Life
Christian Life
-
Stryper Announces Christmas in July Single
Michael Sweet, frontman of iconic Christian metal band Stryper, announced the band’s upcoming Christmas single will be released on July 29, in a throwback to the old standard day for releasing music on Tuesdays. The song, “Still the Light,” is from their forthcoming Christmas album, set to release later this year. Sweet and the guys from Stryper have been teasing this Christmas project for several months. While the band had recorded a couple of Christmas songs over the years, this will be their first-ever full-length Christmas project. The band has promised a mix of original songs and covers of classical favorites. Stryper became one of Christmas music’s first and most…
-
Ditched, Dissed and Dismissed
I gave my whole heart to this project I was invited into… I thought about it in the morning, sent text messages at noon, and prayed at night. I was going to –come hell or highwater — be. faithful. to. this. mission. Yet, something was wrong. Way wrong. Despite my best attempt to see things through, I couldn’t lie to myself any longer. Pressing questions remained, like: Why are they engaging so little and pushing off meeting? Where is their enthusiasm and feedback? Why do I feel a door shut in my face when I have something to say? Why am I continually (and, seemingly foolishly), pressing in while they…
-
The Weirdest CCM Album You May Have Never Heard Of?
One sleepy Saturday in 1989, no doubt after yet another viewing of Batman at the mall multiplex, I wandered into Family Bookstore to peruse the cassettes on the New Release wall. My young eyes were drawn to a sepia-colored cover featuring a strange, imposing figure in the wilderness, wearing shades and a cape. The band was The Swirling Eddies. The album: Outdoor Elvis. Full disclosure: I already owned their debut album, Let’s Spin. It’s a solid introduction to what now feels like a proto-’90s alt-pop sound, something that wouldn’t feel out of place among The La’s, The Lemonheads, Stone Roses, or even Soul Asylum. In fact, lead singer Camarillo Eddy (not his real name)…
-
Bethel Music at 25
What began as a humble outpouring of local worship in a small town in Northern California has grown into one of the most influential worship movements of the modern Church. In 2025, Bethel Music celebrates 25 years of ministry, a quarter-century of songs, moments, and spiritual awakenings that have echoed far beyond the walls of Redding’s Bethel Church. Co-founded by Brian and Jenn Johnson in 2001, Bethel Music emerged from the overflow of their home church’s passion for God’s presence. But what started as a simple pursuit became a global sound that helped define the first wave of modern worship. Since their official recorded debut with Here Is Love in 2010, Bethel…
-
Sleigh What?! Christmas Tours, Yellow & Black Goes Red & Green, and Mark Lowry Answers Our Questions…
Nothing says Christmas like a 102-degree heat index in downtown Nashville. It’s July in Music City, and while the rest of the country is debating pool floats and sunscreen, your favorite CCM artists are likely huddling inside a studio, cranking the AC, dimming the lights, sipping mediocre hot chocolate, lighting up mini trees from Hobby Lobby, and doing everything in their power to summon that holly jolly magic right now. Why? Because new Christmas music season starts the moment you polish off that last bite of Thanksgiving pie—and these artists want to be ready. While we are still a bit away from cranking up the Andy Williams, Christmas tours are being…
-
Taking Kids Beyond Belief: Dorla Schlitt’s New Adventure
“I wrote this book to help children and youth see the Bible as one continuous story of God’s love for man and His faithfulness to His Word,” remembers Dorla Schlitt. That simple mission—connecting hearts to the unbroken thread of God’s redemption—has guided Dorla’s life as both an educator and author. Over the years, she’s shared that vision in classrooms, Sunday schools, and through beloved children’s resources from publishers like Lifeway and Thomas Nelson. But it all comes together in her latest work, The Adventure of the Scarlet Thread: The Promise Fulfilled a visually rich and theologically grounded book that traces the “scarlet thread” of God’s promise from Genesis to the arrival of…
-
Ozzy Goes Home: Christian Rock Remembers the Godfather of Heavy Metal
“Maybe it’s not too late, to learn how to love and forget how to hate.” —Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train” (1980) Those lyrics never sounded like they came from the Prince of Darkness—they’d feel more at home in a non-denominational worship service. John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne passed away, July 22, 2025, at the age of 76—just seventeen days after what would become his final public performance. And while the headlines will inevitably revisit the bat, the bans, and the black eyeliner, those of us who came up inside music—especially Christian music—should know the truth is deeper. Ozzy was the godfather of heavy metal. Period. Without him, the genre as we know…
-
20 Years Later: The Eternal Strength of How Great Is Our God
Some songs are written. Others feel given. For Chris Tomlin, “How Great Is Our God” was the kind of song that arrived like a gift—unexpected, unshaped, and ultimately unstoppable. Now, twenty years after it first hit worship sets around the world, Tomlin is still in awe of how far the song has traveled. “People ask me what’s my favorite song I’ve ever been a part of,” Tomlin says. “I always say that one, because the way it’s crossed cultures, crossed generations… I feel like it’s not attached to me anymore. It’s the one song that completely feels unattached.” Let that sink in: the man who co-wrote and first recorded one…
-
From Good Day to X-Ray: Forrest Frank Breaks His Back and Drops a New Track
Fresh off the record-breaking Child of God tour, it seemed to be a casual day in the Frank household—until it wasn’t.In what can only be described as the most tragically adorable accident ever caught on a front door cam, Forrest Frank, the lo-fi CCM trailblazer, took a gnarly skateboard spill right in his own driveway. The video, which has since gone viral, is both graphic and somehow… heartwarming? Forrest hits the pavement hard… and then, like a moment straight out of a Pixar short film, his toddler rushes over to check on him and keeps bragging about helping his dad. Despite obvious pain, Forrest kept his composure like a true Texan, calmly…
-
Crowder Releases New Version of Still Featuring Zach Williams
Crowder has released a new version of his hit song “Still” featuring Zach Williams along with a new music video. The original version of “Still” is from Crowder’s 2024 album The Exile which also features the songs “Grave Robber” and “Somebody Prayed.” Crowder also collaborated with Williams on a version of “Grave Robber” released in July 2024. William’s latest single “Jesus Loves” was released January 2025.[…]




























