I think the reason it’s hard to write good worship music is because it takes a lot of effort for me to bring the vastness of my emotional and thought world into some sort of artistic convergence.  It usually takes a measure of holistic engagement with the Bible that usually results in a little more introspection than I asked for.  Simply put, when I write, God is faithful to let me know that I’m a sinner, and that he loves me eternally and abundantly.

The Psalms are full of soul-exposing poetry and lyrics, much of which can go undiscovered or unnoticed if something like that holistic engagement is set aside for superficial knowledge or half-hearted reflection.  Take Psalm 99, for instance.  When you read it on its face, it’s pretty straightforward.  Nothing really to see.  But let’s take verse 1.  I know that most of us are already fixed inside our Western cosmologies, so if you were to read this carefully:

The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthrones upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

it should make no sense to you.  You see, for us over here in Western Industrial Enlightenment-land, it makes absolutely no sense that there would be a close connection between our spiritual and physical existence.  However, it was very different for the Jews (especially the ones who followed Jesus around, but even the ones that came before them).  They were quite aware of the fact that God’s presence in the world (signified here by his reign as king) meant something real and tangible for all creation.  When I read this, it makes me think about whether or not I know Jesus as this kind of King.  Sometimes, I fall into thinking that the Jesus I gave my life to is a figment of my imagination, a guy who was real to people 2000 years ago.  I forget to pray and to hope and to live as though he is the risen, reigning King of this world, now and forever.  The question is not whether or not he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; rather, the question is whether or not I’m letting all of Jesus’ character shape my expectations of him.

I think this psalm gives us a great praise imperative (it has two variations):

Exalt the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he! (verse 5)

Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy! (verse 9)

I’ll end on this.  People talk about God being holy, and usually have no idea what that means for their life.  These verses are pretty clear: one indication of the value of God’s holiness in your life is how much you give him credit and honor for his character and his work.  Think of it this way: you’ll talk someone’s ear off about the people you think are memorable or one-of-a-kind.

NOTE: you can find recordings of all of my discussed music by clicking on the My Music link at the right.

This one’s pretty simple…
(click here for audio)

for he is our peace
in his flesh he’s made us one humanity
for he is our peace
by his blood he’s broken walls that divide us in hostility

you draw us all to yourself
you bring us all to your house
so we can know your love and praise your holy name
you draw us all to yourself
you bring us all to your house
so we can know your love and praise your holy name

This one comes directly from Paul’s correspondence to the churches in Ephesus, around AD60. In this particular part of the letter, his claim is that the gaping chasm between the chosen people of Israel and the foreigners has been bridged by Jesus’ death on the cross. He’s speaking directly into the potential temptation for Gentile Christians to feel inferior and separate from their Jewish Christian counterparts. They can look back on a collective past filled with alienation and lostness, and know that they look forward to the same intimacy with Jesus and fellow believers that has been made to Jewish believers. There is an equality of dignity, opportunity, and humanity that comes in the gospel, and the product is seen in the level of unity and community to which they are called.

I wrote this song after being in a discussion with some students about race and hearing the things that were said. I cannot remember all of what was said, but I remember feeling lost and separated in that room. I was lost in a sea of cultural majority, without my experience or my pain being spoken for, validated, advocated for. I felt so small, boxed in by the juxtaposition of some strong opinions and the desire not to shame my brothers and sisters. And as others interacted with comments in the room, the air was filled with subtle, yet painful misunderstanding, tension, and lingering questions everyone was afraid to ask. We were here to talk about race, but nobody was really talking. It made me think about this part of Paul’s letter precisely because of all the talk about breaking dividing walls and fellow citizens and one new man. We were (and we are) 4 different people, not seeking to give any glory to God for who he had made us to be, but seeking to exalt our cultural and ethnic stories because that’s the only way we know to interact with our culture.

But it’s really quite simple. Jesus Christ is one man, looking to turn us into one man, sharing one house, with the same ONE Father, Son, and Spirit. And so there’s no room for us to huddle together in our own ethnic bubbles because there’s no way that Jesus can do what He’s died to do if we’re stuck together in little mono-colored ballons.

When Paul says, “For he is our peace,” he’s talking about shalom. And for the Jewish people, they know how big that is. We translate it as “peace,” but apparently that’s a really watered down summary of the word. From what I understand, shalom implies a togetherness that comes from correct relationships; with people, with God, and with the other elements of creation. Peacefulness is how you can characterize those relationships, but what makes shalom is the complete interconnectedness demonstrated by the peaceful relationships between God, humanity, and nature.

I wrote this song because we need peace. The world needs peace, and the church needs peace. We hear it over and over again: “Sunday is the most segregated day of the week.” And as much as that may make us pause, I think it’s because we’re offended, and not because we’re moved to compassion. Because to stop the segregation on Sunday would mean to stop our racism and prejudice and stereotyping and fear from Monday-Saturday. And if the church won’t obey Jesus and lead our country into renouncing its xenophobia, then who will? We need peace. And that’s Jesus. His broken body on the cross signifies the creation of a salvation that crosses all ethnic and cultural bounds. His blood is the blood of God’s new covenant, available to any and all who believe in him.

Our current witness of Jesus tells people that he doesn’t care about the needy or the stranger, and that’s heresy. Our current witness of Jesus has him hating minorities and despising foreigners, and that’s unbiblical. Here I am, a minority in this country, trying to hear from Jesus that he loves me and has a purpose for my life, and our church is the first to say that I don’t, closely followed by the rest of society. Might you be able to see why I might write such a song? I wrote it for me. I wrote it to listen to when I feel like I’ve been sufficiently lied to and I need to hear the truth. I listen to it when people like Don Imus happen or things like the Jena 6 happen.

I listen to it when I feel like the reason that I decided to follow Jesus could simply be a pipe dream.

I haven’t talked about any of my songs yet, and I think that’s wrong. So I’m gonna show you one.
(for the audio, click here.)

I write a few different types of songs. I write corporate worship songs, I write reflective songs about my faith, and I write rock songs about life. I hope to have the courage to not just talk to you about art, but to also share with you some of mine. My art and my artistry is a work-in-progress, so any thoughts or impressions you may have are much appreciated.

verse 1
I need overflowing grace
I need everlasting love
I need supernatural peace
From you, my Lord

chorus
Like rain, fall down
Like rain, fall down
Like rain, fall down and heal my soul

verse 2
approaching the throne of grace
desiring your words of love
draw near to me, Prince of Peace
come near, my Lord

bridge
oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down
that the mountains might quake at your presence
oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down
that we might be in awe of your presence

Let me take you through the major pieces:

1. Grace/Love/Peace: These are overused words in the church with loads of meaning and significance. I wanted to give people a way to invite those things into their lives that they might be able to relate to. The first verse speaks of each of those things being large in relationship to our need. The second verse gives specific images that point to those things.
2. Like Rain: Psalm68.7-9 says it all. The image of water has always been one that represents life that God offers us, and the image of rain reinforces that lifelike water image with a heavenly element due to its skyward source: O God, when you went out before you people, when you marched through the wilderness,
   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain before God, the One of Sinai; before God, the God of Israel.
   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished.
3. Oh, that you would…: Isaiah64.1 says it clearly, and we can see the quake theme repeated. The imagery here is striking. Imagine that you are sitting in the front row of your favorite movie, and the curtains open slowly to reveal the beginning of the movie. And as the movie begins, the scene is on the Rocky Mountains, exploding by the minute and putting people in danger.

The song is about our need for God and how he wants to be someone in your life that exhibits grace, love, and peace in you. The tone switches throughout the song, from a baseline need for God to a need for an experience with God, with the desire for God’s presence as the foundation and the desire for God’s powerful coming into our lives as the surrounding landscape. I love Isaiah64.1 because of its dramatic picture of God entering our world and messing things up and coming powerfully and personally into our lives. We can immediately dispel the idea that Elohim isn’t close to us and that he doesn’t want to show up and be strong for us, and we can continue our journey with our God knowing that he is generous to grant to us himself when we need him.

Amen.