Worship Songwriters: Want to Go Deep?
So you want to be a successful worship songwriter?
Here’s a pointer: Write deep stuff.
Not obscure. Not psychedelic. Not indecipherable. Not over spiritual. Just deep.
I saw Carlos Whitaker share a review from his latest EP in which a reviewer basically gave it 1 star because they felt it wasn’t “deep” enough.
One of his songs is the deepest topic I can think of. The song content: Jesus Saves. Excuse me, but that’s a pretty DEEP topic! It’s what our faith hinges on!
Here’s my top 2 “deep” topics that I encourage myself to focus on as a songwriter and that I also challenge other songwriters to focus on when writing for worship.
- Who God is (love)
- He’s coming back (return)
Everything else flows out of these truths.
LOVE
God is love. John 3:16 says that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus. God became one of us to save us. Pretty deep! God is a redeemer, the One who ransoms us from the bondage of sin. Because of HIS character, His quality, He came to earth.
RETURN
And the other deep truth that I think is missing in a lot of church worship gatherings: HE IS COMING BACK. Because of who HE is He came the first time to save us. And because of who HE is there will be a second coming. A return. We will see Him here on earth again! He’s coming back to establish rule and reign here on earth!! It’s pretty clear if you read Scripture.
Now there’s nothing wrong with writing poetic songs about how much you need God and how desperate you are for Him. But there is NOTHING like singing (and teaching through song) the BASIC truths of Scripture that EVERYTHING else hinges on. Too many times we focus too much on our needs and not enough on what we’re living for. If we can get a grasp on the fact that everything we do here on earth counts for something in eternity, we might approach life differently! What better truth to teach in song!
It’s amazing to me how many people get the life application messages week in and week out but don’t know the basic truth of all in Christian living: we are living for something, for HIS return. We are not living for a cloud and harp in glory. We are not living for a fleeting moment here on earth. We are living FOR HIS RETURN! He’s coming back.
We are not living to learn how to “be” better people. We should be living as HIS PEOPLE – eager for His returning!
Want to take your people deep? Then dive into the unimaginable depths of these truths: God is love (which includes everything about Jesus life, death, and resurrection) and He’s coming back.
Write to Teach
If all we write and sing are songs that showcase our need for Jesus, or how much more we want to worship Him, but don’t use the opportunity to sing songs about Jesus saving us and His returning for us, then we haven’t used that opportunity fully to build a good foundation. Don’t throw out those other songs, just make sure that you are seizing every opportunity to write and sing songs that teach “deep” basic theology.
I agree Russ, if there’s a missing component in much of our modern worship, it’s the teaching aspect. What a great avenue to teach through! Not to bash preachers, but I fell a song can teach as much or more than a sermon, and is much more memorable.
Great post.
Thanks, David.
I’ve been thinking A LOT about this lately.
I agree Russ. Sometimes I wonder if what critics mean when they say a song lacks depth, is that it doesn’t address ‘issues’ or talk about struggle enough. That seems to show a level of embarrassment with the subject matter – YES God loves us, YES Jesus died for our sins, and believe it or not HE IS the answer to those issues and struggles. It really is that simple, and it really is that deep.
I don’t feel that depth is the issue, rather it’s insecurity in accepting those timeless fundamental truths of the gospel. If heart worship cries out these truths, rather than head worship, then who am I or anyone else to criticise? I went to a Jesus Culture even recently, and on mentioning it to a friend, was greeted with the sneer “oh great, a night out listening to a Christian worship cover band.” Talk about completely missing the point. On the night there was a mix of original songs & those written by others, but GOD WAS THERE. Surely that’s why we do what we do?
I know some people have said that the lyrics of Gungor’s album are simplistic, but I LOVE that, and on the other hand I’m not sure if they are. The phrase “You breathe Your fragrance on me” has been rattling round my head since I heard it, and I haven’t had that happen since my eons-ago introduction to Charlie Peacock (his lyrics are stuck in my head in perpetuity!) – lyrics like that can change a person’s life. Again, surely that’s why we do what we do? Not to be overly clever, but to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through our lives and our creativity.
Anyway, this is an essay & jumble of thoughts that I need to hammer out properly. I guess I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot as well Russ! Although I’m not a worship songwriter per se (I leave that to my husband!) the function or music, words and creativity are a passion of mine. I’d love to hear more of your thoughts as well Russ.
Err…ignore the many typos in that..yeah, words are REALLY important to me…lol.