Songs about ...
[WARNING: the following observations concern contemporary evangelical songwriting. I cannot speak to the situation outside that context.]
There are lots of people writing songs for Christian worship, although most of the ones that are widely disseminated come from one of a small group of songwriting stables.
There are a lot of good songs being written.
But what strikes me is how generic they often seem. They are mostly songs that could be dropped into any meeting on any theme in any season of the year.
How many songs are there that focus on baptism? (I cannot think of one and yet getting baptized is something all Christians do!)
How many songs concern the bread and the wine of the Eucharist? (The Eucharist songs that I do know are mostly songs about Jesus' death, only alluding obliquely to the Eucharist.)
How many songs of lament or of repentance? (Those that there are never seem to get used.)
How many songs about mission? (There are a few more of these but still not enough.)
Why is this?
I am wondering whether it is because most songwriters want their songs to be sung and the way to maximize the chances of that is not to make them too event-specific (i.e., tied to special meetings or special themes). So the songs are written for what has become the paradigm evangelical worship gathering — a large convention at which there are no baptisms, no Eucharist, no repentance, no sorrow; just lots of happy songs. Only generic songs will work in that context and so that is what gets written.
I have nothing against the kinds of happy songs I am writing about — we need them.
However, my challenge is simply this: if contemporary Christian worship songwriters want to write songs for the church they need to have something of a mindset shift. They need to write songs for churches in local contexts living as church. They need to write songs for baptism and Eucharist and mission and Lent and lament and preaching and funerals and ... you get the picture. We need to change our mental image of the paradigm context in which songs are needed. Forget the X-Factor, Your Church Needs You!
There are lots of people writing songs for Christian worship, although most of the ones that are widely disseminated come from one of a small group of songwriting stables.
There are a lot of good songs being written.
But what strikes me is how generic they often seem. They are mostly songs that could be dropped into any meeting on any theme in any season of the year.
How many songs are there that focus on baptism? (I cannot think of one and yet getting baptized is something all Christians do!)
How many songs concern the bread and the wine of the Eucharist? (The Eucharist songs that I do know are mostly songs about Jesus' death, only alluding obliquely to the Eucharist.)
How many songs of lament or of repentance? (Those that there are never seem to get used.)
How many songs about mission? (There are a few more of these but still not enough.)
Why is this?
I am wondering whether it is because most songwriters want their songs to be sung and the way to maximize the chances of that is not to make them too event-specific (i.e., tied to special meetings or special themes). So the songs are written for what has become the paradigm evangelical worship gathering — a large convention at which there are no baptisms, no Eucharist, no repentance, no sorrow; just lots of happy songs. Only generic songs will work in that context and so that is what gets written.
I have nothing against the kinds of happy songs I am writing about — we need them.
However, my challenge is simply this: if contemporary Christian worship songwriters want to write songs for the church they need to have something of a mindset shift. They need to write songs for churches in local contexts living as church. They need to write songs for baptism and Eucharist and mission and Lent and lament and preaching and funerals and ... you get the picture. We need to change our mental image of the paradigm context in which songs are needed. Forget the X-Factor, Your Church Needs You!
Comments
Andy