Now Reading
10 Cringe-worthy Christian Music Videos We Can Never Forget

10 Cringe-worthy Christian Music Videos We Can Never Forget

The art of the music video has come a long way since it first took over MTV airwaves in the early ’80s, but thankfully the Internet came along and preserved the memory of the art form’s more formative years.

Like their mainstream counterparts, Christian artists weren’t immune to the appeal of overdramatic power ballads, big-budget ambitions and ’80s cinema technology. Unfortunately, not all pop artists can be Michael Jackson, and Christian music budgets were apparently 1/5,000th of mainstream labels.

Combine that with the phenomenon of home-grown videos from earnest fans and churches on Christian TV, and well, you’ve got quite the well of entertaining nostalgic Christian music videos to pull from.

Here’s a look back at eight of the greatest Christian music videos ever to grace religious TV networks, public access station airwaves or church sanctuaries.

(And let’s be honest, this might be the first of a 200-part series.)

“Love Calling” — Leon Patillo

The alien outfit. The strange space-God metaphor. The earnest acting. The sci-fi effects. The choreography. The car scene. There’s nothing about 1984’s “Love Calling” that isn’t spectacular. Leon Patillo’s breakout single is a masterpiece in every sense of the word.

“Jesus Is My Friend” – Sonseed

If you’ve had an Internet connection for any substantial amount of time, then it’s likely you’ve seen the incredible live-performance video for Sonseed’s “Jesus Is My Friend.” If it were released today, the song’s Vampire Weekend catchiness, Tim and Eric-style video quality and sweet matching outfits probably would have made Sonseed un-ironic indie rock stars.

“Reborn” — Rebecca St. James

Rebecca St. James’ foray into EDM ends up like a low-budget Wachowski fever dream. Kung-fu moves, a driving dance beat and a trippy visual metaphor for knowledge make the music video for “Reborn” everything you’d want out of a colorful mind-melter.

“The Renewed Mind Is the Key”

The less we know about this one, the better (The Lady Gaga version is also of note if you like the original). Presented without further comment:

“Ain’t No Safe Way” – Michael Sweet

Virginity has long been a thematic staple of CCM music. But no artist has more boldly made a case for his purity convictions than former Stryper frontman Michael Sweet. We should probably give you a TV-14 warning that his song carries some mature subject matter, some possibly questionable statistics and a guitar solo that will melt your face off.

“Great God” – Carman

Another epic short film/music video mash-up, “Great God” finds Carman as both the cool teacher at a Christian school, as well as a heroic knight out to reclaim the good name of the medieval church. There’s sword fighting, lecturing and of course, a Carman power anthem. For a Christian kid in the ’90s, this was probably pretty cool, but like a lot of swing-for the-fences decades-old music videos, the ambitious narrative doesn’t really age well–especially the twist ending. If it weren’t for the (SPOILER) suggestion that the telepathic time-travel to the dark ages actually happened, this one may not of have made the list. Carman is prolific, but the M. Night Shyamalan-style final reveal was even too much for him to attempt.

 

“Nu Thang” — The Michael Clancy Remix

He’s got the moves, the beat, the freestyle skills and—most importantly—the swag. Young Michael Clancy took a dc Talk staple and showed the CCM stars how a real MC spits verses.

(A grown-up Clancy was kind enough to join us on an episode of the RELEVANT Podcast to relive his glorious early-’90s television debut.)

“R.I.OT.” — Carman

Carman’s “R.I.O.T.” is more of a victim of the era than its ambition. Back in 1995, when the album R.I.O.T. (Righteous Invasion of Truth) was released—a mere 11 years after Footloose hit theaters—factory dance-offs were still seen as a legitimate form of protest. The video, which involves some sort of dance uprising at a steam factory where workers’ primary job is to pull heavy chains while wearing overalls, has nothing to do with the song lyrics which make it all the more gloriously weird. Considering the video was part of a VHS feature film (also called R.I.O.T.), it’s a little unfair to judge it on its stand-alone merit, but even with a deeper context, dance-offs are always unintentionally funny, just ask Kevin Bacon.

“Christ-Like Crusin'” – B-SHOC 

This nearly five-minute long music video is a wild ride start to finish. Crusin’ like Christ all around what we assume is his hometown, B-SHOC shows us how to “put them Jesus Beats in, and ride.”

“Baby Got Book” – Dan Smith

Parodies can either go horribly wrong or surprisingly good, and we’ll let you decide who this Christian take on “Baby Got Back” goes. Dan Smith takes a fairly un-Christian song to make it all about God’s Word. Not an easy task, and he gets mega points for his creativity.

© 2023 RELEVANT Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top

You’re reading our ad-supported experience

For our premium ad-free experience, including exclusive podcasts, issues and more, subscribe to

Plans start as low as $2.50/mo