Sunday May 18, 2008
Songs shape our theology. Perhaps they are the major force that shapes it for most people.
The average christian hasn’t studied theology and likely the only time they consciously think about it is when they’re in church. They will, however, sing their favourite song throughout the week, regardless of what they’re doing at that moment. This makes the song something more than a song and it becomes a meditation… sounds almost Psalmic (ok, I just made that word up but you know what I mean).
What happens is the words that are sung drop from the conscious into the subconscious. This is both powerful and dangerous because once a thought or belief is in our subconscious it slips past our in-built filters for checking whether we agree or disagree, believe or disbelieve.
As songwriters in church and as worship leaders who select the songs a church sings, this presents a huge responsibility to ensure the words we are placing in people’s mouths are going to aid them in their spiritual development.
As a writer, I believe we should take this further when we’re writing specifically for a church congregation to sing, the lyrical content of our songs should be rich in theology… there are many songs out there that cover the experiential and emotional aspects of the christian life but perhaps we need more than that in our musical worship vocabulary.
Of course there needs to be balance and there’s room for all types of songs in church, it seems to me though that we’ve neglected our heritage passed on by previous generations of songwriters, who would weave theology and great melodies together to help the churches of their day worship in song.
Someone who I think does this well today is Brooke Fraser… the songs she has contributed to recent Hillsong albums have been proof that you can create songs with deep theological concepts that are accessible and singable. Songs like Hosanna and Lord of Lords from Saviour King, and this July you’ll get to hear another great one called Desert Song (a great verse from this song is… _This is my prayer in the battle/When triumph is still on it’s way/I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ/So firm on His promise I’ll stand). These are loaded with great statements of faith that will get buried deep in people’s souls as they sing and will stay with them throughout their life.
Don’t settle for the easy lines when you write but dig deep, read widely and go hard for songs that are deeper and will be a way for people to get the word of God written on their heart.
Mark
94 days agoThat’s good Felix. I was just thinking about this this morning on my way to work. There is something powerful when we apply God’s word (which is theology at its purest) to music.
And you’re right, there is room for the more ‘experiential’ songs. I have written many. But let’s face it, we human beings are an emotional mess more often than not, and it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if we focused more on the Truth that never changes.
Permalink to this commentJeff Caylor
91 days agoAwesome post. Appreciate the heart behind this.
Best,
Permalink to this commentJeff
Felix
90 days agoThanks guys. Appreciate the encouragement.
Permalink to this commentCorey
86 days agoamen.
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