Feeling smart, but dying on the inside...Thursday, May 14, 2009
Blog from Worship Trench and my Opinions
Written by Jordan over at Worship Trench:
Professor John Stackhouse goes after Tomlin’s songwriting here.
My thoughts
1. Agree. We need deeper, richer objective content about God in our worship songs. Fortunately some of that is emerging with Stuart Townend, Sovereign Grace guys, and others.
2. Disagree. The critique of need of hard rhyme merely because it is in the pop song genre shows a real lack of awareness the debate of current poetry standards though, ironically, he is a poet himself.
3. Agree. We do need new metaphor. Charlie Hall, another in the Six Step fold, is very good at this (salvation spring up from the ground, between porch and altar, etc) in that his metaphor also follow biblical pattern.
5. Disagree with tone. It would have been possible to present his whole argument using only contemporary lyric and not singling out Chris with a specific, accusatory tone. He defends his position saying he shouldn’t have gone to Chris first because the Matthean passage is in the context of sin. But in its truest sense he needs to do deeper contextual work on the whole of the Matthean Sermon on the Mount and I believe, like Dr. John Piper did with NT Wright in his critique, he would have gone to Chris first and dialogued with him before publishing. This would have better exhibited the love principle Jesus commands.
I always tell my staff to bring me solution/options and not merely describe the problem. With that in mind, Prof. Stackhouse musician/poet, I’ll be awaiting your new CD to help us worship with proper lyric.
---
I have never been able to freely speak my mind on the music scene of worship lately, because I have kind of kept myself from that aspect and do not desire yet to return to playing or leading worship services. I know God has blessed me with plenty of talents and I do feel a call to maybe start songwriting again, but I just don't think my time is now and I'd rather be in God's will then out of it, know what I mean?
Now what strikes me about this blog entry is that I whole-heartedly agree with it. I absolutely love Chris Tomlin and can't thank God enough for blessing the Earth with him and what he does through him, but I did not enjoy his latest album. I haven't enjoyed a single album that has come out of the American Praise & Worship scene since David Crowder's Remedy and that was in 2007. I don't usually count David Crowder as part of the American Praise & Worship scene because he is from Texas and I think Dr. Womack would attest to that! So excluding Crowder for reasons greater than him being from Texas, the last album that I enjoyed or even though was worth listening to a second time came from Desperation Band in early 2007 as well. Now two years may be nothing to you, but I need meat and potatoes for days!
Now what is the difference between guys like Crowder & Desperation Band from guys like Casting Crown or Shawn McDonald is that their songs have meat and potatoes and the other two's songs don't. What do I mean by M&P? Well the basis of any song meant for a time of praise, worship, and reflection should be written in light and in context to the Word of God. As we should pray in God's will, we should also praise God in His will. This makes the worship truer and allows God to move more freely within the midst of our worship to Him. The problem I have with the American artists that are killing airplay nowadays is that most of the songs I hear are usually about that person or us (Christians) and then about God. Think back to the words in Isaiah and Revelation where the hosts are continually giving praise to God and God alone! When songs are filled with "I's and We's" then the songs become about us and we are back to square one. That is exactly how I feel the American Praise & Worship scene is right now. There are very few artists who are returning back to M&P, and there are very few who are writing in God's will.
We are just so busy trying to be different or trying to make a statement that we forget the whole point of why we come together as one body to praise and worship a God that deserves all we have and more. If you look into my iTunes that you will notice the minimal play counts next to songs by artists such as Chris Tomlin or Todd Agnew compared to the billions and billions of times I've listened to artists such as Hillsong or Christian City Church. The honest truth is that I don't believe the Christians of America understand what it is to be a Christian in this world because we are too busy living in a world that we created! Beyond these borders, people are being persecuted for their faith and many are facing greater dilemmas then we could ever imagine. That is what sets the music that comes from guys out in Australia or Canada apart from the guys here in America. Their songs come out of the true worship that is happening day to day at their church and from their time beyond their own borders.
I have always been a huge Hillsong Fan and can you blame me? Who has a better track record when it comes to putting out great worship albums every year then they do? The thing about their CDs are that every song is great and is usually written in God's will! Of course there are a few that are meant to be anthems for change and personal reflections of God's hand in the writer's lives, but usually they are wonderful songs of praise. If you place a lyric sheet or a lead sheet from Hillsong side-by-side with a lyric or lead sheet from most American artists then you can see the difference. It's kind of like Cain and Abel...one of them is pouring their heart out to God in Praise & Worship while another is merely offering their heart. I guess that is a little harsh and I don't mean to bash, but that is kind of how I feel about this whole ordeal.
Now I'm not writing this because I despise the radio station's almost never-ending play of Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes, but because I think we need to start calling people out on what they write. The problem with this generation is that it finds its M&P in quick-fix books and catchy songs! Artists have a big chip on their shoulder because their music can make or break a new Christian's theology. It's time to take this back to M&P and back to classically wonderfully versed songwriting!
So in closing...
Problem: Weak Songwriting that has no M&P from contemporary American Christian Artists.
My Proposed Solution: Allowing God and His Spirit to be at the helm of the composition and take it back to the Word! There is a reason why it has stood so firm in the test of time, because its GOOD and it LIVES!!!
Professor John Stackhouse goes after Tomlin’s songwriting here.
My thoughts
1. Agree. We need deeper, richer objective content about God in our worship songs. Fortunately some of that is emerging with Stuart Townend, Sovereign Grace guys, and others.
2. Disagree. The critique of need of hard rhyme merely because it is in the pop song genre shows a real lack of awareness the debate of current poetry standards though, ironically, he is a poet himself.
3. Agree. We do need new metaphor. Charlie Hall, another in the Six Step fold, is very good at this (salvation spring up from the ground, between porch and altar, etc) in that his metaphor also follow biblical pattern.
5. Disagree with tone. It would have been possible to present his whole argument using only contemporary lyric and not singling out Chris with a specific, accusatory tone. He defends his position saying he shouldn’t have gone to Chris first because the Matthean passage is in the context of sin. But in its truest sense he needs to do deeper contextual work on the whole of the Matthean Sermon on the Mount and I believe, like Dr. John Piper did with NT Wright in his critique, he would have gone to Chris first and dialogued with him before publishing. This would have better exhibited the love principle Jesus commands.
I always tell my staff to bring me solution/options and not merely describe the problem. With that in mind, Prof. Stackhouse musician/poet, I’ll be awaiting your new CD to help us worship with proper lyric.
---
I have never been able to freely speak my mind on the music scene of worship lately, because I have kind of kept myself from that aspect and do not desire yet to return to playing or leading worship services. I know God has blessed me with plenty of talents and I do feel a call to maybe start songwriting again, but I just don't think my time is now and I'd rather be in God's will then out of it, know what I mean?
Now what strikes me about this blog entry is that I whole-heartedly agree with it. I absolutely love Chris Tomlin and can't thank God enough for blessing the Earth with him and what he does through him, but I did not enjoy his latest album. I haven't enjoyed a single album that has come out of the American Praise & Worship scene since David Crowder's Remedy and that was in 2007. I don't usually count David Crowder as part of the American Praise & Worship scene because he is from Texas and I think Dr. Womack would attest to that! So excluding Crowder for reasons greater than him being from Texas, the last album that I enjoyed or even though was worth listening to a second time came from Desperation Band in early 2007 as well. Now two years may be nothing to you, but I need meat and potatoes for days!
Now what is the difference between guys like Crowder & Desperation Band from guys like Casting Crown or Shawn McDonald is that their songs have meat and potatoes and the other two's songs don't. What do I mean by M&P? Well the basis of any song meant for a time of praise, worship, and reflection should be written in light and in context to the Word of God. As we should pray in God's will, we should also praise God in His will. This makes the worship truer and allows God to move more freely within the midst of our worship to Him. The problem I have with the American artists that are killing airplay nowadays is that most of the songs I hear are usually about that person or us (Christians) and then about God. Think back to the words in Isaiah and Revelation where the hosts are continually giving praise to God and God alone! When songs are filled with "I's and We's" then the songs become about us and we are back to square one. That is exactly how I feel the American Praise & Worship scene is right now. There are very few artists who are returning back to M&P, and there are very few who are writing in God's will.
We are just so busy trying to be different or trying to make a statement that we forget the whole point of why we come together as one body to praise and worship a God that deserves all we have and more. If you look into my iTunes that you will notice the minimal play counts next to songs by artists such as Chris Tomlin or Todd Agnew compared to the billions and billions of times I've listened to artists such as Hillsong or Christian City Church. The honest truth is that I don't believe the Christians of America understand what it is to be a Christian in this world because we are too busy living in a world that we created! Beyond these borders, people are being persecuted for their faith and many are facing greater dilemmas then we could ever imagine. That is what sets the music that comes from guys out in Australia or Canada apart from the guys here in America. Their songs come out of the true worship that is happening day to day at their church and from their time beyond their own borders.
I have always been a huge Hillsong Fan and can you blame me? Who has a better track record when it comes to putting out great worship albums every year then they do? The thing about their CDs are that every song is great and is usually written in God's will! Of course there are a few that are meant to be anthems for change and personal reflections of God's hand in the writer's lives, but usually they are wonderful songs of praise. If you place a lyric sheet or a lead sheet from Hillsong side-by-side with a lyric or lead sheet from most American artists then you can see the difference. It's kind of like Cain and Abel...one of them is pouring their heart out to God in Praise & Worship while another is merely offering their heart. I guess that is a little harsh and I don't mean to bash, but that is kind of how I feel about this whole ordeal.
Now I'm not writing this because I despise the radio station's almost never-ending play of Brandon Heath's Give Me Your Eyes, but because I think we need to start calling people out on what they write. The problem with this generation is that it finds its M&P in quick-fix books and catchy songs! Artists have a big chip on their shoulder because their music can make or break a new Christian's theology. It's time to take this back to M&P and back to classically wonderfully versed songwriting!
So in closing...
Problem: Weak Songwriting that has no M&P from contemporary American Christian Artists.
My Proposed Solution: Allowing God and His Spirit to be at the helm of the composition and take it back to the Word! There is a reason why it has stood so firm in the test of time, because its GOOD and it LIVES!!!
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