You know what an audible is in football, right?
It’s when the quarterback (or defensive play caller) calls a different play from the line of scrimmage. They recognize something in the moment that lends itself to running a different play on the fly.
A couple weeks ago, I called an audible at church. As Pastor Bob was preaching, a song that I started writing nearly seven years ago came to mind and I couldn’t ignore how well it aligned with the sermon. So I changed the song for the end of the service. The band had never heard it, so I texted them to let them know I would sing it solo with my acoustic guitar and they could play it with me the following service if they were up for it.
Six months ago, I started evaluating the 40 songs or pieces of songs in my voice memos. I didn’t realize there were so many, and my sister-in-law said something along the lines of ‘this is your sign that it’s time to start releasing them.’ Earlier this month, I finally started organizing them and narrowing them down to 10 songs that I thought were the strongest and either finished or almost there.
For those who want to see this journey as it happens, I’ve begun documenting the process in video form. The first episode is included at the end of this post.
A Dormant Song
One song in particular caught my attention. In May of 2019, on a quiet Tuesday afternoon in Western Pennsylvania, I started writing a song that would sit dormant for seven years. But something didn’t sit right with me.
It’s not that I believe any differently now than I did then. Other than trimming some syllables, I thought a shift in the first line was important.
Here’s the full original verse:
We’ve come to encounter Your presence
And we know that You are here with us
Let Your Kingdom come as we bow in adoration
King of Kings, let Your glory be known
And the rewritten version:
We come with humble hearts of worship
And we know You are here with us
Your Kingdom come, we bow in adoration
King of Kings, let Your glory be known
You may be wondering why that change was so important. What’s wrong with wanting to encounter God’s presence?
Why Change?
Music has a way of shaping what we believe by subtly embedding theology into our thought process. Unfortunately, there is often ambiguity and even downright bad theology in a lot of the most popular Christian songs today. It doesn’t take a theology degree to recognize it if you are under solid biblical teaching in your local church. How many “worship” songs could have been written about a girlfriend? Emotionalism in music gets detached from truth. Prosperity language is more prevalent than the true Gospel. Descriptions of God bring Him down to our level instead of magnifying His greatness.
There’s a phrase that I’ve said from church platforms more than I can count. To those who have a long history of faith and know the truth, it may sound like simple semantics. But without making the truth clear to new believers, phrases like this can lay a weak foundation.
It’s good to be in the house of the Lord…
What does that say to you?
Is the building you’re gathered in the house of the Lord?
Is a church building the place we go to encounter God’s presence?
The Truth
Do you see how a simple phrase like that can lead to a weak or even false understanding of God’s presence? He is not bound to a building, nor does He contain His presence in a tent or temple. He was never bound to those things, but He gave His people access in those sacred places after the atonement for sin was paid. God’s people did not always have the same access to Him that we have today through Jesus Christ. God graciously allowed mediated access through priestly and sacrificial means, but the veil represented ongoing separation until Christ.
Through the death of Jesus Christ, God tore the veil of separation and we no longer have to go to a special place through special people to encounter the Lord. So, to say, “We’ve come to encounter Your presence…” sets up a false understanding that we have to go to a special place in order to encounter God. Even though God is always present with His people, corporate worship remains a distinct and commanded expression of the Church.
Seven years ago, I thought the second line was good enough to theologically clarify the first. That’s probably why this song lay dormant for so long. Recognizing God’s presence with us has more to do with our posture before Him than the physical place where we think He’ll meet us.
The Rest of the Song
The original demo in my voice memos had a verse and chorus, and simply repeated both. The chorus remains relatively unchanged other than some rhythmic adjustments. Also, rather than repeating “hallelujah” at the end of the chorus, it ends with “We exalt Your Name.” That small change leads perfectly into the new bridge, where we proclaim some of God’s Names:
Yahweh, Adonai
El Elyon, El Shaddai
Immanuel, Jesus Christ
Risen Messiah, The One True Vine
Eternal Spirit, Sanctifier
Breath of Life, Holy Fire
I also asked a songwriting friend to help me with a second verse.
How To Know a Song is Ready
Most of the songs I write are never heard by other human ears unless someone overhears when I didn’t realize they were there. I’m ok with that. Something I learned from Brian Doerksen is that a song that needs to be released for others to sing won’t leave you alone. What I mean by that is a song, whether it still needs development or is completely finished, will take up space in your mind and heart when you’re not even thinking about it.
But even though a song won’t leave me alone, that doesn’t mean it’s ready. A handful of trustworthy friends who will be completely honest are the first people to hear songs and look at the lyrics. Since I write music meant for corporate worship, these friends have a firm foundation in Christ and are willing to call out lyrics that are unclear. They help me see how accessible the music is.
The circle of feedback generally expands slowly until the hardest step: introducing the song to the church. I’d be lying if I said I don’t like recognition. Affirmation is one of the things that helps me keep going. But I don’t want any of these songs to be liked simply because I wrote them. So I rarely mention anything about writing a song when we sing it in church. As an old pastor of mine (now an NFL chaplain) would say, “Deflect the glory.”
Releasing Songs to God Comes First
These songs belong to God, whether they are just between us or meant for the entire Church to sing. So I don’t know that I’ll ever know when a song is “ready.” Let Your Glory Be Known wasn’t ready seven years ago. It may not even be ready when I record and release it. But there’s something special about this song and I don’t want to keep it to myself. So I offer it to God, share it with the Church.