Singular Worship
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
THE LONG TAKE: SINGULAR WORSHIP
Over the past few days, I’ve been purposefully listening to more worship songs simply for the exposure of a different type of music than my normal daily diet. From chapel to Sunday church services to Spotify, I was struck by a common theme of many modern songs—the use of the singular tense in regards to the worshipper. The preponderance of “I’s, Me’s, and My’s” points to a view of salvation and worship that, if unnoticed and unchecked, lacks an otherwise beauty and depth. Here is an example from a popular new song, “Death Was Arrested”:
Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin
Lost without hope with no place to begin
Your love Made a way to let mercy come in
When death was arrested and my life beganAsh was redeemed only beauty remains
My orphan heart was given a name
My mourning grew quiet my feet rose to dance
When death was arrested and my life began
I, at first glance, do not see anything inherently incorrect in a theological sense, but I count 7 singular references to the worshipper to 1 reference to the object of said worship. The problem is that lyrics like these may lead to a false view that salvation is about Me, Myself, and I. It is my redemption, my orphanage, my sin, my mourning, my death, and my life that take centerstage, as if this is the end all of salvation. I recall numerous times in youth group where the speaker would ask us to draw a circle around ourselves as we pray to block out distractions and others as we did business with God. The message was clear—salvation is inherently personal and individual. But is it really?
I do not wish to imply that salvation does not occur on an individual level, but that it does not end there. As best as I can read from the Scriptures, individual salvation is, at best, a tertiary benefit to God’s redemptive plan. First and foremost, salvation and redemption serve to glorify God (Rom 11:36; Isaiah 60:21; Rev 4:11). Every night when I put my boys to bed, we go through a series of questions based on the Westminster Catechism. The very first question is “What is the chief end of man?” with the answer being to glorify God. God’s redemptive work finds its ultimate fulfillment not in my personal regeneration but in how my personal regeneration adds to His glory. Thus, our songs we sing in worship should help point us to that reality. Several do not; several, however, do, culminating in a chorus of praise to a gracious Redeemer.
But that is not what I wish to address here. An overlooked aspect of worship songs is the inherent difference between “Me and My” versus “We and Our”. This, I believe, is the second benefit to God’s redemptive plan, that He calls a people to Him (Eph 1-2; Romans 7-9; Isaiah 60-69; the whole of Hosea). It is under this covenant of grace that God redeems a “people”, a holy nation that will glorify and enjoy Him forever, thus fulfilling the original charge given to Adam and Eve to serve as Image bearers in this creation. Now, I understand math and know that a people is made up of individuals and the redemption of many requires the redemption of various individuals. But my point is that an over-focus on our individual redemption shines the spotlight of salvation on “me” rather than on Christ. Ignoring the corporal nature of redemption reduces Christ’s work on the cross to the act of a mere cosmic concierge, where it is all about me. Christian Smith, in his book Soul Searching describes this as therapeutic deism where God only works at our behest and for our benefit (as we solely determine it). We lose the over-arching aspect of salvation when we constantly sing “Me, Myself, and I” into our worship songs. The power of “We, Ourselves, and Us” is that we recognize that the person sitting just outside of that metaphorical circle we drew is a sinner in need of salvation (just like us) redeemed by the blood of Christ on the cross (just like us) and will ultimately experience fellowship with God for a blissful eternity (just like us). We then notice that God’s redemptive plan of salvation goes beyond the vapor that is our lives on this planet (James 4:14) to something much grander! To see salvation occurring horizontally will increase our understanding of how salvation points us vertically, that is to see a God that is much bigger and grander than the salvation of merely one person.
Because I picked on “Death Was Arrested” earlier, I want to point out the last stanza:
Oh, we're free, free
Forever we're free
Come join the song
Of all the redeemed
Yes, we're free free
Forever amen
When death was arrested and my life began
Compare that with the closing verse of Andrew Peterson’s “Is He Worthy?”:
Is anyone worthy?
Is anyone whole?
Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?
The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave
He is David's root and the Lamb who died to ransom the slave
From every people and tribe
Every nation and tongue
He has made us a kingdom and priests to God
To reign with the Son
Those two passages are celebratory; they are exalting; they are inviting; they are the body of Christ in all of its fulness. So in our worship, let’s work to bring back the “We, Ourselves, and Us” viewpoint of salvation. That will be a greater celebration than “Evans, party of one.”
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
I’ve had two big discoveries lately. First, two words: Harry Potter. I didn’t want to read them; I didn’t want to like them. But just like the unnamed character worn down by Sam-I-Am, I tried them and yes, I like them. Also, the Slytherins are simply not nice people…
Several years ago, our church in Orlando occasionally would sing a song during a contemplative time of the service that was a petition of “Lord, Have Mercy”. It was one of my favorite songs from those days, reminiscent of the scene between the tax collector and the Pharisee in Luke 18. After several failed searches (one would be surprised by the number of songs that have those lyrics), I finally found it on Spotify. Needless to say, Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) has earned significant playtime in my Spotify lists lately.
VARIOUS AND SUNDRY
It is finally Easter candy season, which is announced by the reduction of all Valentine’s candy to 75% off. Two thoughts: (1) Starbursts Jellybeans are the best jellybeans. You are free to argue with me about this, but you will be wrong. (2) Licorice jelly beans mixed in with the rest of the Brach’s originals has to be a sign of the Fall. The new heavens and new Earth will be licorice free.
Don’t be this student. Ever. As Ra’s Al Ghul told Batman, “always be mindful of your surroundings”. This student wasn’t…
It is getting closer to baseball season. Go Gators! Go Bulls! Go Braves!
MY CURRENT INTAKE
- What I’m Listening To: Shane and Shane’s Worship Initiative– There are several different actual albums—all are good.
- What I’m Reading For Fun: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (see above)
- What I’m Reading For Betterment: James K. A. Smith “Desiring the Kingdom” – This series (along with You Are What You Love) is helping me develop my understanding of how I can (or, more honestly, don’t) love the Lord our God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind.
- Spotify Playlist Recommendation: To start, I have to go with Old Faithful. To me, the best musical decade was the ‘80s simply due to the scope and breadth of the artists and groups. In tribute, I made an Epic Eighties playlist. Denim jacket and permed hair not included…
Soli Deo Gloria,
Mitch Evans, Ed.D