you love me ? Then take care of people .” And if we love Jesus , we can assume his prescription to us would be the same .
Worship , then , is ultimately a posture we take on that does not merely express how we value God , but how we value what God values . Because of that , our worship very much includes justice and service to those on the margins of society . And if care for “ the least of these ” is the closest Jesus comes to defining worship , then surely worship musicians should seek to set music and lyrics within that same arena . I mean , topics of advocacy and justice should be in our songs at least some of the time , right ? Otherwise we run the risk of singing about worshiping Jesus while not actually worshiping Jesus - or even encouraging the worship of Jesus - as He describes it .
I would estimate that modern worship focuses about 99.9 % on how much we value God , and about . 1 % on taking on God ’ s values and advocating justice for the oppressed . And so the question becomes , am I comfortable with those percentages ? Does that breakdown which so profoundly ignores the very dimensions of worship Jesus speaks to seem fitting to me ? And does this phenomenon speak to something deeper and more unsettling ? Is my national or political identity taking precedence over my identity as a follower of Jesus ?
Am I afraid of the things God values , even as I sing of how much I value God ?
Am I afraid of the things God values , even as I sing of how much I value God ?
We often see lament when a church lacks conviction or passion for justice , but we shouldn ’ t be surprised this is the case when we haven ’ t shown in our expressions of song and sermon that we treasure justice . We gather together and “ worship ,” and then wonder why people won ’ t take that “ next step ” to reach the path of action , but action itself is the path . Jesus says , “ For where your treasure is , there your heart will be also .” Our hearts follow where we focus and place our values . And in so many churches , we simply don ’ t treasure justice when we gather . The prophetic call to advocacy and action is treated like an addon package to a more exclusively personal , individualistic , consumer-driven and isolated form of faith . And the songs we write , like the sermons we hear , will continue to perpetuate this scenario unless we ’ re open to change .
Unless we ' re open to reimagining our domain to be something both more ancient and more futuristic . Something willing to disrupt the status quo and challenge entrenched assumptions . This is the perspective from which the prophets radically engaged their present . And as poets
of the people , it ’ s the same perspective we ’ ll need .
We must remember that we exist along their same trajectory and lineage .
We must return home .
So what shape does this care for the least of these , this hunger and thirst for justice , and this commitment to speaking truth to power take in our moments of gathering in song ?
Part of the answer , I think , is for our songwriters - our poet-theologians - to embrace the lineage of the prophets . To reestablish that connection , and to build the bridge to the deeper well . But to expand on all of this , to better understand “ prophecy ” in general , and to get into some suggestions for the road ahead more practically … we ’ ll have to wait for next month , and Part II of this discussion . Until then !
Kevin MacDougall Worship leader , published and recorded songwriter , musician and podcast producer . macdougall . k @ gmail . com