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Few could have foreseen 10 years ago that Passion would eventually define a musical genre. What we consider modern worship music has stirred in churches for a few decades. In the early days, congregations requested songs like Keith Green's "Oh Lord, You're Beautiful" or Twila Paris's "He Is Exalted."

Due in part to the success of CD recordings of early Passion conferences, modern worship music boomed between 1999 and 2003. Christian rock artists churned out worship albums. The fad has since simmered. Yet Passion conferences have grown, and their albums continue to top Christian charts.

Recently, four songs written and performed by artists on Passion's Sixsteps record label cracked the list of top ten contemporary worship songs used in American churches, according to Christian Copyright Licensing International. "How Great Is Our God" by Chris Tomlin took the number one slot.

Popular among college students for years, songs from Passion's primary worship artists—Redman, Tomlin, Charlie Hall, and David Crowder Band—have exploded across age groups in the last couple years. "In some ways, Passion has put the words that people are going to say to God into the mouths of an entire generation," said Taylor Dodgen, 21, a sophomore at Baylor University and worship leader for his church's college ministry.

To be sure, modern worship music has its critics. They lament declining use of hymnals and declining musical and theological literacy. Others strain to hear Christian radio play anything other than relentlessly peppy, painfully repetitive praise choruses. But even many critics grant that Passion has set the industry standard for catchy songs that steer clear of cliché.

I caught up with Giglio on tour with Redman and Tomlin after Passion '07. Though weary of the worship wars, Giglio still defends the modern genre. "People have to remember when they're sitting in church holding the hymnal that they're looking at the top 100 hymns of all time," Giglio said. "I think as the church emerges 200 years from now, the best of the best of these new songs will survive."

Giglio, 48, especially resents charges that modern worship music neglects the hard times of life. He points out that Redman, who is British, wrote "Blessed Be Your Name" in response to the September 11 attacks. Redman composed "You Never Let Go" after his wife miscarried and terrorists bombed the London subway. Even his latest hit, "Shine," meets college students in their difficult moments.

"You can only imagine some of the lifestyles and mindsets they're encountering living on a college campus," Redman said. "It's into that environment that they shine with the radiance of Jesus Christ."

For many years, critics have also landed blows against modern worship music for fostering individualism. Giglio hasn't been deaf to such criticism, and he's challenged Passion artists to resist the temptation. As Tomlin composed "How Great Is Our God," Giglio exhorted him to exclude any verses about our relationship with God.

"If we keep saying it's all about God," Giglio said, "then every now and then a song will come along that doesn't have anything about us in it."

And if you keep calling your songs worship music, maybe that's what you'll get.

"You're going to lean away from singing about church," said John Piper, bestselling author and Minnesota pastor. Giglio has invited Piper to speak at every Passion conference. "You're going to sing about God. You'll look for stuff about God that awakens emotions and affections. You can go the intimacy route, which sounds like love songs. Or you can go the magnificence route, for transcendence."

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April 2007, Vol. 51, No. 4