The Gospel Unplugged: The Truth Behind Today's Christian Music
Acclaimed writer Rich Wagner, author of titles such as Christianity For Dummies, Christian Prayer For Dummies, and C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies, presents his latest work, The Gospel Unplugged: Turning Up The Volume on Songs That Rock Your Soul. The book unearths the meaning of twenty-five contemporary Christian songs recorded by popular music artists including Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, Nichole Nordeman, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, and Third Day.
Intended for a new generation of music-enthusiasts, Wagner’s Gospel Unplugged suggests that contemporary Christian artists may have as much of a theological influence on current generation -- not unlike cases involving great hymn writers of the past whom influenced generations through communicating biblical truths in songs.
At the end of each chapter, Wagner includes an “Action Steps” box providing specific challenges to help readers better live out the truth seen in the songs, as well as a “Diving Deeper” box providing pertinent Bible verses, books and films to reference for further exploration of the song’s theme.
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Wagner offers this challenge, “As you read through The Gospel Unplugged , I encourage you to dive into the meaning behind each song’s lyrics, discover their biblical foundation and get practical about how you apply these truths to your life.”
The Gospel Unplugged is the ninth title partnering Revell with Hungry Planet. Hungry Planet is a company founded to funnel truth to teens and adults with a postmodern mindset. The partnership between Revell and Hungry Planet has led to such best-selling titles as Dateable, Mean Girls, and The Dirt on Sex, to name a few.
“We will be promoting The Gospel Unplugged through targeted advertising to Generation X as well as to students,” says Twila Bennett marketing director of Revell. “We believe that the message of this book will appeal to those that read Relevant Magazine, Christian Music Planet and CCM , as well as young professionals and those who just like good music. We will also be pursuing ways to promote the book that connects to the fan base of the artists mentioned in the book. This book will give depth to songs that are already in the consciousness of music fans, and help them dig into what the songs truly say about faith and God.”
Hungry Planet General Manager Michael DiMarco notes, "A recent online poll asked Christians what one activity most helped them grow in their faith and the number one answer was 'listening to Christian music.’ Instead of us bemoaning the state of Bible study in typical Christians, The Gospel Unplugged takes popular songs to another level and medium of growth in a Christian music listener's daily life.”
At the end of each chapter, Wagner includes an “Action Steps” box providing specific challenges to help readers better live out the truth seen in the songs, as well as a “Diving Deeper” box providing pertinent Bible verses, books and films to reference for further exploration of the song’s theme.
Wagner offers this challenge, “As you read through The Gospel Unplugged , I encourage you to dive into the meaning behind each song’s lyrics, discover their biblical foundation and get practical about how you apply these truths to your life.”
A former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Wagner was previously V.P. of Product Development at NetObjects, an Internet software company, as well as inventor of NetObjects ScriptBuilder, an award-winning software tool. He has written numerous computer books and served as columnist for Delphi Informant magazine. He lives in Princeton, Massachusetts. He is also publisher and writer of Digitalwalk (www.digitalwalk.net), a discipleship-oriented website for challenging and encouraging Christians living in this postmodern, digital age.
Additional information on Rich Wagner and The Gospel Unplugged (0-8007-3052-6, $12.99, paper) can be found at www.RevellBooks.com or www.hungryplanet.net . His books can be found at Amazon.com ,ChristianBook.com ,Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore.
