SONGWRITING
PROPHETIC WORSHIP PART 3 : THE OVERFLOW | Kevin MacDougall
Author ’ s note : If you are not yet caught up on what has been covered in this series , I highly recommend checking out the previous two installments first . Part 1 : A Bridge Home | Part 2 : The Deeper Well
Consider what God said through the prophet : “ I hate , I despise all your show and pretense — the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies . I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings . I won ’ t even notice all your choice peace offerings . And stop making that music for Me — it ’ s just noise . I will not listen to the melodies you play on the harp . Here ’ s what I want : Let justice thunder down like a waterfall ; let righteousness flow like a mighty river that never runs dry .” Amos 5:21-24
I ’ ll be honest . As a songwriter , and as a leader of worship and sacred music , this passage haunts me . Other passages like it haunt me , too . Maybe it ’ s the same for you .
And maybe that ’ s a good thing .
A FOOT IN TWO WORLDS Where it comes to the role and gifting of the prophetic , we spent much of Part 1 looking back to the past , and much of Part 2 looking around at the present . It is now time to turn our
attention towards the future .
And as we bring this series to a close ( for now ), that ’ s where I ’ d encourage you , the songwriter , to plant yourself — in two worlds , straddling time itself . With one foot rooted firmly in the present , and one foot stepping out into the future . Set yourself to see the world through the lens of the prophetic , where the status quo never takes precedence over what God wants to see happen . Learn to appreciate occupying space at ‘ the edge of the inside ’, where you can cultivate a way of speaking truth to power with a broken heart and open arms . Build that bridge between sacred music and “ worship ” as Jesus defines it . Be willing to see what we ’ re missing in so many of our churches , and be willing to point at it , and to amplify it .
It will require vulnerability and honesty to take stock and see the more difficult truths . Beyond that , it will take a lot of courage to communicate them , and to invite your community of faith to join you from time to time in the wilderness … But it will be worth it . And you have something a preacher doesn ’ t have . You have music . Musical art has been calming the Saul in all of us throughout human history . Getting us to slow down . To listen . The prophet shows us our potential trajectories . She tells us the unflinching truth of where we are , and with poetry and holy brokenness , saddles beauty alongside that truth to tell us where we could be , or should be , instead .
A good song has the unique ability to make difficult realities sensitive enough to reach our fearful hearts .
COUNTING THE COST It could be risky . It could make some who cling to their old wineskins suspicious of you . But in my experience , if you operate with gentleness and clarity , you will often be received . So , embrace the risk , and be willing to write music that costs you something . The prophetic gifting offers to disrupt , because it recognizes that disruption needs to happen . Such disruption starts with us , and then overflows to those we encounter . We challenge others only where we have been challenged . In fact , we invite others into the ideas that are challenging us .
There is always a good chance you will be misunderstood . And that ’ s fine , too . When we move outside of our comfort zone , it can push us to better questions and deeper conversations . The prophet moves to supplement the work of sacred community , and not to merely complement it .
To aspire to justice — to truly hunger and thirst