Lyrical License? Not Here

—Chris Krycho

Lyrics, sadly, have never generated quite as much heat as musical style in the "worship wars." Musical style, as PJ noted a few weeks ago, is not unimportant, but we should not fight over it, either. The battles over drums and guitars can obscure deeper and more important issues. Do we worship God as he really is, or do we sing to someone else? Do we worship God in his entirety, or only the parts we like? Do we focus primarily on ourselves or on God?

These are not trivial questions. How we worship is incredibly important. Hebrews 12 marches through a stirring call to endurance and a powerful picture of the kingdom Christ inaugurated, but concludes by saying:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:28-29, ESV

The author of Hebrews reaches back to Moses' admonition to the Israelites not to commit idolatry, as he reminded them of God who had appeared in fire that burned the top of Mt. Sinai:

Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Deuteronomy 4:23-24

We need to take the content of our songs seriously—far more seriously than we do, and more seriously than we take style. As such, I believe a worship leader should have several goals in mind as he chooses music for a service, all of which can be satisfied by hymns and modern praise choruses alike.

1. Does the song clearly and accurately present the character of God?
   There is no more important question than this. If a song says erroneous things about God, it should never be used for any reason—no matter how compelling it is musically.
2. Does the song ultimately direct our attention to God or ourselves?
   The Psalms frequently address the emotional depths of the human condition. Some speak of joy and delight. Others plunge to painful fears and sorrows. One thread connects all of them, though: they do not remain at their human points of entry. They turn to God as the creator of all that is good, the judge of all that is evil, and the savior of all who trust in him. Likewise, our songs can and should begin from any point in human existence, but should always turn to God.
3. Is the song musically excellent?
   Unfortunately, many songs are either musically or lyrically strong, but not both. We need songs with well-written lyrics set to good melodies! Monotonous repetition of either lyrics or music is bad, whether it's in modern praise music or a 200-year-old hymn. Good melodies and good lyrics are both necessary. The music should also fit the text. Imagine if the well known hymn "It Is Well" was set to a jaunty tune with a lot of syncopation—we certainly would have stopped singing it long ago!
4. Does the song support the sermon?
   As I noted last week, liturgies are much more effective when carefully constructed. Because preaching and congregational singing are both acts of worship, the sermon and the songs should support each other in how they glorify God and edify the congregation. One very practical way to do this is to choose songs that are connected to or based on the text the pastor is preaching on that day.
5. Does the song fit with the other songs in the service?
   The songs should present a narrative that follows the flow of the gospel. Songs recognizing the pain of human travails and the greatness of God's comfort and salvation should ultimately flow into songs of hope—because Scripture does not stop with our despair but with God's salvation. The lyrics should move from humans to God, from sin to salvation, from our need to God's provision, from our present travails to our future hope in Christ. Likewise, the music should not be too uniform. Variety and change in instrumentation from song to song can help emphasize and clarify the narrative. Each song should add something both musically and lyrically to the service.
6. Is the song rich in both intellectual and emotional content?
   Generally speaking, I think most churches struggle to find a balance between emotional and intellectual content of songs. I have personally heard hymns decried as "too complicated" for worship and praise choruses as "too simple." Both critiques miss the mark. One mistakes strong emotions and mental absence for true worship; the other mistakes a lack of emotions and intellectual action for true worship! Many hymns are too wordy for a purely emotional response—and that's a good thing. It is also good that many choruses are too lyrically simple for a purely intellectual response, but excel at stirring the emotions. When we are truly worshipping, both our thoughts and our feelings are involved. The best songs help us feel strongly and think rightly about God. If a song has no intellectual content or fails to stir the emotions at all, it is probably not a good fit.

Many young adults are looking for greater depth in the worship of their churches. Some have been burned by emotionalism; others come from backgrounds where emotions are stifled. Meanwhile, the worship wars rage on, missing the truly important aspects of worship for a sideshow. The first priority of musicians must be proclaiming the good news of Christ's atoning, conquering work in the cross. The best way churches can serve young adults (and everyone else) musically is by putting the gospel in the center of their understanding, making use of every tool available.

What are your experiences with church music lyrics? How have you seen churches put the gospel in the center of the service? What would you like to see churches doing better here?