On May 5, 1995, I made a daring decision that I will always remember. It was the weekend before college final exams and I decided to go camping with some friends while attending a CCM festival. Many CCM bands were playing all night and all the next day. Their music was very emotional. I was not a Christian at this time but enjoyed the music very much, because of how it made me feel. My friends shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with me that night and the next day God saved me. What a glorious day when the Truth of God opened my heart!

It was only natural that I attend church with my friends. The church members had no problem with singing and listening to CCM. At that time, I thought this was the music all followers of Christ enjoyed.

A close friend advised me to read my Bible and pray every day in order to grow closer to the Lord. This advice proved true. Some verses I read and prayed about were Romans 12:1 and 2: “Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

To commit my whole body to the Lord—what a sacrifice! But Jesus sacrificed His whole life for me. He could surely be trusted with every area of my life. How wonderful to let Him make decisions and choices for me. Therefore, I asked Him to be in control of every area, mentioning specific ones such as friends, clothing, and music.

For three or four years after my salvation, I listened to CCM. During this time, additional Bible verses would captivate my heart such as 1 John 2:15,“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Toward the end of those three to four years, questions about CCM began coming to mind.
“If this CCM artist sings Christian songs about God and then turns around and also sings about worldly things on the secular radio stations, how can this person say he loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength as we are commanded to?”

Another question that came to mind was:
“If I have the CCM radio station on in my car, and another car pulls up next to mine at a stop light, will the people in the other car be able to know I’m a Christian?”

The answer to this last question was NO. It bothered me because I desired to be a good testimony for Jesus. He gave His life for me and I must live completely for Him.

A few months after entertaining these questions, I became very disgusted with CCM music. One day while driving, the song on the CCM radio station was by an artist who sang both CCM and secular songs. I was so angry that I turned off the radio and chose to never listen to CCM again. But what music should I listen to?

It was at this time that I graduated from college and moved away. To find a church, I looked in the phone book. One advertisement said, “Independent, Fundamental, Baptist.” I had never heard of this type of church before but it sounded as though it would be very biblical.

The first Sunday I visited, there was a small orchestra. When the pastor got up that Sunday morning, he said as a passing comment, “I’m so glad we have good music here—not like the world’s music.” In my heart, I said a loud, “AMEN!” That afternoon I met with the pastor and his wife. They shared their music with me. Indeed, it was not like the world’s music! It was not like CCM! If I were listening to it while riding in a car, I would not be afraid that someone would mistake me as an unbeliever.

This is a testimony of how the Lord Himself brought me out of the CCM scene. Praise is to Him!