LOOP COMMUNITY
WRITING DEEPER SONGS W / JENN JOHNSON | Matt McCoy
Jenn Johnson from Bethel Music joined Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about Bethel ’ s new album Come Up Here , songwriting on a deeper level , discipling worship leaders and more !
HOW WORSHIP AND LYRICS HAVE CHANGED THE LAST 20 YEARS
[ Matt ] How have you seen worship music change over the last 20 years ?
[ Jenn ] I think there ’ s a lot of constant things and then there ’ s trends . At the end of the day for me , whatever our teams are writing we ’ re just asking the Lord , “ What are you saying ?” What should we be writing to who God is eternally ? What is Heaven singing ? That ’ s our number one quest is to be in those songs more than anything else . Also , what is God saying specifically to people or circumstances that they ’ re in ? How does God want to intimately , directly connect and make every person know that He ’ s right in the middle of what they ’ re going through ? We ’ re always on the hunt to hear what He ’ s saying and what He ’ s doing .
[ Matt ] When I think about worship music over the last five to ten years , it seems like the lyrics of songs have gotten so much richer . The songs used to be so simple with simple ideas , simple faith . Now some of these songs are so deep and so rich . Would you say that it ’ s gotten harder to write songs now ?
[ Jenn ] I don ’ t think it ’ s harder . I really appreciate the simple songs , and it feels like the same assignment asking , “ God what are you saying ?” The world has changed and is more complex . I believe that we are born as songwriters right now and that God is not playing around , we were born for such a time as this . I see lyrics as keys to unlock people ’ s hearts and to connect them to God . It ’ s a wild time to be alive , it ’ s a wild time to be a parent , but at the same time I always come back to God and say I was born for this , tell me what to do , help me , show me .
WRITING DEEPER SONGS
[ Matt ] When I write songs , a lot of my lyrics are very simple . I would love to level up my game of lyric writing to write a “ Son of Suffering ” type song . Do you have any tips on getting to a deeper level ? [ Jenn ] This is practical songwriting for me . I really love synonyms . Let ’ s say I really want to write about “ beauty ”. If beauty is the right word , we ’ re using beauty , I hate when people try too hard , and it feels like a reach . But to creatively say something to make people rethink it is beautiful . I love creative language . I grew up on the King James Bible and I love it with all my heart . But I also read the Bible in multiple translations because I think hearing the word of God in different translations gives me creative inspiration . For example , the verse that says , “ Hear I am , send me ” is actually the word Hineni in Hebrew . And the word Hineni means “ My answer is yes before you even ask .” And that lyric came from that passage because of different translations .
It ’ s great to want to grow as a songwriter , but they don ’ t have to be profound if God isn ’ t putting you in that . Don ’ t forget to keep it simple . There ’ s beauty and purity in that . Make time for God to speak to you and putting Him in songs .
Click here to watch the full interview with Jenn and Matt .
Matt McCoy Matt is a worship leader , songwriter and Ableton Certified Trainer from Chicago , IL . He has been using Ableton and tracks in worship since 2002 . He ’ s passionate about creating new products and teaching worship leaders and artists how to use technology in live performance . www . LoopCommunity . com 30 July 2023 Subscribe for Free ...