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.

Music Mondays - Faith In Tension

One of the most valuable things I learned in seminary was that we must hold some seemingly opposite spiritual truths in tension. 
God is a God of love but also justice. 
God is fully sovereign but allows his creatures the freedom of choice.

Our modern, Western minds can't always handle that. But to the Middle Eastern perspective, it is totally normal that two things that do not really fit together can both be true.

This reality combined with some CCM radio listening inspired me to compile a list of Christian songs that reflect this 'faith in tension'.

A couple notes (feel free to skip if you just want to get to the songs):

• I decided to to stick to recent music only. To fish in a pool that considers all of Christian hymnody would be too much of an undertaking for the purposes of this author and his blog.
• I also decided to stick to Christian music.  There are some worthy options from those who don't identify as followers of Christ, but I wanted to keep the focus on Christians who are dealing with the tensions in their/our faith.
• I used my own rating system to rank the songs. I had three categories: Clarity of Tension, Theological Depth, and Overall Song Quality. I rated each song on Clarity of Tension (CT) on a scale of 1-10 based on how well the song communicated the tension or paradox it described. Theological Depth (TD) was also scaled 1-10 based on how significantly it grappled with heavy theological issues. Overall Song Quality (SQ) was only rated between 1-5 because I didn't want my musical preferences to get in the way too much. I also added a Bonus rating (0-2) as a sort of miscellaneous category to help break ties and account for additional aspects of each song.

We'll break down my top ten over the next two weeks. 
Here's #10-#6:

10. "Trust in You" - Lauren Daigle

 (Total Score - 20. CT: 8, TD: 8, SQ: 4, Bonus: 0)

Her voice carries this song, but don't underestimate the lyrics. A commitment to faith even if God doesn't work things out how we desire or hope? That's textbook Faith in Tension.

9. "Even If" - MercyMe

(Total - 20.5. CT: 9, TD: 7, SQ: 3.5, Bonus: 1)

This is a new song that got me thinking about this whole idea. It's like if "Blessed Be Your Name" and "What if I Stumble" - both songs on this list - had a baby song. Honest and real. It would probably have a higher score if it wasn't being overplayed on Christian radio right now. Bonus for a direct allusion to Daniel 3.