what is Resurge?

In a nutshell, Resurge is a website/blog devoted to encouraging a return to the hymns that have stood the test of time, and encouraging the writing of new ones that will as well. Resurge will do this through:

• encouraging songwriters to excellence in all areas of songwriting, both lyrically and melodically – and providing resources to that end;
• exhorting the audience to excellence in what they listen to, and equipping them with music that meets this criteria; and
• providing a community where musical integrity is cool and encouraged.

I haven’t gotten everything figured out yet, but I believe God has big plans for Resurge. The blog is where I’ll write about the different aspects of Resurgency – writing music, writing lyrics, and especially about why I believe there is a need for Resurge.

why do we need Resurge?

Today’s Christian youth predominately listens to Christian music. That’s great, isn’t it? We blindly listen to whatever CD comes out with the word “Christian” on it, and think we’re doing great. Our Christian music stations are devoted to delivering “positive,” “encouraging,” and “uplifting” music. That’s great, too, right?

No, it’s not. As Christians, we need to strive to take every area of our lives captive for the glory of Christ – and, sadly, most of the music we listen to falls short of this ideal.

Musically, we listen to songs that have traded a real melody for thousands of dollars of studio sound engineering. Frankly, some of our songs are completely indistinguishable from secular music – because you can’t hear the words over the noise that is being passed off as music.

Lyrically, our songs have lost the doctrine, teaching, and awe of God that they used to have. Our worship songs show this most clearly – stated bluntly, an entire chorus of “Agnus Dei” will never hold a candle to a couple verses of “It Is Well With My Soul”.

And socially, we’re plugging ourselves into a record label, as long as it says “Christian”. We idolize our favorite Christian artists, and even if we don’t, we still like their music, and passively support it that way. Even if we didn’t like this kind of music, we’d probably go along with the crowd and listen to it anyway.

Certainly there are definite evangelistic advantages to Christian Contemporary Music, and Resurge recognizes that. When it’s used correctly, music that (at least musically) sounds just like the world’s can be a huge outreach tool. But for the Christian teens out there – it’s time we stopped settling for mediocrity!

We need to take back our worship services, with music that glorifies God lyrically and melodically. We need to take back our CD players with music that will stand the test of time. And we need to create a community of people who aren’t afraid to buck the trend of passive music consumption.

That’s why we need Resurge.

about me (kiefer partridge)

Resurge was born out of a couple of conversations I've had with my dad about things he's been teaching me all my life.

It's become something my whole family talks about -- the theological insignificance of Christian songs today, contrasted with the Biblical doctrine in the old hymns that my parents grew up with. The melodic inferiority of practically all music today. How to write a tune. Things like that.

So now I'm a teen. I listen to music a lot more than I used to. And I find myself having to overlook so much -- "Well, I know the tune is nonexistent, but the words are good." I'd buy CDs, hoping to find a couple of songs that were semi-melodic. It got to where I'd buy music at the thrift store, because it was so unlikely that I'd find anything good that I didn't want to pay full price.

And it started rumbling in the back of my head that there needed to be a movement to change all this. To pursue excellence in music, both in what we write and what we listen to. And suddenly I realized that I could do something -- not just pursue excellence on a personal level, but to show the problem to others. Wow.

And Resurge was born. Just like Martin Luther proclaiming a back-to-the-basics truth based solely on God's Word, we need to take back our worship services and our CD players for the glory of God. We need to stand united, because it's so hard to stand alone.

So get involved -- become a resurgent, sign up for the blog updates, and be a part of this renaissance of excellence in music!

Kiefer Partridge, 16
Gillette, WY
kiefer@resurgemovement.com