Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

American bassist Jim Pruitt first became involved in CCM when he was converted at the age of 13 up until what he describes as "20 odd years of apostasy." After coming back to the Lord, Pruitt became involved in CCM again and, to help him get answers to unresolved questions about the industry, he has written the Contemporary Christian Musician's Survival Manual. Subtitled Biblical Principles Applied To Common Issues Facing Contemporary Christian Musicians, this is a very down to earth and hands on tool which will be of use - and not least a challenge - to the faithful small church worship group and the Nashville megastar alike. Pruitt rightfully warns the reader that to go headlong into a music ministry without seeking God's purpose is asking for trouble and the cause of a lot of what is ungodly in the industry today. With this as the basis of his writings, Pruitt sets out to help Christian musicians recognise what impact their own lives have on their sometimes naive and impressionable audience and guide them to a place of fruitfulness through obedience to God. There are some thorny issues tackled here - from band relations and authority to the business element of music, together with staying on track spiritually and thoughts on being involved in secular music. On the whole, Pruitt challenges the reader in a firm but loving manner. Thankfully, Pruitt is careful to link his opinions back to Scripture at every opportunity making it easier for the reader to cross-reference and wrestle with the findings presented throughout the book and he wisely seasons what is a potentially heavy subject matter with humorous anecdotes of various musical disasters from his own experience. This book serves as a wake up call to get our lives and therefore our music ministries right with God and the section on reverse engineering will be extremely helpful for those already in the thick of CCM to help get things in line and survive in what is a tough field of ministry.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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