Truth and Honesty

Today at work I had my iPod on shuffle. I made a playlist of songs for work, it's about 21 gb of music (9days) and ranges from Sigur Ros to Oh Sleeper, from Rihanna to David Crowder, from Johnny Cash to Daft Punk. The guys I work with are a little confused because my music just jumps around from one extreme to the next. But I love good music, and good music can be anywhere from old country to new hardcore and everything in between.

So while I was listening I heard 2 songs back to back that made me think. First it was a song from one of my all time favorite bands, As Cities Burn. The song that followed was from another one of my all time fav's David Crowder. They were very different songs and I loved them both, but for very different reasons.

First of all, one the reason's I love As Cities Burn so much is because of their honesty. They say so much with their lyrics and they are willing to say things that alot of Christians aren't willing to say or are to scared to say. I love the raw honesty of these guys and I don't think I'll ever get sick of them.

Then David Crowder came on, and I realized that I loved these lyrics for a different reason. I love the truth in his lyrics, the scriptural truth about God. It's the same reason I love hymns, they are so rich in truth about God's character and His mercy and love.

I'm not saying that there wasn't truth in the honest lyrics of As Cities Burn, or that there is a lack of honesty in David Crowder's lyrics. I'm just trying to point out the differences between the two. Truth and Honesty often go hand in hand, but they aren't the same thing. We can be honest about the way we feel, but it doesn't mean that we are speaking the truth.

This thought made me think about corporate worship. I think that quite often we get confused in church and we think that because a song is honest it will make a good worship song. But I think it's the truth that makes a good worship song. Consider the difference. If I wrote a song about the way God makes me feel, it could be the best song in the world but I don't think that it would necessarily be appropriate for corporate worship in church. Not everyone around me is going to feel the same way I felt the moment I wrote that song, not to mention that no matter how honest I'm being, my feelings might not be true. I might feel that God hates me. If I wrote a song about it, it would be honest, but not true.

It's the truth that needs to define our worship, and in that truth there needs to be honesty. Consider this... If I wrote a song about the goodness of God, or the greatness of God, or the majesty of God and it's based on scripture, that is a song that is based on truth. It is a song that every Christian can sing no matter what they are feeling. It doesn't matter if you had a terrible day or a great day, your day does not define the splendor and majesty of God Almighty. That to me is what defines a great corporate worship song. A song that is based on truth, not necessarily honesty.

I think that we have made it to common to sing songs in church that are subjective and based on feelings. They may be honest songs, but they aren't based on the truth of God. And if we are singing songs based on OUR feelings and OUR experiences, who are we really worshiping?

Take a look at the songs you sing in your church. How many are based on feelings? Is the most common word in the song "I" or "Me" or "We"? Or are the songs based on scripture? Are they about God and to God and for God? I challenge you to look and if they aren't scripturally based or based on truth, maybe you should ask someone why you are singing them in church.

Maybe I'm wrong. But then again, maybe I'm not.

Eighteen Inches

My name is Steve Birss and I am an elder at my church, The Gate. I also lead worship in a band every other week. I am a carpenter and a father of two young girls. I've been married to my beautiful wife Kindra for five and a half years. I have been a Christian my whole life, and I am trying my best to figure out what that means. I'm a sinner, just like you. Sometimes I swear to much. Sometimes I think terrible thoughts. Sometimes I wonder why God would ever love a sinful wretch like me. Most days I feel that I failed as a Christian. I don't say this to seem self defeating or falsely humble, I say it so that you know that I'm just like you, someone who is doing the best they can with what they've got. Eighteen inches is the distance from my heart to my head. It seems like the longest distance I can possibly travel. All I can do is trust that the Holy Spirit is working in me making me more into the image of Christ. And lately I've been feeling like I'm falling in love with Him all over again.

My church has gone through some rough times over the past few years. A major church split, and 2 fallen pastors left The Gate in shambles, and for awhile it felt like we'd never stop picking up the pieces. But we've now come to the place where we are a healthy church, looking forward instead of back. We are looking to Christ for our direction and I'm excited where He's leading us.

The Gate used to be full of some of the most creative people I've ever met. We had so many musicians and artists we didn't know what to do with all of them. But because of circumstances and time, most of our congregation has gone in different directions. In the middle of the hardest time for our church, we had 2 worship teams, but we only had one drummer. So we did what anyone would do in our situation, we started doing electro worship. I've been making electronic music for about 10 years, and with the absence of a drummer, it really only felt natural to fill that spot with drum loops. So that's what I did, I started programming loops for worship. Our worship team consisted of 2 people, myself and Greg. I've been writing and playing music with Greg for about 14 years. We've been in countless bands together and recorded probably 10 cd's together at least. So Sunday morning would be me behind my piano with a couple of synths and my iPod, and Greg on Guitar. I was really nervous the first sunday we did it, but the congregation really seemed to like it. At first I was very cautious about the loops I wrote. I didn't push boundaries much, but over time I've gotten more and more creative with my worship loops as The Gate has gotten more used to it. We now have 7 people on our band but we're still doing electronic worship, just because it's SO fun! What started out as necessity has turned into something that our church really responds well to. I love electronic music, but I know that not everyone does. I never really thought that synth heavy hymns with a distorted hip hop beat would go over well in church, but apparently I was wrong.

I want to make this blog a resource for the loops I create for my church as well as a place to talk about God and worship and synthesizers. I am going to upload my loops in the future as well as talk about techniques I use to create my sounds and loops. I am also planning on recording some worship EP's with Greg and some other musician's from The Gate, so when those are done, they'll be up here as well.

I hope this is a helpful and encouraging blog for all you's out there on the interwebs!
- steve birss