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3 Tips for Finding Good Worship Songs

There are times when I look at the traditional church and think to myself that they might be onto something…

Just think about how it works for us Lutherans: At the synodical level, a group of musicians, pastors and theologians come together to review hymns, approve them, catalog them by theme, scripture and season and assemble them into a hymnal, complete with a guide for which hymns to use on each Sunday of the church year. They do all the heavy lifting and now the local church music director has a large batch of  appropriate hymns from which to choose – often as many as 800!

For those of us not primarily using hymns or the hymnal as our primary source of music, all that work gets moved to the desk of the local church music director. For those of you out there like me who are charged with finding good worship songs, here’s some pointers that I try to keep in mind.

1. Examine the Lyrics Alone First

Music is a tricky thing. Sometimes we can fall in love with a song and have no idea what it’s about! It’s not just a worship music thing either. Have  ever looked at the lyrics of some pop songs? Some don’t even make sense if you really stop to think about them – they’re just there for the rhyme.

When I come across a song for the first time, I’ve gotten into the habit of looking at the lyrics alone before I hear the song. It’s really easy to fall in love with the harmonies or the melodic hook or the great chorus line. But the single most important part is the lyrics.

A church’s worship music is its sung theology. We learn through our songs almost as much as through sermons, so it’s critical that our music be theologically sound and the ideas and nuances presented in the song need to be correct. Properly doing this will mean two things: First, it requires a deep knowledge and understanding of your church’s theology, doctrines and understanding of scripture. Some songs have very subtle ideas in them that might not mesh with scripture or your church’s theology but that subtle idea could be teaching or proclaiming something you don’t believe or that isn’t true. Second, it takes a thorough examination of the lyrics – much more than just a cursory glance. Pick apart the ideas, themes and statements in the song. Do they agree with scripture? Do they fit with doctrine? This is an incredibly important step and one that is too easy to skip – especially if the song is one that’s seemingly common or widely used. Just because lots of churches are using a song doesn’t mean it has proper theology.

While you’re looking at the lyrics…