This essay applies constitutive rhetorical theory to the intersection of two mainstays of American culture: Christianity and pop music. Contemporaiy Christian Music (CCM) is a genre that uses rock and pop styles to express religious ideas, in a close textual analysis of "Shine," an enormously successful song, both music and lyrics are critiqued to show how the song constitutes identity for its teen audience by inviting them to develop shared definitions of Self and Other. Musically, "Shine" uses a pop aesthetic, extensive yet varied repetition,

and a proven hook - as we sing along we enact and demonstrate the mode of identity implicit in the lyrics. Lyrically, "Shine" encourages a mode of Christian identity where you are cast as an Other in transition, moving from envy through conversion to radiance. Once this transition is complete, "Shine" creates a new Self, a radiant subject whose primary function is beaming light at the Other.