Make American Christianity GOOD Again
- Elaine R Kelly
- Apr 10
- 15 min read
Updated: Apr 25
This year during Lent, I have been pondering how Christians can encourage one another to grow in goodness. Lent is an ecumenical practice, shared by those who overlook their differences and work together. Throughout Lent, I've been thinking about how Christians are increased by a form of Christianity that seeks to grow in greatness.
It wasn't always that way. The seeds of a Christianity seeking goodness were planted in the 1960s and 70s. Then weeds, seeking dominance, and power, came and choked them out,
The songs of the era reflect the doctrines of the time.
Christian songs of the 1960s and 1970s Promote Acceptance, Peace, Justice, and Love
Since Lent is an ecumenical practice, shared by Christians of various traditions, I am pondering worship songs shared by Christians of various traditions. Ecumenical Christianity, where Christians work together despite our differences, gained popularity in the 1970s in the wake of the civil rights movement and Vietnam protests. Christian music of the time reflects the values of equality, acceptance, respect, and love.
Ecumenical Songs that Unify:
The ecumenical movement of the 1970s served to build on the goals of peace and love. It attracted the secular world to Christianity, with secular music sharing gospel messages.
For example:
Everything is Beautiful (in its own way)
I'd like to Teaach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)
Let There Be Peace on Earth (and let it begin with me)
One Tin Soldier
Put Your Hand in the Hand (of the man from Galilee)
Day by Day (Godspell)
Spirit in the Sky
"Beloved, Let Us Love One Another"
With lyrics straight from the Bible, it is enjoyed by Christians of many traditions. Jesus told us to love one another as he loved us: sacrificially, generously, and unconditionally. He said others would know we are his followers by our love. Jesus said anyone who does not show love does not know God, since God is love. That's where Christians of different traditions let their doctrines outweigh their kindness. They let their beliefs take priority over their behaviour. May we find common ground in our belief in Jesus and work together on our common calling to love our neighbours as Jesus loves us.
Love does not mean assuming a superior position to judge or restrict others.
Love means assuming an equal position and serving one another; it's reciprocal.
Love is showing kindness, respect, listening, hearing, believing, caring for others unconditionally (without judging their worthiness), and serving others sacrificially (even if it means facing adversity). Christian love means modelling God's love for all humanity.
"One in the Spirit"
This ecumenical worship song was written in 1966 by a Catholic priest, Father Peter Scholtes, and is sung and enjoyed by Catholics, Charismatics, Evangelicals, and Mainline Protestants. It is also based on words straight from the Bible: We are One in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:4, 1 Corinthians 6:17), and "They'll Know We Are Christians By our Love" (John 13:35).
Ecumenical Christians respect various Christian traditions and focus on our shared belief in Jesus and the Bible. Infighting about doctrine is a bad witness to the world. So is favouritism and inequality. We may represent God better to the world if we can show how we are many parts of one body, working together with one Lord, Jesus.
Marijohn Wilkin: I Have Returned
Marijohn was one of the most successful female country songwriters ever, writing about three hundred songs and forming her own record company. I listened to her 1974 album "I Have Returned" at my Granny's house. She released it after recovering from alcoholism and returning to the faith. The title track says:
"I have returned to the God of my childhood, to the simple-like faith as a child I once knew. Like the prodigal son, I longed for my loved ones, for the comforts of home and the God I outgrew."
Her songs reflect her back to basic beliefs, the focus on the joy of knowing and trusting Jesus, and the overarching command to love one another. I enjoy many of her songs.
Marijohn: One Day at a Time
My dad often repeated this phrase, reflecting his optimism in what was to come. The song is a prayer asking God to show us the way and help us each day to do what we have to do. It is considered the biggest gospel song of the 1970s, won a Dove Award from the Gospel Music Association and sealed Marijohn's place in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Marijohn: God Is Love
Marijohn warns us not to quote Jeremiah's warnings of destruction while forgetting to quote 1st John (Beloved Let Us Love One Another, 1 John 4:7-8). Love one another is reciprocal. It's safe to be vulnerable where there is mutual love. Loving like Jesus means caring about others as much as we care about ourselves. It also means knowing others care about us as much as they care about themselves.
Marijohn: It All Belongs to the Father
This Marijohn song affirms that we don't need to be afraid because all people and places belong to the Father. The good Lord made the mountains and valleys and loves us still. No matter your race, God made us all and loves us the same. We all belong to the Father and that makes us all brothers (and sisters). That's why he told us to love one another.
Marijohn: Follow the Jesus Sign
While the above are on Marijohn's "I Have Returned" album, this song is from her 1976 album "Reach Up and Touch God's Hand". This song opens with "I don't care about your doctrine, I don't care how you believe - As long as you love Jesus, you and I can agree." The main idea is that if we follow Jesus, we will live and love as Jesus loved, and we will learn to love one another.
"Make Me a Channel of Your Peace"
Also known as the "Prayer of St. Francis," was set to a chant-like melody in 1967 by Sebastian Temple, a South African Catholic who became a Third Order Franciscan. It is an ecumenical song, shared by Catholics, Baptists, Quakers, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans - it was played at the funeral of Princess Diana. There is no record of the 13th-century Francis of Assisi writing it, and the earliest copy is from 1912 in French in from 1927 in an English-language Quaker magazine.
Unfortunately, I've seen Christians using this song to preach instead of to pray. Preaching it means telling others to keep the peace by staying silent about crimes or injustice. Preaching it means keeping peace by getting someone else to change. Preaching it means authoritarian leaders can continue in peace, without trouble. Preaching it means telling a victim not to seek consolation, understanding, or love, but to simply keep giving, forgiving, and allowing those in charge to hide their faults.
The truth is that peace comes from two-way communication, airing concerns, and addressing them. Making peace requires reciprocity. This song is not a way to preach to other people to change. It's a prayer to change yourself. You can be a channel of peace, love, and hope only by listening respectfully, seeking to understand others, building understanding, seeking justice, and by loving kindness. The Lord requires that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
My Father's Eyes: Christians imitating Christ have Empathy
Amy Grant was included in the Evangelical Christian family when she submitted herself to the men in her life. She was excluded when she grew up and pursued her dreams of crossing over from the Christian music bubble to pop music, when she got divorced, and later when she came out as an LGBTQ ally.
Amy Grant never stopped being a follower of Jesus, and never stopped trying to see others with the love of God. But evangelicals have become more conservative and exclusionary since the 1970s. Back then, imitating Jesus meant having empathy. Empathy was not a sin.
After becoming the "Queen of Christian Pop" she became the first Christian singer-songwriter who was also successful as a contemporary pop singer. Conservative Christians complained her outfits were too worldly and too sexy, and they condemned her for her divorce and remarriage. They stopped counting her as “one of them.” Christian radio stations and music stores dropped her music.
But she did not drop her faith. Grant returned to Christian pop with a 2002 album of hymns.
Grant has sold more than 30 million albums, and won six Grammy Awards and 22 Dove Awards. In 2022 she revealed she planned to host her niece’s same-sex wedding on her farm.
“Honestly, from a faith perspective, I do always say, ‘Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other,’” she said. “I mean, hey, that’s pretty pretty simple.”
Life is Better with Jesus In It
Christians are already in God's presence.
We have already joined God's kingdom.
Have you been taught
believing in Jesus is all about the afterlife
you need to give up the good times to get to heaven.
preachers have scared you regarding the afterlife to keep your loyalty.
Take a breath.
You can have a different view of the end times and still be a Christian.
Many Christians believe that Jesus already established God's kingdom on earth. It's in us. God reigns over all who believe.
"The reign of God is within you" Luke 17:21
A person who follows Christ is now a new person. Your new life has begun. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Evie sang this song about the joy, freedom, and value of having Jesus in our lives right now.
Evie Tornquist was the most popular woman in Contemporary Christian music in the late 1970s. Her songs promoted the joy and freedom of living as a Christian. They promoted showing empathy, compassion, and love.
That's when Evangelicals did not exclude Christians who held other views of the End Times. That was before the Conservative resurgence in Christianity.
Evie won the Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1977 and 1978. Her album, Mirror, was released in 1978 and was nominated for a Grammy Award. The title track explores how the face of each Christian is a way for others to see God. Our eyes are windows to the soul and can show the powerful presence of the living Holy Spirit within you.
Don't live in guilt, shame, and fear about fire and brimstone.
Christ brings certainty, forgiveness, freedom and joy.
The Lord's Prayer: Everyone Wants to Say It
This song, by an Australian Catholic nun, was a #1 hit on secular, pop radio charts in 1974, making Sister Janet Mead the first Australian artist to have a Gold Record in the US. The song was distributed to 31 countries and sold more than 2 million copies. Sister Janet Mead donated all the proceeds to charity.
Sung by a Catholic and popular with Christians of all traditions, this song shows how Christians with different doctrines can work together. It comes down to remembering what we have in common, including The Lord's Prayer. With words from the Bible, it is commonly used by Christians who are Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, and Evangelical.
The passive phrasing of the prayer leaves it open to interpretation to decide who is doing the action: who is bringing God's kingdom to earth? Who is ensuring God's will is done?
Passive: We are passive. The phrase "thy kingdom come" can be seen as a plea that Christ return and establish a millennium of peace. The Almighty will do what the Almighty plans to do. People are to leave this messy world in God's hands.
Active: We are active. The phrase "thy kingdom come" can be seen as a plea that Christ will empower us to build God's kingdom on earth by showing love and doing good. Sayijng "thy will be done", can be seen as a human decision to let God reign in our lives and rule over our behaviour, making us love others, seek justice, and overturn evil.
Today's conservative Christianity repels the world by hating. When Evangelicals claim they are the only valid form of Christianity, the only Bible-believing Christians, and set rules to enforce their version of Christianity, they chase away Christians of other traditions. When Evangelicals and Fundamentalists promote war against culture and claim that the Bible calls for white nationalism, male patriarchy, or LGBTQ+ exclusion, the world sees Christianity as harmful.
Ecumenical Christians attract the world by showing love, feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the cold, and advocating for equal opportunities regardless of race or gender. There is no culture war with the world because the world sees Christianity as good. Video Short: The Lord's Prayer
Let's Just Praise the Lord
Gloria and Bill Gaither are co-workers for Christ, like Prisca and Aquila. Since the 70s, they've left a legacy of over 700 gospel songs. Bill Gaither has helped many younger performers get started in the Christian music industry. The Bill Gaither Trio and Gatiher Vocal Band have won multiple Grammy Awards and Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. Gloria herself has written more than 40 books and is a respected academic scholar. It is not an accident that their songs are loved by Evangelicals, Protestants, and Catholics. Their songs radiate with love, acceptance, peace and joy. I hear their songs and think of God's Goodness.
A few of my favourite Gaither songs include:
The Family of God
Let's Just Praise the Lord
Something Beautiful
Because He Lives
For Those Tears I Died
He Touched Me
There's Something about that Name
I have always loved (I'm so Glad I'm a part of) The Family of God, written by Gloria and Bill Gaither. It proclaims that I, as a woman, am a joint heir with Jesus. It encourages empathy, and sharing one another's tears. It's so affirming and welcoming and loving... until it's not.
At some point, I realized that when Baptists sang this beautiful song, they meant men were equal heirs with Jesus and women inherited a lesser portion, fewer freedoms, and a smaller role. Women inherited entrance to the family, but nothing else.
Did the evangelicals sing this song and think these songs:
don't apply to women singing and that they have equal rights and freedoms.
proclaim the biblical message that all believers, men and women, have the rights of sons
praise God that Paul wrote that for those in Christ, there is no more male and female
obey God's words that God sees the heart and does not judge by outward appearance (stature, race, gender, or sexual orientation)
How did it happen that such a beautiful, warm, and welcoming song is now sung to celebrate who's "in" the family and who's "out"?
I believe many of the Gaither songs reflect a Christianity that is Good, a Christianity that was predominant in the 1970s when their career began. Bill and Gloria Gaither are influential evangelical gospel singers.
Fundamentalist Christians Don't Want to Praise the Lord with the Rest of Us
But Evangelicals have changed since the beginning of the Gaither ministry. Evangelicals have become more strict in defining acceptable doctrine and more narrow in their definition of who is a Christian. Some Evangelicals and Fundamentalists now reject the Gaither songs their tolerance and non-judgemental attitudes as heresy and their lack of concern about doctrinal purity makes their songs unbiblical. They say that this tolerance is the result of letting the world influence their lyrics.
Bill Gaither has an ecumenical philosophy, calling Catholics his brothers and sisters. He enjoys seeing Christians of many denominations praise the Lord together. He has said that understanding different points of view is part of his calling, Unity does not depend on our consensus of opinion, but on our unity in Christ. Gaither says to get out of the judgment business and just get into the business of being what God wants us to be. And I say "Amen!"
One of the songs performed by Bill and Gloria Gaither is "For Those Tears I Died". In fact, this song is one of the most well-known Christian folk songs of the 1970s and was included in numerous evangelical hymnals and songbooks.
The song seems to speak pain in the writer's youth, and how God accepted and loved her.
Here's the chorus:
"And Jesus said,' Come to the water, Stand by my side. I know you are thirsty, you won't be denied. I felt every teardrop, when in darkness you cried. And I'm here to remind you, that for those tears I died."
After Marsha Stevens, the writer of that song, divorced and came out as lesbian in 1981, she was cut out of her previous Christian music band, told her she was condemned, took her albums out of Christian music stores and ripped her songs out of their music books. Her record company tried to deny her royalties, claiming she had renounced her Christian faith.
But she stayed true to Christ. She started a new band. She is faithful to her new partner.
Bill Gaither Chose Goodness over Greatness
Bill and Gloria Gaither remained her friends. They continued to sing her song. After closing their 2002 NYE concert with her song, Bill Gaither invited her backstage and posed for a photo with her. From the stage during the concert, Bill Gaither addressed her saying, "But we sang a song by a young lady who's here tonight, Marsha Stevens, and Marsha, we have sung that song all over the country and I love it because you may have seen and grown up with a Jesus that maybe was pushing you away, that wouldn't let you in, and you were never good enough. The only Christ I know is the Christ in that song, with his arms out very wide, saying, "come to the water." That's the only Christ I know. Come as you are." [At this point the audience breaks into strong applause.] - Rev. Nancy L. Wilson, Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches, May 26, 2006.
Rumours swirled among evangelicals about whether or not Bill Gaither affirmed LGBTQ+. Fundamentalists pressured him to make a statement. Four years later, in 2006, he made this statement:
"Apparently, a visit by Marsha Stevens to a Gaither Homecoming concert in 2002 is being misrepresented and misused by her and others. Marsha Stevens is an outspoken lesbian singer-songwriter who operates an organization called Born Again Lesbian Music (BALM Ministries). Her story is a sad one.... Gloria and I were celebrating our 40th anniversary that night and we sang a number of songs that had been special to us over the years, including, "For Those Tears I Died." I mentioned, from the platform, that the woman who wrote that song "is here tonight." I then said that I love that song because someone "may have seen a grownup with a Jesus that maybe is pushing you away, that wouldn't let you in. And you were never good enough. The only Christ I know is the Christ in that song, with His arms out very wide, saying, "come to the water." That's the only Christ I know -- come as you are." ... I regret that this brief exchange has apparently been used to suggest some sort of endorsement of Marsha and her current life and work. Clearly I do not endorse or support either..." - Bill Gaither statement regarding misrepresentation, issued May 4, 2006.
In a 2007 interview with Justin Ryan, Marsha Stevens-Pino reveals that many people were angry with Bill Gaither for apparently taking back what he said on stage. In this interview, she explains why she is not angry:
1. She has empathy. Bill Gaither has given all he has, his life and work to help others come to Christ through gospel music. Thousands of people rely on the Gaithers for their ministries and livelihoods. If we were similarly backed into a corner, we might be scared too.
2. She followed the biblical instruction to privately approach a brother or sister who has sinned against you. She has attempted to do that in writing to Bill Gaither.
3. She prays for Bill Gaither. He's struggling to do what's right. He's the one that needs strength and courage. She also prays for LGBTQ+ gospel singers who have gone back into the closet. He has done something that wasn't right, forced into doing it because he was scared and couldn't figure out the right thing to do because so many people were depending on him. As Christians, we need to pray for one another.
Evangelicals Chose Greatness over Goodness
It appears that Evangelicals threatened to take down the Gaither's, their music, and their awesome legacy. If only Evangelicals could empathize with LGBTQ+. It appears that Evangelicals chose power over empathy, and Greatness over Goodness.
By putting a focus on our common belief in Jesus and the Bible, the ecumenical movement empowers the church in the world and attracts people to this God of love.
Click here for my recent video, where I give examples of Conservative Christianity:
- rejecting the Jesus movement
- rejecting Christian rock
- opposing peace in Vietnam
- opposing racial desegregation
- refusal to respect or cooperate with Christians of other traditions
- opposing religious freedom in authoritarian countries
- reversing their support for keeping the government out of personal moral choices
- opposing women's ordination and other women's freedoms
- excluding gays from membership and fellowship
On a personal note, Evangelicals limit exposure for me because I am a feminist and LGBTQ-affirming writer. If that resonates with you, check out my books on Amazon.
It's obvious why I'm an #exvangelical
What about you? Do you want Christianity to be great and powerful, ruling over all?
Or do you want Christianity to aim for goodness, kindness, gentleness, peace, patience, self-control, empathy, mercy, and love?
Follow my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ERK4Canada for more meditations on ecumenical songs that unite us.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1 (2022)
The Sword A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called: from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church, imagines Mary Magdalene's trip to testify before the emperor (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
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