Larry Norman - Relationship With The Church and The CCM Industry

Relationship With The Church and The CCM Industry

Larry Norman's relationship with the wider Christian church, and with the Christian music industry, has been contentious for a number of years. In September 2007 Norman wrote: "I love God and I follow Jesus but I just don't have much affinity for the organized folderol of the churches in the Western World". Sarah Pulliam indicates that: "Although Norman left a large footprint, he also became estranged from the music industry because of strained relationships. He was eventually diagnosed with bipolar trauma". According to Portland news/radio station KXL, Norman's early social positions caused a stir among many conservative Christians. Norman's songs were wide-ranging, addressing such matters as politics (The Great American Novel), free love (Pardon Me), the passive commercialism of war–time journalists (I Am The Six O'Clock News), witchcraft and the occult (Forget Your Hexagram), alienation (Lonely by Myself), religious hypocrisy (Right Here In America) and many topics largely outside of the scope of his contemporaries. Norman's views against racism and poverty caused him to receive multiple death threats in the 1970s. Barry Alfonso described Norman's message and its reaction:

Norman's message was confrontational, challenging conservative Christians as well as nonbelievers. Onstage, he criticized churches for their lack of commitment to the disadvantaged, a habit that made it sometimes difficult to get bookings at Christian coffeehouses. His upstart attitude, though, won him a loyal following among young believers across America.

In 2006 Norman reflected on the difficulties he had with the Church over the years:

"I did 200 concerts a year for two years and then stopped. I never appeared at the same church more than once which is bread and butter to most artisans on tour. As one promoter put it, "I burned every bridge I came to" even before crossing it. But I thought the American Christian churches were not fond enough of the "hard" theologies of Jesus and were completely neglectful of feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, going into the hospitals and sharing the good news on the highways and byways, or even to the neighbours living next to them. Most people I asked said they had never witnessed to anyone, because they didn't know how to. And now I found that I was bashing my head against a church wall. In America the church did not like me. And no wonder. I was telling my young audiences to invite prostitutes and drug addicts and homosexuals to come to their church. And my songs were slyly disrespectful of organized religion, a position the young people identified with and their parents and pastors couldn't quite put their finger on. Nothing I said or sang was unscriptural. And I didn't speak against the church. I wasn't a protester. I wasn't ANTI anything, but I was FOR Jesus."

A widespread ban on Norman's music existed in some Christian stores. This ban was due not only to Norman's social positions, but his preferred company as well. Said Norman in a separate interview: "The churches weren't going to accept me looking like a street person with long hair and faded jeans. They did not like the music I was recording. And I had no desire to preach the gospel to the converted. In 2008 Philip Cooney attempted to explain the causes of Norman's problems with some Christians:

One of the problems for the church establishment was that Norman did not seem to be writing hymns. Not only was the music rock, the words were full of strange images or open references to subjects such as sex and drugs, and he often failed to "name the name" of Jesus. In understanding the reasons for this, it becomes easier to see that Norman was using principles that are still important for Christians today. Norman is one who saw the society around him in the USA not as a bastion of Christian morality, nor as an enemy to be shunned, but as a cross-cultural mission field. The use of Jesus' command " Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15), and the image of the 'agape' mouth containing the cross of Calvary on his record sleeves make this clear. Like all those who are serious about mission, he tested God's call, prepared through Bible study and prayer, made sure that he understood the gospel, and chose to speak in a language that would be understood by those he sought to reach in Jesus' name. Norman displayed a sympathetic understanding of that unchurched culture, but an equally strong desire not to compromise the integrity of the gospel.

Norman denied he was trying to start a revolution with his music, he just wanted "to learn how to explain God without using any of the language or ideas that had been taught in the church". In a 1979 interview Norman explained: "I would like the work that I do, and all my artists do, to break down the limited concepts of what Christian music should be and show what it can be and must be if it's ever to reach people like us. Basically Randy and I write songs, that we can recommend to street people, harlots, junkies, politicians, ... businessmen". In an interview in Campus Life magazine, Norman defended his approach: "My primary emphasis is not to entertain. But if your art is boring, people will reject your message as well as your art".

By 1982 Norman had gained some acceptance as a substitute for secular rock artists. For example, The Encyclopedia of Christian Parenting recommended: "If your child develops an interest in TV star magazines or rock records, you may want to encourage a Christian orientation by giving Campus Life or Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, or Barry McGuire records as gifts".

In an interview after Solid Rock records had broken up, "Norman said that he was very unhappy about the reaction of Christian artists to their success. He faulted most of them for basking in acceptance (and money) from Christians. ... Norman felt that many artists were becoming Christian celebrities and ignoring their mission to the unbeliever. In particular, he was unhappy that Christian artists were unwilling to play clubs and other secular venues, and he was very put off that artists were not "preaching" between songs and making the Gospel clear—in confrontational terms." Commenting on Christian music in 1984, Norman said: "I'm pleased with what's happening in England and Europe...but I'm not totally thrilled about the commercialisation of Christian music in America." Two years prior to the 1984 interview, he had complained that Christian music generally meant "sloppy thinking, dishonest metaphors, and bad poetry" and stated that "I've never been able to get over the shock of how bad the lyrics are."

In 1989, Norman said: "I love the church and my sisters and brothers, but I didn't always feel welcome. And the church never felt like home". Also in 1989 Norman was awarded the Christian Artists' Society Lifetime Achievement Award in a surprise ceremony at Estes Park, Colorado.

In 2008 Norman still criticised the CCM industry and some of its practices. According to Philip Cooney,

"Norman is critical of the modern Praise and Worship movement and the operation of CCLI. The modern hymn writers he was at pains to shield from criticism some 30 years ago are now being questioned by Norman for becoming part of a multi-national Praise and Worship industry, producing manufactured rather than genuine praise.... Norman asks why a song written as an act of worship should remain the lucrative copyright property of the composer and not the property of the one to whom it is being offered—God: 'God doesn't charge us a fee to worship Him. Isn't it enough that the publisher and writer make money from the CD sales? Do they also have to be paid every time a congregation sings their song? They also get paid for the sheet music which choirs use to memorize their compositions. Isn't that enough money?' On the other hand, this may be seen as further evidence of Norman's long-standing criticism of the commercialization of the gospel music industry."