag and heavy christian lyrics will limit you I am sorry to say.....I think that is why Kings x never made it as big as they should have and their lyrics were not blatant in your face I love Jesus lyrics. It really is a shame becasue so many christian bands in my opinion would have been huge as they should have been including stryper. But then again if your a metal fan christian or not and you don't at least know who Stryper is something is a miss! Keep doing what your doing ignore the rest.

by WildWorld Tue Jul 14, 2015 7:48 am

One thing i can see that could cause a band to be "limited" by being labeled a Christian band is that the music wouldnt be sold in mainstream record stores/big box retailers (i know most people do their shopping online now, but work with me), but only in Christian stores, meaning that the music is only distributed to people who are already Christians, as opposed to reaching the non-Christian audience who see the cover, think its interesting, and pick it up.

by Guest Tue Jul 14, 2015 8:04 am

sentient 6 wrote:
Gipperman wrote: Why? Because there are some people out there who are hypocritical, judgemental & fanatical who continue to drag the name of Christ through the mud by misrepresenting him.

Its the Gospel that offends these people. But I agree that Christians should not add to their excuses for rejecting Christ by acting in this way. Even if Christians acted perfectly, sinners would still find a reason to stay in love with sin and self.

I partially agree, there are a few people who are offended by the gospel itself, though we were told to reach other people through love, not through judgement and condemnation.

by Blake Tue Jul 14, 2015 8:48 am

Gipperman wrote:I hope this isn't too random and that you understand. I just read a very disturbing post presented by one of the most hateful people I've seen on Facebook. I won't give him his 2 seconds of fame by mentioning his name (I'm sure some of you have already seen his post/posts). It's about a recent interview I did where I talk about not wanting to be called and or labeled a Christian band. When I said "we're not a Christian band" I meant I don't want to be labeled a Christian band. I stand tall for Christ. I do my best to live for Christ (although I fail daily and admit it) and in the end I'll die for Christ, unashamedly. I am a Christian and I'm proud to say it. We're not however a Christian band (at least I don't want to be labeled that). Why? Because we want to reach the world, not just a limited few. When you say "Christian band' it instantly limits the cause. Why? Many people don't want to have anything to do with Christianity. Why? Because there are some people out there who are hypocritical, judgemental & fanatical who continue to drag the name of Christ through the mud by misrepresenting him. I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey and realize that I'm not ashamed of my faith in any way, shape or form. We'll continue fighting the good fight and spreading the true message of Christ to the world - Grace, Love, Mercy & Forgiveness ~ M

I can see both sides of this

- On one side I can see that you could potentially reach a wider audience by appearing "neutral" but having a message in your lyrics.

- On the other side you could argue that calling yourself a Christian band would help potential seekers find Christian music (or music with Christian messages if you prefer).

I guess in the grand scheme of things both are feasible approaches, i suppose it just depends on how you want to gear your ministry. I only know in my situation when I was young and set out to discover Christian music on my own, had alot of bands not been labeled I might not be where I am today as I may not have found them.

I do think that Stryper is well established enough that regardless of how the band wishes to be classified people in the secular scene will still keep that association in their minds.

The one thing I do know for sure though is that you can never, no matter how hard you try make everyone happy, so no matter what you decide to do you can rest assured that somebody out there will be upset about it.

by Guest Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:08 am

Metal Blessing Radio wrote:
Gipperman wrote:I hope this isn't too random and that you understand. I just read a very disturbing post presented by one of the most hateful people I've seen on Facebook. I won't give him his 2 seconds of fame by mentioning his name (I'm sure some of you have already seen his post/posts). It's about a recent interview I did where I talk about not wanting to be called and or labeled a Christian band. When I said "we're not a Christian band" I meant I don't want to be labeled a Christian band. I stand tall for Christ. I do my best to live for Christ (although I fail daily and admit it) and in the end I'll die for Christ, unashamedly. I am a Christian and I'm proud to say it. We're not however a Christian band (at least I don't want to be labeled that). Why? Because we want to reach the world, not just a limited few. When you say "Christian band' it instantly limits the cause. Why? Many people don't want to have anything to do with Christianity. Why? Because there are some people out there who are hypocritical, judgemental & fanatical who continue to drag the name of Christ through the mud by misrepresenting him. I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey and realize that I'm not ashamed of my faith in any way, shape or form. We'll continue fighting the good fight and spreading the true message of Christ to the world - Grace, Love, Mercy & Forgiveness ~ M

I can see both sides of this

- On one side I can see that you could potentially reach a wider audience by appearing "neutral" but having a message in your lyrics.

- On the other side you could argue that calling yourself a Christian band would help potential seekers find Christian music (or music with Christian messages if you prefer).

I guess in the grand scheme of things both are feasible approaches, i suppose it just depends on how you want to gear your ministry. I only know in my situation when I was young and set out to discover Christian music on my own, had alot of bands not been labeled I might not be where I am today as I may not have found them.

I do think that Stryper is well established enough that regardless of how the band wishes to be classified people in the secular scene will still keep that association in their minds.

The one thing I do know for sure though is that you can never, no matter how hard you try make everyone happy, so no matter what you decide to do you can rest assured that somebody out there will be upset about it.

I totally agree with your statements here. And I would go further on this opinion. We do need bands with a christian message without being labeled as a christian band (such as Stryper) as well as we do need bands that raise their flag as christian band not concerned about the labels (for instance, Bloodgood, Petra).

I mean, there is no right or wrong, you only got to do what you were called to...

The only thing I can say is that I don't like labels (I hate the term "White Metal" often used in Brazil to divide christin bands to the other ones. It looks like a prejudice). However, those labels were very good to me when I first got interested in christian metal. Searching through this label, helped me to know the majority of bands Ilisten to nowadays.

by jeffcorpse Tue Jul 14, 2015 9:11 am

I don't know why people get so upset over a label. I thought you guys always had this stance anyway. "stryper rocks for Jesus Christ" you said but didn't want a label. Bolder and better lyrics than a lot of Christian bands with the label.

by cliffenstein Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:48 pm

Most people want nothing to do with Christianity because the Bible says people will hate us for His name's sake. That is, it was foretold that it would be this way. It's moreso now than at any other time in my life thus far, but it has always been this way.

The church flirted with politics for quite a while and we now see that it hasn't born fruit. The true church is now busying itself getting back to boldly proclaiming the Gospel in all corners regardless of repercussion.

I absolutely and wholeheartedly support Stryper. I read the interview Michael discusses in this thread. I had no issues with it at all. May God continue to bless him and his band on a personal level, a business level and a spiritual level and may they continue being a shining light in an increasingly darkened world.

by Black Rider Wed Jul 15, 2015 6:57 pm

^ Truth!

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:49 pm

If there are bands that could be consider " christian " metal what would be the difference between them and Stryper ?

If " christian " metal is a real genre....what makes it so ?

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 8:54 pm

I'll try my hand....

In my book, if a bands main goal is to promote the christian faith ( in word and song ) and and write songs that encourage other believers ( mainly through a biblical world view ) then I would say that is Christian music....whatever the genre. Why cant we have this thing called " christian " music regardless if its metal, ska or pop music ?

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:07 pm

Gipperman wrote: Why? Because we want to reach the world, not just a limited few. When you say "Christian band' it instantly limits the cause.

Michael, I am assuming you are referring to reaching people with the Gospel ? If so, then think about this. Do you really believe that if you are called to reach people that something such as a genre label will limit the power of God ? That it will stop Gods will and work ?

If you mean reaching people for other reasons....then anything that will associate your band with Christ does matter I guess.

by eatbugs Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:14 pm

sentient 6 wrote:I'll try my hand....

In my book, if a bands main goal is to promote the christian faith ( in word and song ) and and write songs that encourage other believers ( mainly through a biblical world view ) then I would say that is Christian music....whatever the genre. Why cant we have this thing called " christian " music regardless if its metal, ska or pop music ?

I think Gipperman hit on it in the initial post: marketing. If something is "Christian" then it automatically is sub-par in many people's minds and boxes it into a smaller market. It's harder to be salt and light to the world when they are only are seen by other Christians.

Also, I can't stand it when I rip music to iTunes and it comes up with "religious." I manually change it to metal, ska, or pop as appropriate.

For the record, I'm one of the "guilty" parties in this whole thing. I often do call Stryper a "Christian band" mainly for the reasons cited by S6. Depending on context I will call bands that aren't "Christian" at all but have clean lyrics with some Christian members "Christian." Granted I have zero involvement in the music industry in any capacity (except as a consumer) so what can I really do about it? When I buy music at a brick-and-mortar store I prefer to buy from a mainstream outlet (I picked up The Covering at WalMart) because I want businesses that only care about the bottom line to stock "Christian" music.

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:22 pm

eatbugs wrote:
It's harder to be salt and light to the world when they are only are seen by other Christians.

What percentage of Strypers fan base do you believe are professing Christians ? And if they are the majority, then what does that actually tell us about their genre ?

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:29 pm

eatbugs wrote:
I think Gipperman hit on it in the initial post: marketing.

We cannot assume that record sales will necessarily equate to people repenting and turning to Christ in faith from those record sales can we ? And whats the point of getting a bunch of people in attendance to your show if you don't give them a clear Gospel message while you have their attention ? Honestly, I haven't seen Styrper in concert since the THWTD tour, so I don't know what they say between songs. And I can't remember what they said back then either.

by eatbugs Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:38 pm

sentient 6 wrote:
eatbugs wrote:
It's harder to be salt and light to the world when they are only are seen by other Christians.

What percentage of Strypers fan base do you believe are professing Christians ? And if they are the majority, then what does that actually tell us about their genre ?

I don't know, but I suspect putting the "Christian" label on them probably raises the percentage.

I agree with you S6, that at least in certain contexts the label is appropriate. I'm just saying I definitely see the other side too. I guess if I come off as double-minded it's because I see both sides of the issue and context needs to be taken into account.

No, we can't assume that record sales will equate to people repenting, but getting the Gospel message out to the world can't hurt either.

I've seen Stryper three times. Two were in distinctly Christian settings (Cornerstone 2001 and an acoustic show at a church), the third was at a mainstream club. I don't remember what was said between songs but there was a prayer at the end of a show at a secular rock club ( cheers

) and he had a capacity crowd all singing "To Hell With the Devil" louder than he was ( Metal 3

).

by Joe C Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:43 pm

Despite being in an industry where the Christian faith is generally ridiculed and seen as a barrier to success, Stryper has still sold millions of records.

I don't think after 30 years in the music industry it will make any difference how you label them. Nevertheless, I have no problem with what Michael said.

Where I do have a problem with Mr. Michael Sweet is that he lives in the Boston area and he doesn't like hockey :-)
Maybe Michael, you should attend a Montreal vs Boston game at the TD garden before you "label" hockey as a sport you do not like (haha)!

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:49 pm

Joe C wrote:
I don't think after 30 years in the music industry it will make any difference how you label them. Nevertheless, I have no problem with what Michael said.

I guarantee that the majority of secular rock fans, critiques, DJs, etc will always see them as " metal for Jesus " or " christian " metal. And really, is there any difference in saying you " rock for Jesus " or that you are a Christian metal band ?

by sentient 6 Fri Jul 17, 2015 9:56 pm

Joe C wrote:Despite being in an industry where the Christian faith is generally ridiculed and seen as a barrier to success, Stryper has still sold millions of records.

Ah, but if we are gonna be real, the majority of their success was during that MTV rotation in the 80s. Those songs that were showcased in those videos were not christian tunes in their content ( at least not in any substantial way ). A know from experience that the message in calling on you or Free are not enough for a rebel sinner to feel uncomfortable ( I was one back then ).

by grandeped Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:01 pm

I was also not a Christian when "Calling on You" and "Free" came out. They made a lot of us feel uncomfortable and talk about spiritual issues while partying. We knew they were Christians in a band, but had no idea there was actually "Christian Metal" or a Christian music industry until years and years later after I became a Christian. To us, Christian music was what you sung in church and Stryper was just a metal band.

by grandeped Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:16 pm

Stryper also came through town on my birthday for the "To Hell With The Devil" tour in 87. They were the first metal band to come through in over a year (since Kiss), so every metal head that could go went (mostly non-Christians). Of course, it was Waco, TX - so probably still not a huge turn-out. Hurricane was the opening act. Both bands killed that night. When Stryper started throwing out Bibles, a friend of mine said "f---ing yeah, I want one of those f---ing Bible books!" and sat on our shoulders to catch one. This guy was one of the craziest guys in our school. He came back down holding his head and a Bible. He claimed he was hit straight in the forehead by Michael Sweet, but more likely what happened is that he fumbled it in the air and knocked into his forehead himself Smile

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