To some music fans, Christian rock is an oxymoron. Fans of Motley Crue, Black Sabbath, and Marilyn Manson sneer at Christian rockers just as church goers sneer at the devil. But as the Lord is my witness, Sunday night's rock concert at the Skyreach Center was not all that different from a "secular" show. Girls in tank tops were screaming, fans were jumping around to the music, and members of Jars of Clay and DC Talk were posing like rock stars.

Heavens above, DC Talk even had a DJ as part of its nine-member posse of providence. Boy, they sure weren't kidding when they said Jesus had soul. And the Skyreach was abound with soul-as the 5000 fans sang and clapped along with two of the hottest Christian bands around. Indeed, about the only thing missing from Sunday night's show was two-fingered devil salutes. Oh, and beer.

"There's no alcohol sales in the building," frowned one concession worker." (There was, however, a big rush at the Briercrest Bible School info booth set up on the concourse.) Needless to say, the faithful didn't need any man-made substance to lift them higher. They had the music to move them, starting with the mellow college rock sounds of Jars of Clay.

In fact, the four main band members all resembled volunteers of a college radio station, and not clean-cut Sunday school altar boys. They sported t-shirts, baggy khakis, jeans and hip facial hair.

Their music wasn't all that God-fearing either. They sounded a lot like Crowded House and Hootie and the Blowfish-with a dash of Nirvana, Steely Dan and Rod Stewart thrown in for good measure. (Apparently, rock' n' roll is not the devil's music. Praise the Lord!)

Lyrically, though, Jars of Clay are more like Hootie and the Disciples. When they sing, "I want to fall in love with you," they're not referring to some buxom redhead. Their lyrics are peppered, obviously with references to God, saviors, walking on water and other Biblical allegories - yet their songs never sound oppressive and preachy.

Jars of Clay could have easily headlined the gig. They received nothing less than thunderous applause for each tune and their last number, "Lift Me Up" had everyone in the building doing jumping jacks. As a result, the band was even called upon to do an encore. They didn't, but they were nice enough to apologize for not servicing their fans. How many times have you heard of that happening?

"We have a problem, Houston," said Stephen Mason, one of the band's guitarists. "I'm sorry. You guys are being so generous but we have some medical difficulties backstage." We'd love to come back and play but we can't. So I'm going to tell a joke."

He didn't, proving that Christians are indeed capable of breaking the commandments. But no one seemed to pay much attention to his little indiscretion. They were all waiting for DC Talk to rock the temple. And that they did. They kicked things up a notch with their rock' n' funk sound and energetic onstage behavior. Two of the three vocalists moved like Elvis reincarnated, while the other jumped around like a homeboy from Cypress Hill.

But all that posturing wasn't lost on their fans. "They love God and they're into Jesus," said Nicole Hamilton, 16. Her mom, Katherine, agreed. "(This music) makes a lot more sense to me than (secular music). It gives you hope, cause everyone's looking for love," she said.

Amen*

*Transcribed from the Edmonton Journal, July 19, 1999, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.