Music Mondays - Faith in Tension (Part II)

Last week we began a countdown of the best modern Christian songs that express the tension of our faith.  Ok, they're really just my favorites but whatever.

The rationale and scoring system were detailed last week so I won't go over them again. Instead, let's jump right into the top 5 songs that honestly communicate the paradoxes and tensions of following Christ.

5. "Something Beautiful" - Needtobreathe

 (Total - 23. CT: 7, TD: 9, SQ: 5, Bonus: 2)

I remember liking this song upon hearing it for the first couple times. But I often don't always "catch" all the lyrics. When I figured out the part of the chorus that says, "I know that I'm in reach, 'cause I am down on my knees", it instantly became a favorite of mine and I realized this was a band that I needed to become more familiar with. The rest of the song explores the riskiness of faith with the metaphor of drowning, but that singular line gets me every time. Bonus points for the vocals and also sneaking in the band's own name into the song. 

4. "What If I Stumble?" - dc Talk

(Total - 23.25. CT: 10, TD: 7, SQ: 4.25, Bonus: 2)

The opening verse is the most startlingly-honest lyric written since Robert Robinson penned verse 3 of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". I know people who've toured the CCM circuit. My parents had a modest music/evangelistic ministry, traveling a lot when I was younger to different churches. The tension of performing versus ministering is a very real one. Even for a pastor that struggle is real...and then to consider what would happen if we faltered - heavy stuff. And this is at the band's peak of fame and popularity too! This live performance may be my favorite of all time - any genre any song any band. Great harmonies and tremendous use of modest vocal talent (with the exception of Michael Tait) to create a stellar performance.

3. "Held" - Natalie Grant

 (Total - 23.5. CT: 10, TD: 9, SQ: 3.5, Bonus: 1)

I'm not sure there's a more practical example of "faith in tension" than dealing with the death of an child. This song confronts those awful circumstances and seeks to offer comfort without being overly trivial. Not much more can be said, the song stands on it's own.

2. "Worlds Apart" - Jars of Clay

(Total: 24. CT: 9, TD: 10, SQ: 4, Bonus: 1)

Every single line is wrought with honesty and tension and struggle. Every. single. line. What gets me every time I listen to this song though are these back to back lines:

"It takes all I am to believe in the mercy that covers me.
Did you really have to die for me?"

 The literalists - who have no sense of artistic license or poetic expression - will object to those lines. You can almost here them say, "of course Jesus had to die, what kind of heresy are you buying into?" But they are badly missing the point. As the song progresses it becomes a desperate plea to "take my world apart". 

Here's a bonus video about the background of the song. 

1. "What I Need" - Polarboy

 *Skip to 35:18 for "What I Need"

(Total - 25. CT: 9, TD: 10, SQ: 5, Bonus 1)

I had to laugh at myself when I discovered there aren't even lyric videos for this song. Polarboy was on the fringes of the CCM world in the early 2000's. I'm not even sure how I came across this album, but it's a very good listen from start to finish. 

But it's the finish, this song, that has haunted me since first hearing it. There have been times in my life where I've cried listening to it - and my wife will tell you I rarely let my emotions go like that. 

It offers two verses describing opposite people who are really in the same position before God. It's not "a question of what we've done", good or bad, "but a question of what we need." That's what grace is - totally free but totally scandalous. Mix in a "Holy, Holy, Holy" bridge plus the altered chorus at the end that brings both verses together...it is my pick for best song that expresses faith in tension and the paradox nature of the Christian life.

Shout-out to the artists and songs that just missed the cut:

"Yahweh" - U2
"Touch the Sky" - Hillsong
"The Lord our God" - Kristian Stanfill
"Smell the Color 9" - Chris Rice (would have made the list had I remembered it originally - highly recommend it)

Did I totally miss a song? Let me know via comments or Twitter or Facebook.