Confessions of a Worship Leader asks the question.
By the way, his assertion that...
a lot of what gets used in church comes from songwriters with the "Nashville Songwriting Formula" that no one knows about but those who are privy to it's use. They go into the studio on Monday morning and bang out a song by mid-afternoon and a few months of production later, it's in a church near you.
...well, that just doesn't happen. Speaking from my desk here in Nashville, any song that got "banged out" like that wouldn't be one you'll be singing. There are just too many songs that people have prayed and sweat over for that to be the case.
I'm honored to be being picked on by the ranks of Lifeway :-) . Just kidding. I love you guys.
I really just wanted to put something out to get a better idea of how I can do a better job choosing material that people can relate to and still be God-honoring. I really wasn't trying to pick on the Nashville crowd, honest.
The only reason I put that part in the post at all is because I know enough people and have been around long enough to see some songs slip through the cracks that maybe shouldn't have.
As stated in my post, I am a songwriter as well, so I know the amount of care and prayer that goes into a worship song. Honestly, because they are really conversations between myself and God, I wouldn't put them out there at all if not for friends in higher places than I telling me that I was only hindering what God wanted to do through me if I hid my talent and didn't use it for His glory (there's a sermon in there somewhere).
Unfortunately, I have to disagree with your implied point that there are no songs being released and used in the church that didn't just get "banged out" and then put through a lot of production before release. I can say this because I got just close enough to see what goes on on the inside and decided I didn't want to get caught up in it, so I didn't pursue that avenue. Instead, I'm going another route. I still have friends on the inside and have heard way too many horror stories (not that I assume all of them are true, because stories do tend to get bent out of shape).
We'd all like to assume the best of the artists that produce our current worship music, but you and I both know that they just aren't always what they seem, though there are many who are just as genuine as you could ever hope for.
Besides all that, you also know that God can use pretty much anything for his Glory. So even if there are SOME songs that get banged out, and even if there are SOME artists who are less than genuine, the music can still be honoring to God.
I love you guys. You do a fantastic job and I pray that God continues to bless you and use you for a long time to come!
J2, thanks for replying. That's what this blog is about - dialogue - and disagreement is a part of that. I'm not going to refute or challenge any of your asssertions... rather leave that for other readers!
Thanks for joining in!
I look at the latest issue of Song Discovery and notice that Lifeway is releasing Joyful Joyful we Adore thee...How many hours did writers sweat and pray over that one...I thought it was written many years ago. I just don't understand how a song like that does not just get banged out and put into a publication of "more of what you need to lead". Just an honest thought.
Hi, Sorry to come off as offensive with my post the other day. I do would like to know why a song like Joyful Joyful we adore thee, is not just banged out for various reasons. Thanks
Among scores of many other worthy possibilities, LifeWay sent "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee" to Song Discovery merely as one alternative treatment for an existing hymn.
Contemporary treatments of hymn tunes with their traditional texts seem to be one example of a "tolerance potion" or a "point of contact" for those worshipers reticent of more unsettling contemporary genres of music.
There are so many incarnations of hymn treatments. New music/old texts, old music/new texts and any varying combinations. Initially, LifeWay is committed to introducing more contemporary treatments of traditional hymns. The goal is to worship with hymns utilizing the original melodic and rhythmic configuration, but in a contemporary setting.