Secular Christian music may seem like a contradiction in terms, but with more and more Christian bands signing to mainstream labels, that term is becoming familiar.

The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the popularity in Christian music with bands such as DC Talk, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant getting heavy rotation on popular radio.

This is due in part to the fact that Christian music audiences have grown and Christian music is now covering a broader range of musical styles.

No longer is the choice for Christian listeners limited to just Petra or Sandi Patti. Those who grew up banging their heads to Whitecross and Whiteheart knew that there was more music out there, the question was, where was it?

This is a question that no longer needs to be asked with the emergence of bands in the mainstream market like DC Talk and punk rockers MxPx.

Along with the booming success of the Christian music industry, conflict has arisen from Christian groups questioning whether or not Christian bands should be touring with secular bands.

MxPx’s current tour with Bad Religion centralizes that question and is a hot topic in the Christian music industry today.

The decision to tackle the general market is a decision that MxPx is asking Christian fans for support on. Instead they have received criticism from fans saying that they have sold out their beliefs and their style.

In an interview with Contemporary Christian Music, MxPx talked about the surprising lack of support from their once loyal fan base.

“If we call ourselves Christians, we should be a lot more careful about how we treat each other. We shouldn’t be so negative. We’re not thinking,” singer/bassist Mike Herrera said.

Adding to the controversy, MxPx is currently touring with general market rockers Bad Religion.

“Bad Religion influences thousands of kids to hate God,” Herrera said. “I went to their show in Seattle. It felt so evil. And it’s not that the guys in the band are evil or anything, they’re nice guys who just don’t know God. And if we’re asked to be on tour like that, God is using us. It’s not your normal way [to preach from the stage] but we figure, ‘Let’s turn this around a little bit.'”

MxPx has done just that by being the first Christian band to tour with the “Warped Tour.” The band joined this summer’s tour playing among bands such as Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Less Than Jake, and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.

Herrera supports the band’s decision to play the tour in saying that their goal is to play in larger circles, to expose a secular audience to Christian beliefs and values and to have a little fun along the way.

“We love playing, we love being on tour and we love talking to kids,” Herrera said. “From the beginning, we didn’t really play ‘Christian’ or ‘secular’ shows. We didn’t realize there was a difference. Kind of like when you go to high school and there are all kinds of students, but they all go to the same school.”

Glorifying God in a secular market is not a struggle faced by MxPx alone. With DC Talk’s newest release “Supernatural,” the band has not deserted its beliefs, even though it signed on to mainstream label Virgin Records. God-glorifying lyrics and alternative rock is the style that DC Talk has not strayed from, despite the controversy surrounding the band’s decision.

Also joining in the battle is Sixpence None the Richer. With their recent decision to play at the Lilith Fair festival, the band has recieved both criticism and praise from the Christian music market.

Lilith is a character described in the Jewish Talmud as a winged demoness with a human appearance. Hebrew myths attributed to Lilith include her alleged relationship as the first wife of Adam, prior to the creation of Eve, a story that can be found nowhere in the Bible.

Bill Smithouser of Focus on the Family commented on Sixpence’s decision to CCM.

“The concern is not with the fact that Sixpence is playing Lilith Fair,” Smithouser said. “It’s great they have the opportunity to minister in that atmosphere. The concern lies in the promotion of the Lilith Fair event to Christian kids who, by attending, will also be exposed to artists with a very different agenda.”

Leigh Nash, frontwoman of Sixpence, shares the same views as MxPx and defends the bands decision to go mainstream.

“We’re all fans of many of these artists, so this is a great thing for us,” Nash said. “Non-Christians tend to find our music hopeful, and people who don’t know we are Christians respond to our lyrics and ask ‘So what’s going on?’ and we get to talk about it.”

Sixpence guitarist and songwriter Matt Slocum explained why his band chose to perform at Lilith Fair. “We’re not about the whole Lilith mythology thing. The festival is about more than that. It’s about the music, and that is what we are about.”

Like it or not, Christian music has penetrated the secular music market and will continue to do so as long as bands like MxPx, DC Talk, and Sixpence None the Richer are around.

Bringing the word of God into a secular world is no easy thing for a band to do and still have musical and financial success. But a desire for people to know God drives these bands past the stereotypes and criticism coming from both Christians and non-Christians.

It is this passionthat is tearing up the oxymoronic label that is secular Christian.