I wanted to share a few thoughts from a book I'm reading which is a teaching aid for writing congregational worship songs which are 'contemporary.' I thought the following things were both challenging and encouraging as we seek to write to worship songs for the body of believers in which we exist. I think some of these thoughts are practical, while others are more spiritual, but I truly hope you are encouraged to speak into the lives of those around you through your experiencing of God. Added italics are my thoughts...Words are so powerful. God spoke creation into being with a word and His Son is described as the Word. (see John 1: 1-5)
Reflect the Universal: We all share universal experiences. The same stories and emotions repeat themselves endlessly in human experience. The same great themes of love, loss, sacrifice, hope, war and death move people everywhere we need to connect with those universal experiences and emotions (I always try to be mindful of evoking emotions - because God is not an emotion and I believe that worshiping Him is a choice and should not flow ONLY out of emotion.)
Express Reality:
Write from your own faith experience remembering that you only need to be on the journey, not to have arrived.
The worship songs that we find in the Bible come out of deep personal experience and that should be the template for us.
Avoid falling into the trap of trying to say too much. Make sure that every word counts and contributes to the message of the song. Strong lyrics are generally built on short phrases rather than long rambling lines... Maintain a clear focus in your song - don't try to cover multiple topics in one song.
Express Old Truths in New Ways:
...you need to see your faith through fresh eyes. Those fresh expressions will then stay in the mind and the heart...
example: 'A place that has to be believed to be seen' by U2 ('Walk On'). The songwriter (BONO) has reversed the usual phrase "has to be seen to be believed' to create a memorable line.
Overall, I just encourage you to simply write and trust that God really wants to say something to our church - scratch that, His church, and that He would use you!
