In spiritual circles, few people are seen as intimidating as often as theologians. Theologians are scholars. Studied. Educated. Cultured. And they wear old-school glasses, vests and wool sweaters as they sit in an aged leather wingback chair in front of a stately, oversized bookcase in a home library with loaded oak bookshelves lining all of the walls, all the way up to the ceiling. (Whew . . . that was a mouthful!) Okay, maybe not all of them, but we like to think they do. The point is, when we hear the word “theologian” often we get an image in our minds that, at least in some way, represents the description above.
So what if I told you that YOU are a theologian?
Well, if you’re a worship leader and/or worship songwriter, you are! Sure, perhaps you aren’t necessarily discovering any brand-spankin’ new theology. But, you are writing and/or choosing worship songs that speak a theological truth. You are communicating theology to your local church. This is why one of the most important things you do as a worship leader is pick out the songs for the weekend setlist.
Sure, key changes, arrangements, transitions, dynamics and flow are all important parts of what we do as worship leaders, but none of those things matter if we aren’t singing truths in our churches. It is widely known that ideas and messages are retained better in our brains when presented in song than by spoken word (a sermon). This is because our brains interact with music differently, thereby establishing a stronger retention of what we heard/sang. Why is this important?
It’s sad to say this, but most people don’t remember the sermon they heard last week or this morning, in some cases. Now sure, these days we have recorded sermons, sermon notes, etc. All of these allow us to go back and go through the messages again. However, overall there is a limited shelf life on the specific messages that are preached every week (hopefully the themes and lessons are learned and continue on!).
With music, however, things stick around a bit longer, including the lyrics of the songs themselves. These lyrics are a biblical message, just like your pastor’s sermon. The only difference is that yours is set to a music, may have some repetition, and may be more like 4 to 5 mini-sermons during a typical worship set. This is a big deal!
Why? Because what you sing in your worship times is going to stick in people’s hearts and minds longer than the sermon does. Therefore, it’s imperative that we sing songs that contain solid theology.
We basically have three options with the songs we sing at church:
1. Lyrics that present false, inaccurate theology.
2. Lyrics that aren’t false, but are theologically weak and don’t really say anything.
3. Lyrics that present a solid biblical truth with rich theology.
PLEASE stay away from songs in category one. As for category two, there is nothing wrong with this category necessarily, but there are too many songs that fit this mold.
I challenge you to shoot for the third category of songs. Pick songs that are not only correct, but really drive home messages that your congregation needs to hear. One helpful way that I’ve found to pick more songs in category three is not just listening to the song on the CD (with the fancy production), but taking the time to sit down and read the lyrics without the music.
This is no easy task, but it’s vital! You are a theologian. A musical theologian. Don’t take that responsibility lightly. Invest the time into being intentional about the words that your congregation sings each week.
-Mark Logan
With the worship of creation slowly on the rise in our culture, its something to watch for in the church. For example, our public broadcasting station now shows earth worship videos (with music with lyrics).
One worship song contains an incipient form of panentheism. I believe this is not intentional on the part of the author, but this results in God being blended into His creation, rather than keeping Him transcendent.
Another theological problem I occasionally hear in worship lyrics is a non-biblical definition of prosperity. For example, some lyrics imply that no faithfulness is required to receive blessing. Another mistake is not making a distinction between the theology of salvation and the theology of blessing.
When it comes to both of these theological errors, it may just be one line in the song, but for me it ruins it.
Actually there are scriptures that refer to receiving blessings soley upon our relationship(being children of God) that don’t require us to have faith. Some blessings we receive “just because” we are His children.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ben.
Thanks for this great post – have reblogged it over at sevennotesofgrace. Come visit. I think we have a few common topics on music ministry
I’ve been personally challenged lately with this very thing. There is something very special about declaring strong, theologically, and biblically profound truths during corporate worship. While I love the sound of groups like Jesus Culture their lyrics tend to fall into that second category. I’ve been drawn more and more to the music and message of guys like Charlie Hall, whose lyrics are steeped in scripture.
Thanks for the blog, it’s great.
Great post! Thank you for breaking the categories of worship songs down like you did. It made a lot of sense.
I’ve heard it said that the theological richness of a worship song is in direct correlation to the number of chord changes it has! This may be said partly in jest, but the point is made that hymns (at least the high church hymns) tend to change chords about every beat or two, and, on the whole, seem to have more rich theology packed into them than do many modern worship songs, which hang on the same chord for a measure or several measures. This is why I love to include many of the old hymns in my worship sets.
I am glad, however, see a move towards more modern worship songs and even modern “hymns” that pack a theological punch, yet have that sound that is more accessible the modern congregations.
Reimagining the chords and/or melody to old hymns can be done too, but it has to be done with great care, especially if the original is very well known and loved. Many times, just arranging a musically pleasing rhythmic piano, guitar or percussion accompaniment to the original melody and chords can allow the words and their message to be received with interest…both by those who have never heard them before, and those who hold them dear.