What makes a good congregational song?
May 31, 2010
I naturally balk at a couple of his points (Eg. only ever playing songs in G, A, C or D) – but then I realise that, in practice, for church, i pretty much do the same – for good reason.
It’s especially good to see him point out that Good Theology doesn’t necessarily = Good Lyrics – and both are required. Good lyrics and bad theology is heretical – but good theology and poor lyrics is criminal.
Where are all the poetic lyricists gone anyway? There’s a notable few – Keith Getty, Brooke Fraser, Simone Richardson – but not all the music is as good as the words, and vice versa too.
I’ve been stuck on writing the same song for a couple of months now. The theology’s alright, but that’s about all I can say. ‘There’s no poetry between us’, to quote a Gary Jules song I like – except it’s between me & a song, not between me & a woman.
Congregational writing = hard.
