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We are happy to find a somewhat thoughtful commentator on a subject dear to us: Worship and praise. We say "somewhat" because the author on one hand provides a generally useful, though subjective framework for evaluating worship songs, but on the other hand clearly has an ax to grind.
A "primer" is a basic course of instruction, particularly for young children learning to read. As such, we would expect the author of today's article to restrict himself to elementary concepts and simple terminology, so as to give the reader a bare foundation of understanding.
After we consider his primer, we will comment on his evaluation of a song called "Forever and Amen," by Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe. Here we will see the typical nitpicking and quibbling that often characterizes the "Doctrinal Police."
In addition, the author will write 1350 words discussing various aspects of worship music, and another 600 evaluating "Forever and Amen." However, he will only manage to quote a snippet of two Scriptures and reference one other. Unfortunately, this also is typical of the "Doctrinal Police."
We believe that current trends in worship music, though faulty at times, are valuable and timely. Many quality worship songs are being written, and this is a good thing. The rising eminence of musical worship in the Church is a signal of the revitalization of Christians and churches. We think the Church needs a fire placed in it. It is too comfortable and too locked into routine and tradition.
An important remedy in our view is revitalized worship.
Jesus spoke to a Samaritan women at the well, and told her about worship:
Jn. 4:22-24 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.
We can't help but notice what Jesus says the Father is seeking: True worshipers. If an evolving contemporary Christian worship music, including the recording of church bands and locally produced music, will contribute to the people of God becoming true worshipers, we're all for it.
Our criteria for a good worship song includes:
- A direct expression of adoration (God, you are...)
- A progression of ideas that culminates in a coherent story
- A focus on God, not us
- A certain amount of profundity
- A singable, interesting melody
- Scripture quotes or coherent allusions to Scripture
- Doctrinal soundness
Further, a worship song should not:
- contain lyrics that create uncertainty or cause confusion
- be excessively metaphorical
- be excessively repetitive
- imply that Jesus is your boyfriend
We should note that our intent is not to defend any particular person or church mentioned by the author, neither shall we defend the song Forever & Amen or its writers, but rather we shall examine the presentation of the author.
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Knowing that I’m a musician, many readers of Protestia and followers/supporters of Protestia Tonight have asked me how I approach the selection of worship music from a biblical perspective. (A biblical perspective ought to include some quotes from the Bible...)
Knowing that I’m a musician, many readers of Protestia and followers/supporters of Protestia Tonight have asked me how I approach the selection of worship music from a biblical perspective. (A biblical perspective ought to include some quotes from the Bible...)
In response, I’d like to humbly offer my rating system for figuring out if a given song belongs in your church service. There are other websites that offer similar analyses, but frankly, I have found them far too tolerant considering churches don’t need any particular song. First, some context.
The Megachurch Takeover
Worship music is extra-biblical. Songs are notes, rhythms, and often lyrics not found in scripture. Of course, this does not mean that there is anything sinful or wrong with songs in general, but scripture does instruct us to sing songs that are spiritual (Col. 3:16). (Let's quote it, since the author seems reluctant:
Worship music is extra-biblical. Songs are notes, rhythms, and often lyrics not found in scripture. Of course, this does not mean that there is anything sinful or wrong with songs in general, but scripture does instruct us to sing songs that are spiritual (Col. 3:16). (Let's quote it, since the author seems reluctant:
Col. 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.)
We sing Psalms (worship songs written under the inspiration of the Spirit that are part of scripture), hymns (which often contain scripture, and should contain rich doctrinal truth), and spiritual songs. Spiritual songs may be more general, but should be characterized by the promotion of those things that are true, honorable, just, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8) – again, informed by scripture. (Well, maybe. "Spiritual" is pneumatikós:
(an adjective, derived from 4151 /pneúma, "spirit") – spiritual; relating to the realm of spirit, i.e. the invisible sphere in which the Holy Spirit imparts faith, reveals Christ, etc.
Spiritual songs are much more than just "more general." In fact, of the three things Paul lists in this verse, we would consider spiritual songs to be the most important.
Here is an opportunity for the author to actually take some time to explain Scripture, but he glosses over it.)
While the singing of Psalms faces no scriptural challenge (as they are scripture) and most long-accepted hymns enjoy wide acceptance (although a few present some doctrinal or associational difficulty), modern music technology has presented a vast array of new challenges to the Church. This modern technology includes recording, easier and cheaper music production and the internet becoming the sole distribution channel for musical products. (We don't see these as "challenges." These things have facilitated the ability to produce quality home-grown worship music that can be shared world-wide with a click of a mouse. The author will later tell us that lowest-common-denominator Christian music outlets promote shallow, error-filled music, but this "democratization" of worship music production is actually competing with these other outlets, so much so that we believe radio stations and big music producers will eventually be forced to conform.)
Churches of the market-driven, seeker-sensitive variety quickly realized the power of music to aid their marketing efforts, and many developed in-house, professional writing, recording, and distribution operations to capitalize on the music industry’s paradigm shift. (This is cynical. We believe that the power of excellent worship music is a welcome change as worship begins to take its rightful preeminence in the local church.)
While the singing of Psalms faces no scriptural challenge (as they are scripture) and most long-accepted hymns enjoy wide acceptance (although a few present some doctrinal or associational difficulty), modern music technology has presented a vast array of new challenges to the Church. This modern technology includes recording, easier and cheaper music production and the internet becoming the sole distribution channel for musical products. (We don't see these as "challenges." These things have facilitated the ability to produce quality home-grown worship music that can be shared world-wide with a click of a mouse. The author will later tell us that lowest-common-denominator Christian music outlets promote shallow, error-filled music, but this "democratization" of worship music production is actually competing with these other outlets, so much so that we believe radio stations and big music producers will eventually be forced to conform.)
Churches of the market-driven, seeker-sensitive variety quickly realized the power of music to aid their marketing efforts, and many developed in-house, professional writing, recording, and distribution operations to capitalize on the music industry’s paradigm shift. (This is cynical. We believe that the power of excellent worship music is a welcome change as worship begins to take its rightful preeminence in the local church.)
Music could now be recorded cheaply and distributed instantaneously, and (as with so many other products) the church was a ripe market. (Indeed. The Church is experiencing the stirrings of the Holy Spirit as these local churches, formerly locked into ritual and routine, are looking for something real and spiritual, something that truly honors God, something that moves the congregant to become something more than a pew-warmer.
This is a good thing.)
The relatively-niche market for Christian recording artists (once largely separate from the music used in church worship) was quickly taken over by church music ministries recording and producing cheap, emotional songs under the “worship” label. (Some of this music does. But much of it was [and is] powerful and profound. And by the way, what's wrong with emotion?)
These songs were created not for the purpose of selling albums to Christian customers, but to be used in church worship services. (Again, cynical. What if the actual purpose was to honor God by providing a contemporary music vehicle by which contemporary people could worship Him?)
People had stopped buying music, and streaming royalties remained low, but churches continued to license music through CCLI for Sunday morning.
Aside from the revenue generated through licensing, mega-church ministries that had their own music production and distribution arms enjoy an attractional, and professional feather in the cap that signals to the wider Christian world that they are the real deal. (A more appropriate way of putting this would be that large churches have the pool of musical talent and the resources to promulgate their musical worship, so it makes sense that they would be leading the charge.
Aside from the revenue generated through licensing, mega-church ministries that had their own music production and distribution arms enjoy an attractional, and professional feather in the cap that signals to the wider Christian world that they are the real deal. (A more appropriate way of putting this would be that large churches have the pool of musical talent and the resources to promulgate their musical worship, so it makes sense that they would be leading the charge.
The fact that this generates revenue is besides the point. There is nothing untoward about churches generating revenue:
1Ti. 5:18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” [Deut. 25:4] and “The worker deserves his wages.” [Luke 10:7]
What we find encouraging about this is smaller local churches are seeing what these large churches have done and are saying to themselves, "Maybe we can do that too.")
Additionally, music has a way of leading people to let their doctrinal guard down, and accept teachings that would likely draw opposition if taught directly from the pulpit. (Undocumented statement.)
Christian recording artists, unable to compete against the unassailable certification of holiness granted to “church bands,” jumped on the bandwagon and started producing worship songs and albums as well. (As we mentioned, the competition between quality contemporary worship music and existing entrenched gatekeepers would certainly force those gatekeepers to address the trend. Now, it hasn't always resulted in quality worship music, but the influence in our view has been generally positive.)
Christian recording artists, unable to compete against the unassailable certification of holiness granted to “church bands,” jumped on the bandwagon and started producing worship songs and albums as well. (As we mentioned, the competition between quality contemporary worship music and existing entrenched gatekeepers would certainly force those gatekeepers to address the trend. Now, it hasn't always resulted in quality worship music, but the influence in our view has been generally positive.)
The ironic result was that the tapestry of “spiritual songs” that was on the verge of blossoming a couple of decades ago gave way to a homogeneous, cheap, sound-alike Christian music industry. (This is certainly true, but it has also resulted in great worship songs which may become the "traditional music" of the next generations.)
Questionable doctrine now came in a church-sanitized package on Sunday morning. (This is nothing new, as the author previously admitted: ...although a few [hymns] present some doctrinal or associational difficulty. Therefore, the author's complaint isn't with contemporary worship music, it's with bad Christian music. The answer is not to avoid contemporary worship music, but rather to avoid bad Christian music.)
Artistry had been replaced with generic praise bands singing emotionally manipulative, universalized, and generic lyrics over music that was cheap, basic, and disposable. (What "artistry" is the author talking about? Were there Christian recording artists producing quality music back then, and then became compromised by transitioning to writing fluffy worship tunes? Or is he referring to old hymns? Or maybe pre-compromised contemporary worship music, from say, the 60s or 70s?
And why does the author value "artistry," whatever that means? We would think that well-crafted, Spirit-led worship music with edifying lyrics would be sufficient.)
The Current Landscape
Yet there is a remnant. There are Christian music artists writing songs that exalt God’s truth using music that is artistically crafted rather than comprised of the same four chords that make up every Phil Wickham, Elevation Worship, Hillsong, or Bethel tune blasted from evangelical sound systems on Sundays. (Waaait. Is the author's problem the lack of sophistication of the music? Because four-chord songs, both secular and Christian, have been around for decades, if not longer. And in fact, these unsophisticated chord progressions are found in songs deemed to be the best ever written.
Here are some hymns that utilize only four chords [not counting chord inversions]:
- Take My Life and Let It Be
- All Creatures of Our God and King
- When the Roll is Called Up Yonder
- There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
- A Shelter in the Time of Storm
- How Great Thou Art
It doesn't take complex harmonic structures to create important, God-honoring, lasting music.
And of course, we have the Psalms – which are often put to new music yet contain inspired truth. Classic hymns of the faith are re-produced or rearranged musically.
Yet seemingly every day a new, disposable Christian praise tune is released and is quickly promoted on lowest-common-denominator Christian music outlets. K-Love Kathy quickly goes from undiscerningly blasting it in her Toyota Sienna to sharing it with her girlfriends at the weekly Priscilla Shirer “bible” study. Soon, the tune catches the ear of the worship pastor or leader (who is no doubt aware that the hipster church down the street is using it) and he follows suit – using the same tune to raise the hands, close the eyes, and bend the emotions of his emotion-addicted congregation. (The author continues to disparage emotional content and emotional responses without telling us why emotions are bad.
Yet seemingly every day a new, disposable Christian praise tune is released and is quickly promoted on lowest-common-denominator Christian music outlets. K-Love Kathy quickly goes from undiscerningly blasting it in her Toyota Sienna to sharing it with her girlfriends at the weekly Priscilla Shirer “bible” study. Soon, the tune catches the ear of the worship pastor or leader (who is no doubt aware that the hipster church down the street is using it) and he follows suit – using the same tune to raise the hands, close the eyes, and bend the emotions of his emotion-addicted congregation. (The author continues to disparage emotional content and emotional responses without telling us why emotions are bad.
We resume our commentary after a few paragraphs.)
Discerning Songs
And so we find ourselves asking: By what standard should a church determine which music is praise-worthy, which music should be off-limits, and what should be the approach to music that may be in the middle? Christian liberty is an important biblical doctrine, and there are many choices that fall into the category of being “permissible, but not beneficial” (1 Corinthians 6:12). In this spirit, and under the plain logic that there is an opportunity cost with every song used in Christian worship (every time one song is used, another is not), I humbly suggest the following biblical rating system designed to analyze the value, fidelity, and risk of singing a given song in corporate worship.
Many of these principles can be used when deciding what a believer might listen to at home or privately, but this application will be for the purpose of selecting music for corporate worship. Note that I am not rating the artist per se (several standards would be stricter if the artist were a pastor, for example) – I am rating the songs. For example, if the artist has a troublesome theological belief that doesn’t manifest in the song itself or create an obvious or undeniable reproachful association, this may not be enough to disqualify the song itself.
The Rubric
Songs will be rated on a 100-point scale, scored by the following:
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity – 25 points. Is biblical doctrine consistent throughout the song? Are the nature, works, and character of God described in the lyrics consistent with scripture? How are the Gospel and salvation characterized? Are their phrases commonly employed within false teaching being used?
Doctrinal Specificity – 20 points. Are the lyrics specific enough to positively describe the true Christ rather than a generalized God? Do the lyrics positively exclude false versions of Jesus? Would anything prevent followers of other religions from singing this song? Would lost people be able to sing this song without any issues?
Focus – 20 points. Does the song rhetorically place the focus on God or man? Is God being praised apart from the individual experience of the worshipper, or is He characterized as praiseworthy by the approval of the worshipper?
Association – 20 points. Is the song written by or primarily associated with a heretical, false, or troublesome church movement? Would using the song in church reasonably be seen as a tacit endorsement of a false church or false gospel? Does the primary songwriter or artist associated with the song partner with false ministries or teachers?
Musical Value – 15 points. Is the song using the same musical structure as every other praise song? Does it employ repetition as an emotional device and/or a replacement for lyrical content? It is arranged in an artistically unique way, or could the melody and lyrics be easily replaced with another song?
Songs will receive a raw score indicating overall appropriateness for a worship service, but a loss of more than 10 points in a doctrinal category or association will result in an automatic non-recommendation. The “musical value” category is obviously the most subjective, but also includes consideration of low-value techniques like phrase repetition and emotionally manipulative musical devices.
Three Categories
80-100: Safe for Sunday. If you like it, program it.
50-79: Pastoral Guidance Suggested. This song may be used, but prayerfully consider choosing something else and be ready with an explanation if questioned about why the song is being used despite its issues.
0-49: Pick Something Else. These songs have no business being used in a church worship service. Stay away.
We will continually update the category of analyzed songs as a resource for pastors and church members to use as a handy guide when presented with a song they are unfamiliar with.
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(Now that we have the author's somewhat arbitrary methodology, let's see how he applies it.)
Forever & Amen by Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe – 20/100
This tune was released with the rest of the album God is Good! (Live) on September 30, 2022.
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: The song opens with a “version” of the Lord’s prayer – notably modifying Christ’s prayer (The author doesn't bother to tell us where this Scripture is. [Mt. 6:9-13])
Forever & Amen by Cody Carnes, Kari Jobe – 20/100
This tune was released with the rest of the album God is Good! (Live) on September 30, 2022.
Note: For a full explanation of the rubric and a primer on our scoring methodology, click here.
Doctrinal Fidelity and Clarity: The song opens with a “version” of the Lord’s prayer – notably modifying Christ’s prayer (The author doesn't bother to tell us where this Scripture is. [Mt. 6:9-13])
that “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” to simply state, “Your Kingdom as it is in heaven, let it be on earth the same,” a statement that aligns with the “Kingdom Now” theology found in the New Apostolic Reformation teaching of Carnes’ and Jobe’s Gateway Church. (It seems of passing importance the meaning the songwriters supposedly impute to these lyrics.
Nevertheless, a paraphrase of a Scripture is not beyond the pale. Our English translation is also a version of what was recorded in Greek. Literally, "Come the kingdom of You, the will of You, as in heaven also upon earth."
Thus the lyrics do no violence to the original intent of the text.)
Jesus’ prayer to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” is later modified to become “deliver us again,” removing the context of temptation and instead alluding to the idea that the delivery spoken of is a perpetual occurrence – quite possibly occurring as God progressively regains control over the world (a “Kingdom Now” idea), (Let's quote the lyrics:
Forgive us every debt
Would You deliver us again?
Now let's quote Matthew:
Mt. 6:11-13 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
As we can see, the lyrics adequately paraphrase the bible text.
Doctrinally speaking, the author would need to make the biblical case that deliver us from the evil one is a one-time event, and that asking God to deliver us from subsequent trouble is heresy. Of course he doesn't do that, because he'd rather speculate on how the lyrics might be forced into his version of what the songwriters believe.)
before the chorus (and song title) which is simply a repeated and contextless “forever and amen.” (Mt. 6:13:
for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.
This is hardly contextless, since the words actually appear in Jesus' prayer as a doxology.)
Modifying scripture to say something other than what it says is sinful and disqualifying for any worship song. 5/25.
Doctrinal Specificity: Unfortunately, when a song is generally non-specific but the specifics that are there twist what the Bible teaches, it renders the specificity analysis rather moot. Even the NAR-typical, mindless repetition of the sometimes-included doxology “Yours is the kingdom, Yours is the power, Yours is the glory” is completely absent of any specific context and seems only useful in stirring the crowd to emotional heights in the comically-long live rendition of the song. 5/20. (Now the author amplifies "contextless" to include emotional manipulation. But he knows exactly where this phrase is located in the Bible. It seems the author himself is manufacturing emotional content [outrage].
Now we should mention that long, repetitive sections are possibly questionable. But not always. When King David installed the tabernacle of worship [1Ch. 15:16], we could justifiably speculate that there was likely a certain amount of repetition. Like, 1Ch. 16:34, 2Ch. 20:21, Ps. 106:1, Ps. 107:1, Ps. 118:1, Ps. 118:29, and of course, all of Ps. 136: ...his love endures for ever.)
Focus: Focus is similarly hard to analyze as the lyrics are primarily out of context and repeated ad nauseam. But it is safe to say that the focus of the song – especially in context of the marathon-length rendition – is on creating an emotional release for the worshipper. (The author finds difficulty in finding focus, but even a casual look reveals the song is centered on the Lord's Prayer.)
While “our Father” is mentioned, His utility is validated by his response to us (“when we pray, you long to hear it, you love to bless it”). When God’s actions are mentioned, they are mischaracterized. (Where? Examples? Analysis?)
The focus of the song is clearly on the experience of the worship participant rather than God. 5/20.
Association: To say Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe have troublesome associations is putting it mildly. In fact, we consider anyone associating with them to be troublesome. They come out of Robert Morris’ NAR-promoting, seeker-sensitive Gateway Church. Jobe is famous for teaching through her song “Forever” that Jesus descended into hell for a fight with Satan – a heretical belief that denies that Christ paid the price on the cross. (We do not intend to defend this song either, but nevertheless the author misrepresents it. The lyrics in question:
Association: To say Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe have troublesome associations is putting it mildly. In fact, we consider anyone associating with them to be troublesome. They come out of Robert Morris’ NAR-promoting, seeker-sensitive Gateway Church. Jobe is famous for teaching through her song “Forever” that Jesus descended into hell for a fight with Satan – a heretical belief that denies that Christ paid the price on the cross. (We do not intend to defend this song either, but nevertheless the author misrepresents it. The lyrics in question:
One final breath He gave
As heaven looked away
The son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken
It should be clear to the reader that the lyrics are discussing a war on death, not on satan.
As far as what Jesus did in the grave, well, that's a matter of a centuries-long speculation, based partly on 1Pe. 3:19:
...through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison...
Coupled with 1Co. 15:55:
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
we would suggest that maybe the lyrics are guilty of little more than some imprecision. We should therefore be a bit more circumspect when it comes to matters of what constitutes heresy.)
She is also known for her sexualization of Jesus in song lyrics, like her song The More I Seek You, where she sings, “Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heart beat, this love is so deep, it’s more than I can stand.” Gross. 0/20. (We have never liked this song, but we understand it. The author thinks it's gross, but we would wonder what his opinion of Song of Songs might be.)
Musical Value: The composition bears all the musical signatures of a modern, disposable musical vehicle utilized for mind-numbing repetition. While the use of 1-4-2-5 (verse) and 4-5-6-5 (chorus) chord sequences are not in and of themselves problematic (and are used in hundreds of songs), the ridiculous overuse of the 4-2-6 build under the “Yours” repeats are strikingly similar to the “lose yourself” repetitions of techno kids on ecstasy or weed-smoking jam band fans that will blissfully listen to the same musical phrase over and over in a mindless, emotion-informed trance. In short, the music doesn’t matter. The chords and melodies could be just about anything to serve the purposes of this song. 5/15. (Music is a matter of taste, so we find his taste of little value.)
Total score: 20/100. Avoid this garbage like the plague.
***Here's the lyrics. We'll let the reader judge for himself:
Our Father
That which art in heaven
We will keep Your holy name
Your Kingdom
As it is in heaven
Let it be on earth the same
Give us our daily bread
Forgive us every debt
Would You deliver us again?
Forever and amen
Forever and amen
Forever and amen
When we pray
In the secret place
You bend to listen
You long to hear it
When we pray
In the secret place
You love to answer
Thank You, God
You love to bless it
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