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The Words We Sing Bring Life

We don’t have cable at my house. Which is fine because I don’t watch much TV anyway. Therefore, I use my computer to watch the very few TV shows that I do watch. To watch episodes online, you usually have to sit through some form of advertisement. In the end, its still quicker because you don’t have to sit through 10 minutes of commercials to watch a 20 minute program. I noticed that at the end of the advertisement, an icon pops up in the corner or in the middle and says, “Was this ad relevant to you?“. I understand the motive behind that. They want viewers to see ads that appeal to them and hopefully persuade watchers to go out and buy things. Makes sense.

But that phrase has been stuck in my head for a while. “Was this ad relevant to you?“. As worship musicians and leaders, relevance is an important aspect of what goes on during a service. Does this certain song tie in to the theme of the message this week? Are the songs we are singing reaching the congregation in a way that brings them closer to the Lord? Many questions about the relevancy of what we’re doing are continually asked. Rightfully so.

On the other hand, it is possible to become so focused on the congregational needs that the voice of the Spirit gets drowned out by the voice of approval from others. Creating a body of consumers rather than the building up the body of Christ can be a dangerous and slippery slope. It becomes a bit of a balancing act of meeting people’s spiritual needs while avoiding becoming a slave to their wants.

People want easy and nice. It feels good. They want something that sounds clean but familiar or something that is “really relevant to where they are right now”. But what they need are songs that present the truth of the Gospel. That’s the relevancy they’re looking for. The Gospel is always relevant to wherever you are in life, whatever culture you are in or whatever part of the world your church is located. Songs need to be sung that “proclaim his salvation day after day” and “declare his glory among the nations” (Psalm 96). Its always necessary to remember that the songs we sing are presenting the Gospel to people. They present life in the face of death and light in the midst of darkness.

Social media will never be as relevant as the Gospel. It doesn’t even remotely compare. Boast in that.

-SHF