The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music — #65: Bob Bennett, Matters Of The Heart (1982)

Intro

Appearing at #65 in The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music, Bob Bennett’s Matters Of The Heart (1982) captures a moment when craft and conviction aligned. It remains a touchstone for how faith can sing with both sincerity and skill.

The Album in Context

Across the early ’80s, much of CCM was growing louder and glossier; Bennett went the opposite way—toward intimacy, patient tempos, and unguarded storytelling. His literate lyrics and unflashy virtuosity placed the spotlight on everyday sanctification, not stadium‑grade drama. The record became a north star for singer‑songwriters who prized honesty over hype.

Production choices are deliberately spare: fingerpicked guitars front and center, rhythm section in soft focus, and subtle keys as gentle color. That restraint gives the narratives oxygen. Listeners aren’t told to feel; they are invited to notice, remember, and return.

Within the scene, the album legitimized adult Christian songwriting that could sit comfortably beside James Taylor or Paul Simon. It showed that the vocabulary of confession, marriage, doubt, and hope belonged in CCM—and that such subjects could be handled with pastoral tenderness and poetic care.

Standout Songs

• “Matters Of The Heart” — The title track is a thesis statement on spiritual formation in ordinary time. Its conversational melody and precise guitar work made the song a standard for church coffeehouses and radio programs that favored reflective depth.
• “1951” — A poignant family chronicle that threads memory, loss, and grace without sentimentality. Bennett’s detail‑rich storytelling modeled how autobiographical faith songs could be both specific and universally resonant.
• “A Song About Baseball” — Americana imagery becomes catechesis about patience, hope, and growing up. The song’s gentle metaphor and sing‑along chorus proved that sports and spirituality could meet on common human ground.

Why It Matters

Artistically, Bennett proved that minimalism can maximize meaning—careful voicings, warm mics, and lyrics that trust the listener. The performances honor the song first, establishing a singer‑songwriter benchmark that influenced a generation of acoustic‑leaning CCM artists.

Historically, Matters Of The Heart widened the subject matter of Christian pop by normalizing mature, domestic, and contemplative themes. It helped churches and radio programmers make space for quiet excellence and showed that testimony could be whispered and still move the room.

What’s Next

Tomorrow on The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music countdown, we continue with #64 — Phil Keaggy’s early classic, Love Broke Thru (1976), where virtuoso guitar meets devotional poetry. Be sure to catch the companion podcast episode of The CCM Professor with Greg Rice, where we connect the dots between these landmark recordings.
 

Soli Deo Gloria!

This post is part of the series The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music, celebrating the artists and recordings that defined a generation of faith-filled creativity.

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