Moore Spreads Faith With Music
When you listen to Geoff Moore’s music there is no doubt about his faith.
He is a Christian singer with a Christian message.
There is no hidden agenda; there is no subtle innuendo about the Spirit.
“I believe that Jesus died/So that we would have eternal life/Not only beyond the grave/But eternity today,” he sings on the song “The In Betweens.”
“Ultimately, what I want to communicate is this gospel message that Jesus loves us exactly like we are, that our sins can be forgiven and that we can live in a relationship with him,” Moore says.
Moore, who has been performing Christian music with a rock twist for the past 13 years, arrives in Spokane Sunday.
“When I first started, Christian rock was sort of suspect,” Moore says, explaining that some of his early concerts were picketed by incensed worshipers convinced that such sounds were the purview of the less-than-holy trinity: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.
But over time - and especially recently - rock ‘n’ roll has firmly entrenched itself in Christian music and lifestyles. The pope has even declared these loud guitars and drum-driven beats just fine by God.
“We’ve got artists who’ve been around for over a decade who are not drug-crazed people out to get your daughters. They have instead led stable consistent lives, loved their families and have created good art.”
Moore is one of several such minstrels to perform in the Inland Northwest in recent months. Jars of Clay played last week. Third Day, All Star United and Switchfoot will perform in Spokane on Nov. 11.
But as Christian music is becoming increasingly enfolded by both religious and secular audiences, it seems the holy message often gets downplayed. The more popular the song, the less overtly-Christian the lyrics seem.
To non-believers, such restraint may come as a pleasant reprieve from the preachiness foisted upon them in other Christian venues.
But to some in the gospel realm it seems like an weak-kneed approach to spreading the word.
“I do not have a problem with Christian artists making pop music if that’s where they feel like God wants them to be,” Moore says. “But if that’s where they feel like God wants them, that’s where they need to boldly go with courage.”
Moore says he approaches his music with two ideas in mind.
“I wanted to communicate music that would be entertaining to Christians, encouraging to Christians, challenging to Christians, but I also wanted to create music that would be entertaining to seeking people, non-believers, intriguing to them.”
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: CONCERT Geoff Moore and The Distance perform Sunday at Shadle Park High School Auditorium, 4327 N. Ash. Out of Eden and Small Town Poets open the show, which begins at 6 p.m. Tickets: $11 to $18, available through area Christian bookstores.