Author | Lightnews

Reposted by Leah Payne

Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks to @jewlyheight, @wpln.bsky.social, and @thisisnashville.bsky.social for the chance to talk about the history of #CCM & the new Museum of Christian & Gospel Music in Nashville!
wpln.org/post/episode...

The rise and resurgence of Christian music

Gospel and Christian music call this city home.But until now, there hasn’t been an obvious physical location.

wpln.org

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks to @jewlyheight, @wpln.bsky.social, and @thisisnashville.bsky.social for the chance to talk about the history of #CCM & the new Museum of Christian & Gospel Music in Nashville!
wpln.org/post/episode...

The rise and resurgence of Christian music

Gospel and Christian music call this city home.But until now, there hasn’t been an obvious physical location.

wpln.org

1 4

Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · 8d

What a joy to be with the postdoctoral fellows of the @louisvilleinstitute. Thanks to @ericabryandramirez and the Rev Dr Vanessa Lovelace for their warm hospitality (and the dance party!) in the beautiful city of San Antonio!

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · 19d

I’d love to talk with him! I reached out several times to try to speak with him while I was writing the book!

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Bob Keeley @rkeeley.bsky.social · Sep 27

@drleahpayne.bsky.social I enjoyed your latest podcast. I might have chosen 1998 as a key year for CCM. That was, in my opinion, a year of crisis for the industry as popular artists made music that didn't mention Jesus and radio didn't know if they could/should play it or not. 1/2

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Matthew J (is) Tired @matthewjkuiper.bsky.social · Sep 24

Excellent analysis here from a scholar who knows the big-money/influence world of CCM better then most, @drleahpayne.bsky.social.

RNS @rns.org · Sep 24

OPINION: As contemporary Christian music grew as a business, the most successful political and social efforts were those aligned with the GOP platform.
religionnews.com/2025/09/22/a...

At Charlie Kirk's memorial, Christian artists play a role as GOP's political messengers

(RNS) — Political activists have recruited Christian musicians to sell policy, and Christian musicians have used their concerts to condemn abortion and support sexual abstinence campaigns.

religionnews.com

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Charles S. Freeman, but haunted @cspencef.bsky.social · Sep 23

I mean, she did write the book on this stuff…(doesn’t make the subject matter any more pleasant). religionnews.com/2025/09/22/a...

At Charlie Kirk's memorial, Christian artists play a role as GOP's political messengers

(RNS) — Political activists have recruited Christian musicians to sell policy, and Christian musicians have used their concerts to condemn abortion and support sexual abstinence campaigns.

religionnews.com

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Reposted by Leah Payne

David Dark @daviddark.bsky.social · Sep 23

@drleahpayne.bsky.social, meanwhile, has a helpful breakdown on yesterday's ceremony. I'm not sure how to characterize all the choices made by those involved. 2/x religionnews.com/2025/09/22/a...

At Charlie Kirk's memorial, Christian artists play a role as GOP's political messengers

(RNS) — Political activists have recruited Christian musicians to sell policy, and Christian musicians have used their concerts to condemn abortion and support sexual abstinence campaigns.

religionnews.com

1 2 5

Reposted by Leah Payne

RNS @rns.org · Sep 22

OPINION: Since its birth in the late 1970s, contemporary Christian music has encouraged conservative political activism, and it has thrived on marketing a religiously inspired American patriotism.
religionnews.com/2025/09/22/a...

At Charlie Kirk's memorial, Christian artists play a role as GOP's political messengers

(RNS) — Political activists have recruited Christian musicians to sell policy, and Christian musicians have used their concerts to condemn abortion and support sexual abstinence campaigns.

religionnews.com

6 4 9

Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Sep 23

Thank you, @bleaktheology.bsky.social !! 🎸✝️

Boorke Gutslinger @bleaktheology.bsky.social · Sep 22

I saw this headline and thought, "I hope this is @drleahpayne.bsky.social writing this" AND IT IS.

Therefore, it's essential reading for all.

RNS @rns.org · Sep 22

OPINION: Since its birth in the late 1970s, contemporary Christian music has encouraged conservative political activism, and it has thrived on marketing a religiously inspired American patriotism.
religionnews.com/2025/09/22/a...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Jason P. Woodbury @jasonpwoodbury.bsky.social · Sep 11

New on my Substack: I write about my appearance on @drleahpayne.bsky.social & @andrewgill.biz’s Rock That Doesn’t Roll podcast, my new talk with Marissa Nadler, & @wastoids.com’s new partnership with @spectrevision.bsky.social Radio.

Read: open.substack.com/pub/jasonpwo...

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Sep 10

Did @OzzyOsbourne invent Christian metal? Hear @jasonpwoodbury.bsky.social make his case to @andrewgill and me on Rock that Doesn't Roll #RTDR! 🤘✝️

Jason P. Woodbury @jasonpwoodbury.bsky.social · Sep 10

I've admired @drleahpayne.bsky.social & @andrewgill.biz's Rock That Doesn't Roll (@prx.org) podcast since it started, so it was a special pleasure to appear on it this week & argue my case that Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne invented Christian metal.

Tune in: pod.link/1703257857/e...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Jason P. Woodbury @jasonpwoodbury.bsky.social · Sep 10

I've admired @drleahpayne.bsky.social & @andrewgill.biz's Rock That Doesn't Roll (@prx.org) podcast since it started, so it was a special pleasure to appear on it this week & argue my case that Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne invented Christian metal.

Tune in: pod.link/1703257857/e...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

John Maiden @johnmaiden.bsky.social · Aug 26

events.baylorisr.org
Still time to book for @baylor.bsky.social #Evangelical Studies Program online conference "Evangelicalism and the Holy Spirit', 1-3 October. Speakers inc @drleahpayne.bsky.social , Kerrie Handasyde, Bruce Hindmarsh, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, Priscilla Pope Levison & Thomas Kidd

Events | Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion

events.baylorisr.org

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Reposted by Leah Payne

John Hawthorne @jwhawthorne.bsky.social · Aug 5

I missed this live but just watched this excellent webinar with @pauldjupe.bsky.social @daracolebydelgado.bsky.social @drleahpayne.bsky.social and @melissadeckman.bsky.social

PRRI @prri.org · Aug 5

💡 Happening today at 1:00 PM ET! You can still register and join this engaging conversation — don’t miss out.
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Bob Cornwall @drbobcornwall.bsky.social · Jul 29

Review - Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life & Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson by Claire Hoffman, pub by @fsgbooks.bsky.social. The story of the #Pentecostal evangelist, warts & all. www.bobcornwall.com/2025/07/sist... #booksky #theosky @erbks.bsky.social @drleahpayne.bsky.social

Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson (Claire Hoffman) -- A Review

A blog about Christianity, theology, religion and public life.

www.bobcornwall.com

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Boorke Gutslinger @bleaktheology.bsky.social · Jul 29

Finally listened to this episode where @andrewgill.biz and @drleahpayne.bsky.social interview journo Emma Madden about Xian music on the current pop charts. Madden is finishing a book on goth so I’m all for it.

pod.link/1703257857/e...

Rock That Doesn't Roll: The Story of Christian Music

Rock That Doesn’t Roll looks at how Christian music shaped the world we're living in now by telling individual stories from the peak era of the contemporary Christian music industry. In the 80s, 90s a...

pod.link

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Andrew Gill @andrewgill.biz · Jul 23

Stoked to have @masonmennenga.bsky.social join @drleahpayne.bsky.social and I on Rock That Doesn't Roll. He is such a specific guy! pod.link/1703257857/e...

Rock That Doesn't Roll: The Story of Christian Music

Rock That Doesn’t Roll looks at how Christian music shaped the world we're living in now by telling individual stories from the peak era of the contemporary Christian music industry. In the 80s, 90s a...

pod.link

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Jul 22

Looking forward to this conversation! 🔥🕊️

PRRI @prri.org · Jul 22

Join us Tuesday, August 5, at 1:00 PM ET for a conversation on charismatic Christians’ influence in American politics. We will be joined by experts @drleahpayne.bsky.social, @pauldjupe.bsky.social, Dara Delgado, Ph.D., and @melissadeckman.bsky.social.
Register now: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

PRRI @prri.org · Jul 22

Join us Tuesday, August 5, at 1:00 PM ET for a conversation on charismatic Christians’ influence in American politics. We will be joined by experts @drleahpayne.bsky.social, @pauldjupe.bsky.social, Dara Delgado, Ph.D., and @melissadeckman.bsky.social.
Register now: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Jul 12

I enjoyed speaking with Andrew West of ABC Australia about Jimmy Swaggart's scandalous ministry and lasting legacy: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Charismatic preacher Jimmy Swaggart dies aged 90 - ABC listen

He was the charismatic preacher in the sharp suit and flashy car, who preached personal purity – until he came undone in a sex scandal. Jimmy Swaggart was a global institution in the 1980s. He die...

www.abc.net.au

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Jul 11

“Scandal does not have to be an end. It can also be a beginning.” Thanks to @christianitytoday.com for the chance to write about how Jimmy Swaggart, and his tight-knit Pentecostal family from Ferriday, Louisiana changed the American cultural landscape. www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/jimm...

Great Falls of Fire - Christianity Today

How Jimmy Swaggart’s legacy of scandal shaped the evangelical landscape.

www.christianitytoday.com

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Jul 12

I enjoyed speaking with Andrew West of ABC Australia about Jimmy Swaggart's scandalous ministry and lasting legacy: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Charismatic preacher Jimmy Swaggart dies aged 90 - ABC listen

He was the charismatic preacher in the sharp suit and flashy car, who preached personal purity – until he came undone in a sex scandal. Jimmy Swaggart was a global institution in the 1980s. He die...

www.abc.net.au

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Leah Payne @drleahpayne.bsky.social · Jul 11

“Scandal does not have to be an end. It can also be a beginning.” Thanks to @christianitytoday.com for the chance to write about how Jimmy Swaggart, and his tight-knit Pentecostal family from Ferriday, Louisiana changed the American cultural landscape. www.christianitytoday.com/2025/07/jimm...

Great Falls of Fire - Christianity Today

How Jimmy Swaggart’s legacy of scandal shaped the evangelical landscape.

www.christianitytoday.com

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Reposted by Leah Payne

Christianity Today @christianitytoday.com · Jul 11

Jimmy Swaggart’s story is bigger than one famous Christian leader’s lasciviousness.

“It is also the story of how celebrity culture and mass media are shaping the American evangelical landscape,” writes @drleahpayne.bsky.social.

Great Falls of Fire - Christianity Today

How Jimmy Swaggart’s legacy of scandal shaped the evangelical landscape.

www.christianitytoday.com

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