{"id":8691,"date":"2012-06-21T04:33:11","date_gmt":"2012-06-21T04:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/?p=8691"},"modified":"2021-03-25T13:21:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T13:21:22","slug":"christians-dont-tell-lies-they-just-go-to-church-and-sing-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicademy.com\/blog\/christians-dont-tell-lies-they-just-go-to-church-and-sing-them\/","title":{"rendered":"“Christians don’t tell lies – they just go to church and sing them”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is the sentence that I put on my Facebook page yesterday.<\/p>\n

My non-Christian friends immediately assumed someone had hacked into my Facebook account and published it. The idea that I as a Christian would pass on such a quote was laughable to them.<\/p>\n

The truth is the words were not mine, but that of the legendary pastor and author A.W Tozer.<\/p>\n

The quote can be easily misunderstood. Tozer wasn\u2019t talking about us singing lyrics such as \u201cJesus is alive\u201d or \u201cGod is good\u201d. So what was he getting at?<\/p>\n

Although Tozer died in the 60s, many others have since written critically about some of the songs we sing in church.<\/p>\n

Nick Page has written over 70 Christian books, including one on worship called And Now Let\u2019s Move Into A Time of Nonsense. It\u2019s a title I can imagine Tozer smiling at.<\/p>\n

I met Nick recently and asked him about the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith so many worship songs they do this thing I call: \u2018I can\u2019t believe it\u2019s not the Bible\u2019 where you think it\u2019s scripture, but it isn\u2019t scripture. Or they take this bit of scripture and mangle it and force it and put it on a false diet so that it will fit vaguely into the melody and they think that\u2019s enough. That isn\u2019t enough. If you\u2019re going to worship you have to have your mind fed in terms of being inspired to worship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keith Getty, co writer of In Christ Alone also said something similar recently: \u201cIf you look at the psalms, even the short psalms are very substantial. We have all the hymns from the beginning of the Old Testament were not written to stir ecstasy in people, they were written to remind people of the character of God and the goodness of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tozer was concerned with the truthfulness of our language, Page wants us to be scriptural and Getty wants us to avoid ecstasy for the sake of ecstasy. It seems all three of these vital pointers on worship lyrics need to be heard today more than ever.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of worship albums are released every year. Many of them are inspiring and full of truth. Stuart Townend\u2019s new greatest hits release is a prime example. Ben Cantelon\u2019s Everything In Colour also has some fantastic new songs on it.<\/p>\n

But sometimes worship songs don\u2019t quite hit the mark, and we should be free to talk openly about this.<\/p>\n

All this brings me neatly onto a song that has swept much of the church in recent years. It\u2019s a powerful declaration of God\u2019s love for us. Few could argue with the chorus, but the verses? That\u2019s another matter entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a tree bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy\u201d.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but in the middle of that song it\u2019s easy to get carried away in the emotion and sing pretty much whatever appears on the screen\/OHP\/hymnbook.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we need to stop and have another read of the lyrics we\u2019re singing.<\/p>\n

Related News<\/p>\n

Worship music : What should we sing?<\/p>\n

Keith Getty’s Celtic Islands Tour
\n\u201cI am a tree.\u201d Seriously? Even when viewed in the context of the full verse, it\u2019s still a difficult lyric for me to sing.<\/p>\n

Ironically, one of the worship leaders that helped popularize How He Loves, Jesus Culture\u2019s Kim Walker agrees we shouldn\u2019t sing songs we don\u2019t believe in.<\/p>\n

Kim Walker made a small lyrical change to Delirious? Rain Down so she was able to mean the words she was singing (see here).<\/p>\n

Worship leaders shouldn\u2019t shy away from or be embarrassed about doing this. We have a duty to worship God in spirit and in truth.<\/p>\n

So if you feel like a tree bending beneath God\u2019s mercy then go ahead and sing it. But if you don\u2019t, then why bother?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sam Hailes writes news, features and reviews exclusively for Christian.co.uk\u00a0where this article first appeared. Thanks for permission to publish.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo copyright Recovering Vagabond creative commons<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other posts you might like:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is it just me or are a lot of worship songs mediocre?<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt Redman says he\u2019s never heard a bad worship song. this writer would disagree<\/a><\/p>\n

Read the lyrics first<\/p>\n

The feminisation of worship songs?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mandy Test \u2013 romantic lyrics in worship songs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the sentence that I put on my Facebook page yesterday. My non-Christian friends immediately assumed someone had hacked into my Facebook account and published it. The idea that I as a Christian would pass on such a quote was laughable to them. 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