Tunes for a Tuesday - Agnus Dei

I got a collection of records recently. 

My mom and other relatives are going through my grandma's house and preparing to sell, donate, or get rid of all of her stuff now that she's living in an assisted living facility. Not a whole lot interested me when I stopped by, but I did take a box of records. I didn't even take time to look through the whole set until later, but I could tell this was 70's and 80's Christian music. 

We don't have a record player but there's enough "Christian classic" stuff in there that we may get one soon. First albums of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. Top-selling Sandi Patti records, a Gaither Vocal Trio album, and randomly, a Lilly Tomlin comedy recording. 

At some point I will do blog reviews of some of these albums for sure. But they led me down a road of some of the songs and albums that I grew up with in the late 80's and 90's. 

Eventually I stumbled back on an old favorite that I liked "before it was cool". By the aforementioned, Michael W. Smith, Agnus Dei was the next to last song on his popular "Go West Young Man" album. 

It is quite a musical contrast from the rest of his album. It is symphonic, classical, written for a choir. It is beautiful worship. 

The song may have been lost to time, if not for a project Smith produced in 1998 that featured singles by a variety of popular CCM artists. Third Day, a Georgia-based rock band, put their spin on it. As the album's Wikipedia states, this version "is still played on the radio today". It was a CCM mega-hit that turned the song into a rugged worship song that was all the rage in those days.

After taking this drive down memory lane, something struck me. Is there a precedent for this at all? A song taking off in popularity 8 years or so after it was originally recorded?

The answer is yes, but it's pretty rare. Covers are very popular if you do any kind of dive into YouTube, but how many really take the original to a different level?

• In the CCM world, the only comparison that jumps to mind is "In the Light" which was written and sung originally by Charlie Peacock and then sent to the stratosphere when dc Talk covered it for the Jesus Freak album.
• In the pop music world, I would compare this to "I Will Always Love You", where Whitney Houston remade the Dolly Parton song and turned it into a 14-week chart-topper.

I would point out one big difference with Agnus Dei. The above songs are examples of improvements on an original. And this is a matter of opinion, but I think the original Agnus Dei is much better. At the time, I loved the Third Day version as I was really into that style. But given some time and space and a changing musical palate - I prefer the original. Some songs just need to be sung by groups and choirs and great vocalists.

Side note and bonus feature: I am not too entrenched in the old classics to admit that if someone has made a better version, it's these folks. I don't know who the Cottrell's are, but they and their church choir (?) did an inspired job arranging two special worship songs here:

Music Mondays + Sermon Snippets

We are beginning a sermon series in Hebrews and I'm going to do my best to regularly highlight songs that fit the passage. I imagine this will be harder in some parts than others, but I guess we will see.

The winter storm forced us to cancel our service yesterday, though I still shared my sermon in truncated form with a co-starring appearance from our son. 

It was no surprise that Tate's presence was a little distracting, at least to this speaker. It's a little ironic given that our passage, Heb. 1:1-4, is all about tuning into Jesus as the only voice worth tuning into. 

One of the songs our worship team was going to lead us with was an "oldie" I remember from my college days. It's a simple chorus - one that fits the 7/11 repetitious stereotype. And yet, in it's simplicity, it fits the tone of the introductory verses of Hebrews. 

There are many other more popular and more loved songs that focus on Christ and elevate His name. But something about this one seemed just right. May all the other voices fade away and we commit ourselves anew to worshipping and obedience.

Music Mondays: Arresting Lyrics

Last week, I introduced this series and kicked it off with a number of Rich Mullins' lyrics that I find startlingly profound and emotionally powerful.

There are several other artists and categories I plan to feature but as I got into organizing and arranging them all, I realized it will take a bit more thought and time than I anticipated.

So for this week, I thought I'd go with an easier one, Hillsong. I am certainly not familiar with their entire catalog and am certainly aware that they have been criticized for a number of different things. For better, or worse, this Australian-founded outfit took commercialized modern worship. They are significantly different than Mullins if you wanted to compare these back to back. But boy have they written some great songs with lyrics that really stand out.

4. "On a hill you created, Light of the world abandoned in darkness to die" - So Will I (100 Billion X)

This song is unique both for it's lack of chorus and how it seamlessly blends biblical themes from Genesis to the Gospels.

I could easily include the lines that follow "and as you speak 100 billion failures disappear. Where you lost your life so I could find it here, if you left the grave behind you so will I". Really the entire stanza always resonates with me. And the particular point it makes about Christ dying on the ground he helped create (Col. 1:15-16) - it is a perspective I hadn't considered before this song and one I will not soon forget.

3. Now this gospel truth of old, shall not kneel, shall not faint. By His blood and in His name, in His freedom I am free. For the love of Jesus Christ, who has resurrected me." - King of Kings

I originally thought of just the first line and then realized that it keeps building and building and crests with the joyous truth that all in Christ have been raised with him in glory (Rom. 6:4). This is a song about the victorious gospel and the praise of the one who has given that victory to us.

2. "Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name" - Shout to the Lord

The "original" Hillsong hit that felt like it drew you in to worship from the first time you heard it. Mountains bowing, seas roaring - what a way to convey the power of our God.

Admittedly, this song is repetitive. One verse and one chorus repeated several times. For me, it's like watching a great movie and then re-watching it a bunch more times to pick up on all the nuances and things you missed the first time. Repetition can be a weakness of modern worship music, but in this case I think it helps us better appreciate the truths contained within.

1. "You have no rival, you have no equal. Now and forever God you reign. Yours is the Kingdom, yours is the glory. Yours is the name above all names" - What a Beautiful Name

This entire verse deserves the top spot really. I especially like how they come back to this last half of the verse in the live renditions.

This may come off weird, but I think I have probably cherished this song and this verse in particular in the last couple years because of the many funerals I have had to officiate over the past 18-24 months. For me it has become a protest anthem. Death is our enemy, but it cannot hold a candle to our Lord and Savior.  What a powerful name it is!

Music Mondays: God or Girlfriend?

It was the summer of 2000 and I was spending a month as a counselor at Lancer Basketball camp, staying in the venerable Alpha dorm. I brought my portable boombox along with several other creature comforts to entertain myself during down times.

I can't remember if I'd purchased this CD at a store or through my "Power and Glory" Columbia Records membership (remember those?). But it had been recommended to me and decided to check out this new rock worship group Sonicflood. 

What I heard was worship in a rock style that was right up my alley. 

This band along with their debut album became one of the major forerunners of the modern worship movement, incorporating their own songs along with a number of covers. 

One song that I always liked but always gave me some pause was "I Want to Know You".  The song is fine enough yet it sure seems to venture into the "God or Girlfriend" zone. And upon re-listening to it, it seems like a blatant Hanson rip-off. 

The second verse helps save it, quoting Philippians 3. But it's vague and overly-repeated chorus does it no favors. Lots of songs like this tend to be pronoun-heavy - where everyone is supposed to assume we're talking about God or Jesus. The best ones give a little more clarity. The other issue, if you'll allow me a theological rabbit trail,  "touching" and "seeing" the Lord are probably just other ways to describe wanting to "know" him more, but there are a bunch of examples in Scripture where those would not be desirable things to experience in His presence. Jesus solves many of those kinds of problems of course. The song seems to portray entering God's presence as a frivolous thing - which I don't think it means to (again Phil. 3) but is still a little annoying to my theologically-inclined brain.

Ultimately, this seems like a song of it's time. I'm not sure it has had the staying power of other songs of that era. So my conclusion is that this certainly flirts with this problem even if it isn't the worst of examples.

Music Mondays: God or Girlfriend?

There is a built-in tension with Christian music. It seeks to express all the facets of our relationship with our Creator - a relationship based on love and intimacy that is very much true, genuine, and amazing. But depending on how it is expressed, it can easily venture into sappy love-song stuff. 

I'm certainly not the first to point this out, but often times CCM can turn out a product that is eerily similar to secular songs that croon superficially about romance. And every once in awhile, the opposite can be true - a surface-level love song can seem to be speaking of the spiritual. 

So for the next few weeks, I'm going to feature some songs that I've always been confused or conflicted by - songs that teeter on the edge of young-love-sappiness instead of theological wonder.

But to start things off, I want to zig instead of zag. Here are a couple songs from my college days-era that go the opposite direction. These are pop music hits that hint at something deeper if you think real hard.

"Hanging by a Moment" - Lifehouse

A band that has Christian roots, it struck it big with this their first single. It feels like the first hundred times I heard it, I only heard the "love song" part of it. And then when you think of their roots, the rest of their catalog that seems to have spiritual overtones, and then realize the chorus goes: 

Now I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Huh. Makes you wonder...

For the record, the lead singer keeps it ambiguous as well.

"Everywhere" - Michelle Branch

Another single from the early 2000's that launched a career, "Everywhere" was part of Branch's album The Spirit Room. By her own admission, this is a straightforward love song, but Christian detectives all over the U.S. bought into a deeper meaning. And it's easy to see why: 

'Cause you're everywhere to me
And when I close my eyes, it's you I see
You're everything I know that makes me believe
I'm not alone
I'm not alone

[Verse 2]
I recognize the way you make me feel
It's hard to think that you might not be real
I sense it now, the water's getting deep
I try to wash the pain away from me
Away from me

I'm an authorial-intent kind of guy, not a reader-response interpreter. I embrace the meaning as intended by the author. Sometimes it's easy to cheat and re-interpret a song based on what I feel, know, or have experienced. Probably not much harm in doing that with something like this.

Music Mondays

Our worship team led us in a song yesterday that made me go "oh, that's a Christmas song? That's a Christmas song."

It's one of those I've heard, but never really listened to or connected it to Christmas. 

If you don't believe me, try the lyric video.

We are unpacking Isaiah's prophecy of a coming King in 9:6-7 in our Advent sermon series, so even though it surprised me a bit, this song was very fitting. Jesus embodied each of Isaiah's royal titles in a unique way and he certainly continues to embody the king who reigns and will reign forevermore.

Music Mondays - Can a heretic still teach (or sing ) God's truth?

I came across this article over the weekend and there were parts I liked and others I didn't like. I agreed with some of it and disagreed with enough of it that I began formulating a response in my head that I realized would make a good Music Monday post.

Now I fully admit critiquing another's critique may be a low-brow approach in a form (blogging) that is already low-brow. But my aim is not to trash anyone's opinion. only to critically think through this issue - and do so within the parameters the author himself sets. Let me also admit at the top that I own 1 song by Bethel on iTunes ("You Make Me Brave") and I'm not sure our church has ever used their music.

To sum the article up, or just give you a TL;DR version, the author uses the following four questions to ultimately conclude that churches shouldn't use Bethel Music's worship songs*:

1. Are you examining everything you consume through the lens of God’s Word?
2. Does the song stand on its own, proclaiming the truth of God’s Word without explanation?
3. Is it possible to separate the truth being sung from the error of its associations?
4. Would using the song cause us to actively support an errant ministry?

*To be fair, the author doesn't explicitly write that Bethel Music should be avoided. But it is clearly implied.

I completely agree with the first two standards the author provides. It would be accurate to say that they are biblical criteria even. 

Here's why I believe the article fails to fully make it's point. The author provides no evidence that Bethel's music fails to meet the biblical standards in either of the first two areas. One would expect each of those four criteria to shed negative light on Bethel's worship music. Yet under the first two questions, no particular lyric and no songs are given to demonstrate the problematic nature of their worship music. There are nods towards questionable teachings in Bethel's church ministry but the author doesn't even hint that any particular song fails to line up with God's Word.

I am not convinced by the case the author makes for the third and fourth standards either. I believe they are worthy questions. But I am not sure they have as strong of a biblical basis, nor does the article convince me that Bethel Music disqualifies itself in these areas. 

The last question is the easiest for me. Someone can show me the CCLI receipts and prove me wrong, but if an individual church sings one or two of their songs a month, that is 12-24 a year. I doubt the royalties are very significant at that level. I'm sure there would be more egregious examples of this kind of "bad support" if we scrutinized the list of corporations that our retirement plans are invested in or if we evaluated moral quality of the Hollywood production studios we support when we go to the movies. 

With the case of question #3, the author actually makes a good argument for embracing music from Bethel earlier in the article. He cites three classic hymns from three different writers who each had problematic views on various doctrinal issues. Are we sure Bethel is more erroneous than those examples? We aren't advocating Luther's anti-Semitism when we sing "A Mighty Fortress" nor are we affirming all of Bethel's theology by singing their version of "It is Well". And how realistic is it for our people to leave our ministries to embrace with Bethel's questionable doctrinal beliefs as the author implies? What does that say about my church's ministry if my people are so easily swayed by a doctrinally-sound song authored by a theologically-questionable church? 

This gets us to a larger question. Can a heretic ever teach God's truth? Could they author a song that is truthful? 

I'm of the persuasion that all truth is God's truth. I will not seek out secular psychologists for discipleship principles, but I might seek out their observations for how to best deal with addicts or those dealing with mental health issues. A con man who leads revival services so he can fill his pockets rather than save souls can still be a vehicle through which the Spirit convicts hearts. The Bible is full of examples of less-than-worthy vessels being used to further God's Kingdom. He even uses a donkey to prophesy at one point!

In the end, I wonder if this concern over Bethel Music could be an example more like Mark 9:38-41 than Arius. Yes, I find the reports of their theological drifting to be troubling. Yes, I think some of their "spontaneous worship" tacked on the end of their live performances is likely planned and it is certainly not my style. But if there are no glaring doctrinal problems with their worship music and if their music library instead has Christ-honoring qualities - what is specifically wrong with using it for your own God-glorifying purpose? 

Music Monday - "Who the Son Sets Free..."

Can you remember hearing a song on the radio and thinking, "I need to look that up later" - only to totally forget it when you get home?

That happened to me with this song, only of course I remembered it thankfully. Yesterday it played on Christian radio on the way home from church. I think I've heard it before, but it really struck a chord in my heart for whatever reason. 

Only, when I tried in my head to come back to it today, nothing. Couldn't even remember the chorus. 
Eventually I figured it was Hillsong and I started scouring YouTube and whatdoyouknow, it turned up. 

If you are still interested in reading more and will indulge my idiosyncrasies, this song does provoke some stereotypical criticisms in my mind. 
It reminds one of U2, it seems to end the same as many other Hillsong singles, and it is very individual-centric. 
But it's musical composition and lyrical faithfulness to God's Word keeps pulling me back in. John 8, 14, 1 Peter 2. 

Yes modern worship can be too much about "me". But the impact on the Gospel upon our identity is a clear emphasis of the New Testament. Let's praise God for what he's done for us!

Music Mondays - Manufacturing Controversy, it's Reckless.

Over the past several months, the worship song Reckless Love has climbed to the top of the charts and become a staple in the sets of many contemporary worship services.

The questions, criticisms, and controversy wasn't "manufactured" unnecessarily. People questioned whether the idea of God being reckless was a biblical idea. That's a legitimate question to ask on it's face. Analyzing the lyrics of the songs we sing is not a bad thing or a waste of time. 

The reason I'm featuring it in this ongoing series of "manufactured controversies" is that the answers were there the whole time. Relevant Magazine did a good job of running through the various issues of controversy and theology. The song itself defines it's meaning. Cory Asbury, the musician who penned this song, also gave a thoughtful and biblically-based explanation of the idea behind the song. I mean, why not go to the source if you have a problem with it? 

For some personal context here, I was triggered a bit by a blog that was shared on my Facebook timeline regarding this song. I can no longer find it, but it was authored by someone taking their task way too seriously (probably a lot like myself). It ended up using 800-1,000 words dissecting the song and the related biblical issues...all to conclude that the song was ok and it's good to take into consideration how an author/musician defines words and concepts. 

And in my mind I was like, "why?". Let's let art be art and give some creative license to faithful artists. I know that opens up for the possibility of heresy popping up. But the thing about our modern world is, we got plenty of heresy hunters that will sound the alarm plenty early before it's endangering the Church. Let's give more freedom to our creatives and let them (biblically) expand our imaginations about who God is and what He's done and doing for us.

Music Mondays - Manufacturing Controversy

Several years ago, as an pastoral intern at my home church, I was witness to a brief encounter after a worship service that really made me cringe.

Our church music was a "blended" style mixing contemporary songs with traditional hymns. As part of the worship set, we sang "Create in Me A Clean Heart" which is based word for word on Psalm 51. 

I was near the stage at the end of the service when I noticed an older lady in our church approach the worship leader and associate pastor. She told him she objected to that song because it mentioned "taking the Holy Spirit" from the author/singing audience. That was just incorrect theology and we should not have sung it. 

Now the leader graciously received her input and agreed with her theologically. As I remember it, he also mentioned that we'd sung that a few months prior and had made comments of qualification before singing it then (I do remember this instance and it was clear and well-done). He apologized for not repeating that step this time and promised to do so in the future. 

Crisis averted. 

On the one hand, it's good that this person was thinking critically about her worship. 

But at the same time, I'm cringing watching that go on precisely because of the context. Our church was staunchly theologically conservative with clear statements about their beliefs about Holy Spirit written in it's constitution. And this pastor had previously made a recent extra effort to clearly explain the nuances of our NT position in Christ vs. the OT differences - that affect seven words of a beautiful song about confession and repentance. Side note, how many other worship songs are there about confession and repentance?

Again, I'm all for discernment and thinking through what we're singing in worship. I don't want to dismiss the idea that our worship should be theologically sound. I'm very much for that. 
Maybe it's the effect of modernity on our society or maybe it's a ripple effect of the Church's own "Worship Wars" over the past 30 years but I've observed a lot of manufactured controversy over various modern and traditional church music. 

This case wasn't "manufactured" exactly, but over the next month or so I'll be featuring cases where some within Christendom have stirred up controversy needlessly. 

They will run the spectrum of very recent to very old. But all will be cases where - in my opinion - some people are "straining gnats while swallowing camels".

And if you have some examples you can think of, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Music Mondays - In defense of Contemporary Worship

I'm a pastor, so my world is unique. The people I meet, the conversations I have, the routine of my job - all unique. And one part of the uniqueness of my calling is that from time-to-time, I will encounter people who still want to fight a war that's already been lost. 

Ultimately, in the larger American Christian culture, this issue is settled. The worship wars were waged and the "contemporary side" gained the most ground and is the most favored form of worship music in (American) Christendom. The traditional side still staunchly continues and those of us who prefer a blended approach still hold pockets here and there. But contemporary worship that involves bands and soft-rock music and lights and visual presentations has won the day.

They will lob snarky criticism at contemporary worship, creating straw-man arguments and generalizations about how nobody writes with any theological depth anymore. All the new music is simply sensual love songs repackaged and rewritten with "God", "Jesus", and "the Lord" edited in. The classic hymns passed down throughout history, resplendent with all of their progressive verses and rousing choruses are far superior than the repetitive and shallow songs of this generation. 

And I understand their comments and to an extent they have a point. 

However they are completely fixated on the mediocre while ignoring the large quantity of evidence that contradicts their assertions. 

Well, let's add more to the growing list of modern worship songs that reflect the popular cultural styles but include strong biblical theology:

I'm sure some curmudgeonly nit-picker will find fault with a word or phrase or other detail. 
But wow is this creative and comprehensive. And the best part in my opinion is that it's not merely a feel-good song, but a song of commitment. 

It enlarges our vision of God and pledges to faithfully follow Him.

So Will I, indeed.