Where have all the chords gone?

I love Christian Worship music. Not only is it the most important type of music that is made (note: type, not style!) but it is something that I really connect with and that in turn helps me express worship to my Father in Heaven.

However, I do get increasingly frustrated at the number of worship songs there are out there - and especially new worship songs - that are still using the same chords as all the others. For me as a creative chap it really gets in my way as it comes across as lazy and of the attitude of 'I know this works, so I'll just do it again'. Harsh? Possibly.

Lets get technical for a minute and have me back this wild accusation up with some evidence here. The chord sequence that seems to be used the most in all Christian worship songs is the I, V, VIm IV chord sequence (i.e. the root chord, the 5th, the minor 6th and then the 4th chord). If you were in the key of G, this would translate to G, D, Em, C (or for a minor variation the V chord sometimes has the major 7 in the bass - i.e. G, D/F#, Em, C). If you are a guitar player, go get your guitar and play those chords and they will probably sound familiar. Why? Because they are so overused!

There may be some people out there who would suggest that in a worship song, the only thing of real importance in the lyric - as long as they are sound, then who cares what the music is doing as long as it is not distracting from the theologically correct words. There is some truth in this I'll admit - as a worship song with great music and poor words is not really going to serve any purpose expect to make 'Songs of Fellowship' Volume 97 slightly fatter. But I believe music is something that can engage not only our intellectual with the words, but also with our emotional through the music. A great worship song needs to be equally balanced with fine music and awe inspiring lyrics - and when this is executed by superb, God-fearing musicians then for me it allows me to do what Jesus intended us to do - and that is to worship God freely.

In everything I do at the moment, I am constantly reminded of this word excellence. I don't want to do anything half-heartedly but want everything to be the best it can be empowered by God. In the same way, when we write worship songs lets not settle for the same old chords, the same tired phrases but let us use the creativity God has placed within us to craft new sounds for God's glory.

Something big...

I have quite a few American friends and for some reason I think they have the bizarre idea that I don't like their country and the things it stands for (it is probably because I make a lot of jokes like that - and we do seem to have a different sense of humour!)

It may therefore shock them to know that I love America! I have no idea really why and while I do not completely agree with some of its administrations actions on the world circuit it is a country that never ceases to fascinate and excite me. Call me a geek but I love learning stuff about the USA, I love looking at maps of it and I love the thought of going there (not that I get much chance)! I used to work for an American company and I loved connecting with people from the land 'across the pond'.

I think the thing that really blows my mind about the USA is the vastness of the country. The USA consists of fifty states and most of them are bigger than the UK. In England if you drive for 6 hours or so in any direction you have gone out of the country or hit the sea; over there, you can drive for days and days and you are still in the USA!

Deep within all of us there is a desire to know something that is larger than what we understand and feel comfortable with. Some people look at the universe and the expanse of space and get their mind blown at how minute we are. I simply look at a map of the USA! Through all of this and especially at Christmas time it makes me marvel at why God would be interested in little ole me - I mean on this scale, small isn't even in the right league to describe me! Yet God is interested in me and has a plan for my life.

Now that blows my mind.

The most important music

I read something which struck me today. In the cover notes of Paul Baloche's album A Greater Song the president of Integrity music, Michael Coleman, has written an introduction to this CD (which is an excellent CD I might add). Something he said really hit me:

"There is one thing we do on earth that we will continue to do in Heaven. That is to praise and worship God. That is why we view life on earth, for those who live Jesus, as choir practise for Heaven. To say that praise and worship is the most important category of music is an understatement. In light of that fact, there is no more important activity of the human heart that to praise and worship God."

I often get quite bogged down with how many Christian worship leaders there are out there - wondering if in fact they are just doing it because they really just want to be a pop-star or in a famous band; there are so many worship songs out there - and I wonder if the authors of those songs are just doing it to be amongst the top Christian artists. And yet when I read the snippet above it makes me see that perhaps I am being overly cynical about the whole worship music movement.

Michael Coleman is right: there is no more important music than music that honours and worships God. So isn't it right then that there are stacks of people out there wanting to write Christian songs? And isn't it also right that there are stacks of bands out there wanting to play Christian music? The devil really has his way when it comes to music most of the time and it is about time we stood up to that and used this most powerful tool even more to praise and worship our God in heaven.

Yes of course - if you write or play Christian music then do it with the heart that wants God to be lifted up more than anything else. But shouldn't people like me be encouraging others more to get out there and lift up the name of the Lord with music? I think I should. I think I should be flexing my writing muscle even more. So what if there are a million others doing it - the most important music on earth is music that lifts God up and if I can contribute to that and get in on that, even in a small way, then I want in.

I've actually got a couple of songs on the way that I've been working on. As soon as I get chance to whack them down, I'll pump them up here...

Me, myself and I?

I've been married for nearly three and a half years and I am now a Father - which is all very cool. Call me a bit slow but with all the stuff that is going on in my life right now it is causing me to re-evaluate what life is all about - especially concerning me.

Just after I got married I got a bit of a culture shock. Perhaps I am not all there but after the honeymooning of marriage went it started to sink in that my life was no longer just my own any more. I was in fact part of a team now - and I had committed to that team for the rest of my life. Any decision I made, any money I spent, anything big I wanted to do in my life wasn't just my decision any more. And that scared me a touch. So now I have a child! And again, it hit me today that I now share everything I do with two people now. I can't just swan off and please myself - there are other lives at stake now.

As a Christian, this kind of living is not that unfamiliar to me. Jesus Himself instructed us to 'take up our cross and follow Him' - or in the Message translation:

"Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am."

This is from Luke 9 and just stirs something within me. Often we'll spend our entire lives trying to make things happen, be a certain person, do a certain thing - but God simply tells us to forget about that for one moment, fix our attention on Him and He'll sort us out. I love wisdom like this - the complete opposite to what the world would say, but just crazy enough to work :).

Funnily enough I think I used to be better at putting other things in front of my own desires even before I was married. Perhaps I just got slack in my old age. But there are a few things I am very sure of. Firstly, God knows and God sees more than I ever will and I want to let Him do the leading; Second, I am seriously blessed with my wife and son; And thirdly, perhaps I need a gentle reminder that I am not the centre of my world - and if I was, it would be a pretty messed up one at that.