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Bands reaping miracle
No music is more reliant on its message than Christian music. And in a time when Christian music is selling better than its secular brothers and sisters, that message - whether it serves God or mammon - is clear.

Solid Christian acts such as the Newsboys and Rebecca St. James, who are touring together and playing Denver and Colorado Springs this weekend, are masters of marketing - and the church community lends itself to it.

Many Christian artists use their music, their charismatic sway and their worldwide exposure to influence others and spread their word. Just as religious artists making films and writing books have learned (think "Omega Code"), the church is a powerful promotional tool that operates on the cost-effective vehicle known as word-of-mouth. And sales are thriving, posting numbers that, in an otherwise moribund industry, are downright miraculous.

But it's getting a bit weird.

Open up the latest Newsboys disc, "Adoration: The Worship Album," and out pops an ad pitching "The Official Bible of the Newsboys." The book is the "NIV Student Bible," and the leaflet includes a bold quote from Newsboys frontman Peter Furler: "The NIV Student Bible has been and continues to be my daily read."

You might think the ad random, unless you also come across Rebecca St. James' 2003 greatest-hits CD. Inside her "Wait for Me: The Best From Rebecca St. James" is an insert hyping Eugene H. Peterson's "The Message." The pitch: "There is so much that is fake about our society," St. James writes. "My generation is craving something that is real, honest and true. 'The Message' is straight up! It's modern, relevant and direct."...