Casting Crowns: The Altar and the Door

Label: Reunion
Sound/Style: Lyrically ambitious Christian pop-rock

By Steve Morley

In 2003, Christian pop artist Steven Curtis Chapman and Sawyer Brown frontman Mark Miller introduced Casting Crowns to Christian radio. The cynical might say that the industry clout of Chapman and Miller was responsible for the surge of instant acceptance. The truth is, the band’s rapid ascent wasn’t because they pandered to the Christian industry’s status quo—in fact, their leadoff single "If We Are the Body" risked biting the hand that feeds by asking hard questions about the limited effectiveness of the American Church. The cynical might also say it’s a great gimmick to play in a platinum-selling Christian band and still remain on staff at your local church, even going so far as to work concert dates around Sunday and Wednesday evening services. But that’s how Crowns’ lead vocalist Mark Hall gets his insider’s view on the subjects that make his band’s music the most honest and probing in the Christian genre. Hall is also a youth pastor whose lyrics are informed by first-hand exposure to the challenges faced by teens and young adults in today’s culture. This theme forms the core of the band’s third studio album, The Altar and the Door.

This time around, the Crowns wield a rockier attack that dovetails logically with their youth-oriented messages. Considering the band’s former penchant for middle-of-the-road pop, the change is fairly convincing, and yet the new rock edge is rarely so sharp as to alienate older fans. "What This World Needs" is the most aggressive track, both in musical and lyrical terms. It starts by dismissing pop culture’s flavor-of-the-month mentality, but soon takes Christian culture to task. ("What the world needs is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance/ Blending in so well that people can’t see the difference/ And it’s the difference that sets the world free/ What this world needs is a Savior who will rescue/ A Spirit who will lead.")

In "Slow Fade," Hall exhorts the younger generation to stay pure and focused, cautioning his listeners that "people never crumble in a day." He offers grace for the journey on tracks like "East to West" and "Somewhere in the Middle." The former emphasizes the sin-crushing power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, while "Middle" camps on the unavoidable contradictions that come with the gradual process of growth and sanctification. ("Somewhere between the wrong and the right/ Somewhere between the darkness and the light/ Somewhere between who I was and who You‘re making me/ Somewhere in the middle you’ll find me.")

While the album’s conceptual style offers ample food for thought, the acoustic guitar-driven "Prayer for a Friend" stands alone in its moving and heartfelt delivery: "Lord, I lift my friend to You/ My best friend in the world/ I know he means much more to You/ I want so much to help him/ But this is something he has to do/ And Lord, I lift my friend up to You."

Casting Crowns excels as a musical unit, and yet there is no individual element that singles itself out as extraordinary, including Hall’s grainy, average-guy vocals. In the end, though, this pedestrian, Everyperson quality explains why Casting Crowns have such mainstream appeal. Hall’s musical sermons ring true and involve little if any finger pointing. His eye for weakness in the Christian Church is the fruit of first-person ministry, and his expressed desire to rise above his own weaknesses—both inside and outside the sanctuary—serves to encourage all who make the journey between The Altar and the Door.

Audio Clips

"What This World Needs"

"Every Man"

"Slow Fade"

"East to West"