It’s True, But Is It Accurate?

R.E.M. came through town this summer, and we didn’t go. I am a huge fan, blindly buying all albums and listening loyally, and there are few R.E.M. songs I don’t enjoy. While there were several reasons we decided not to go (paying $40 for an outdoor show in July in Raleigh, costs of a babysitter, parking, expensive watered-down beer) the last time I saw them in 1999, the set list just didn’t do it for me. The songs were good, and they were R.E.M. songs, but they weren’t their best. This is a subjective matter, so it may have been someone else’s top show. To me, it wasn’t representative of who R.E.M. is. Missing the June show turned out to be a mistake, however, as a fellow fan came back and reported it to be amazing. Not only did the new songs rock, but they played some rare classics, even going back to their first EP “Chronic Town”. Somehow, the 2008 show seemed more R.E.M. than the 1999 show.

Over the years, people have sent song ideas for worship on Sundays, including originals, hymns and contemporary worship songs. Several were used, while others didn’t make the cut. They had a decent melody, and the lyrics were true, but for some reason I didn’t want to bring them to the congregation. It’s easy to dismiss songs that don’t fit into the style of music we do at Vintage21, but more difficult when dealing with lyrics. Recently, this question popped into the ol’ noggin: They’re true about who God is, but are they the best portrayal?

Realizing this to be a slippery slope, I’ve sought to approach this with humility and a grounding in scripture. This is not an attempt to shape our service about what I think best describes God, but more so about what God thinks best describes Himself. For example, given these two facts about Jesus, which one is more worthy of our praise?

1. Jesus is God’s Son, whose death on the cross paid the debt of our sin (1 Corinthians 1:3-10)
2. Jesus walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33)

While the miracle of Jesus walking on water is a revelation of His nature as God, it’s a bullet point, a support of a larger truth. In their letters, the New Testament authors don’t continually reference that miracle, or even focus on the topic of miracles, but they do highlight the cross of Christ over and over again. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:7 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” It’s the message, the good news, the key to our faith in God. What we sing to and about God should be determined by what we find emphasized in God’s word. This litmus test has convicted me regarding songs I’ve written, as well as popular songs sung throughout the Church today.