I Am Not A Worship Leader
I am not a worship leader...
but I play one on stage where my family and I worship.
That's pretty much the truth. I love leading worship and I love worshipping, but truth is not lost on me and the truth is that I know some awesome worship leaders and I am not fit to carry their sandals. To be fair, I have never tried to pass myself off as some worship guru. I just met the opportunities that came along. With that as a backdrop, I would not say that I have had any formal preparation for worship leading beyond applied experience. Consequently, things occasionally come up that are a little more challenging than one might expect or hope. Oh, they may occasionally be musical in nature but that is to be expected. The ones that are more intriguing are the ones that involve differences in personality or opinions or things like that.
Sunday, we had one of those intriguing ones involving one of my favorite songs, "Blessed Be Your Name." I had two (maybe three) praise team members inform me they had theological issues with that song and would probably not sing for a portion of it. So, here you go. What do you think about the bridge of that song which contains the following phrase:
You give and take away.
Now this can be argued on many points. First, someone said it was not scriptural. Next someone said it was just wrong to say that God takes away. And finally, a few mentioned that the proper interpretation of that phrase has nothing to do with the first two points. I realize that failing to post regularly has rendered my blog almost readerless, (well, that and poor writing about a boring person) but I still wonder how others might react or think about this song.
How did the song go? Well, I noticed several team members glancing at each other while we sang it so I did not try to look around and see who was singing and who wasn't. Other than that, I concentrated on the parts of the song with which I was in total agreement and praised God. I won't say more than that because I don't want to influence this discussion. So, tell me what you think.
but I play one on stage where my family and I worship.
That's pretty much the truth. I love leading worship and I love worshipping, but truth is not lost on me and the truth is that I know some awesome worship leaders and I am not fit to carry their sandals. To be fair, I have never tried to pass myself off as some worship guru. I just met the opportunities that came along. With that as a backdrop, I would not say that I have had any formal preparation for worship leading beyond applied experience. Consequently, things occasionally come up that are a little more challenging than one might expect or hope. Oh, they may occasionally be musical in nature but that is to be expected. The ones that are more intriguing are the ones that involve differences in personality or opinions or things like that.
Sunday, we had one of those intriguing ones involving one of my favorite songs, "Blessed Be Your Name." I had two (maybe three) praise team members inform me they had theological issues with that song and would probably not sing for a portion of it. So, here you go. What do you think about the bridge of that song which contains the following phrase:
You give and take away.
Now this can be argued on many points. First, someone said it was not scriptural. Next someone said it was just wrong to say that God takes away. And finally, a few mentioned that the proper interpretation of that phrase has nothing to do with the first two points. I realize that failing to post regularly has rendered my blog almost readerless, (well, that and poor writing about a boring person) but I still wonder how others might react or think about this song.
How did the song go? Well, I noticed several team members glancing at each other while we sang it so I did not try to look around and see who was singing and who wasn't. Other than that, I concentrated on the parts of the song with which I was in total agreement and praised God. I won't say more than that because I don't want to influence this discussion. So, tell me what you think.
13 Comments:
Very interesting that they would say something right before worship. That would be a challenge, Val. I think that you handled it wonderfully by just singing it without too much worry. I think we lose the point sometimes that the real message is "my heart will choose to say "Lord, blessed be Your Name". I do think that it is ok to question the validity of what you sing, but the singers need to have thought through the song long before they get up there on stage. Tell Kendra and your kids Hi.
God bless,
Steve Simpson
I am not a worship leader, nor do I play one on TV. I work with a pretty doggone good one, Jerome Williams, and I'll probably ask him what he thinks about this, and soon.
Quick question though: Do the folks on your praise team who had problems with the phrase think that Job was Just talking through his hat in 1:21?
I am not sure why the idea of God taking away is unscriptural. I could see it if we were viewing this song through the lens of death only????? I think of Job and Jonah, Abraham and Isaac - images of God taking away....
I guess one of my pet peeves is the kind of thinking that discounts an entire song or a book because there are parts of it that one may not agree with.
Keith has the scripture that came to mind initially for me. It's definitely IN scripture that the Lord gives and takes away and, as Arlene mentioned -- does that have to have an isolated meaning? Then Naomi in Ruth 1:21 says basically the same thing: " I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty." And pretty much all of Daniel 4 is Nebuchadnezzar saying the same thing (yes, I had to look up how to spell it!) after he wised up!
That said -- I know some praise team members that refuse to sing "Mansion Over the Hilltop" and I can't really blame them.
I, too, think you handled it well. Bless all of us in our human-ness trying to figure out our way in this world.
Job. Period. That song has become more meaningful to me since we lost my nephew Connor. Job, too, took on deeper meanings.
On the bright side, I'm encouraged to hear that there are people who pay close attention to what they are singing. That's a good thing. Too many times, one's preference for style or old or new favorites trump lyrics.
A few quick additional thoughts on God taking away:
Revelation 22:19; Zechariah 9:4; Ezekiel 2:16; Jeremiah 8:13.
Then again, He also takes away sins:
Romans 11:27; 2 Samuel 12:13
And Paul believed He might take away an infirmity:
2 Corinthians 12:8.
He does give and take away ... sometimes He takes away bad things.
My God does give and take away. He is a conscious, considerate, merciful, just and loving God. How could he not?
While I will still try to avoid steering this conversation very much, I want to say just a few things. First, I believe strongly that those who had an issue with the song love and serve God completely and whatever they believe is borne out of wanting to serve Him and nothing else. That having been said, I am also aware of some of the points made here like those concerning Job as well as those regarding the taking of people as opposed to the taking of adversity. But does the conversation stay within those parameters or does it go anywhere else? I honestly don't know what it is, but I feel like we're missing something or at least leaving something out of the discussion. Thoughts?
Have we left something out of the discussion?
Well, the answer to a prayer in a garden comes to mind.
"Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand."
~ Isaiah 53:10
I'm not sure of the song's scriptural accuracy. I do know that when I sing that song it almost always brings me to tears. It speaks beautifully of God's mercy, sovereignty, and love. I can testify that God does give and take away. And it is good.
Kurt Boyland
I'm joining the conversation late but I wanted to add this. When a young friend of mine died nearly two years ago another friend of mine said that God didn't take him, he received him. That made me feel better somehow. So, I'm not saying God doesn't take but the fact that God receives us is where I want to live and die.
Joining the conversation way, way late, but I have difficulty singing that song not for theological reasons but because of one event that I will associate with that song for the rest of my life.
Todd Holmes was a DPS trooper who was killed in a car accident in 2007. He and his wife and three children had worshipped with us for a while, then moved to the church in Gilmer closer to where they lived.
His funeral was held at our building because it was the largest in the area. The building was full of hundreds of police officers as well as friends and families. His friends and coworkers gave testimony to his character and Christian faith.
'Blessed Be Your Name' was his favorite song, and our praise team sang it (by his request) at his funeral. It may have been the first time some of those folks had ever heard the song, and I can only imagine the puzzlement some of them may have had. It can certainly be interpreted as fatalistic, or even morbid for a man's wife to hear "You give and take away" at the ceremony that marks her life beginning without him.
The point I choose to take away is the statement of faith -- both by Todd and his wife, of "My heart will choose to say, 'Lord blessed be your Name'". On one level, it makes no earthly sense, but I think that's the point. When faced with the worst of losses, God provides peace that makes no earthly sense, and the knowledge of the gifts of forgiveness and welcome at the end of our lives. I don't believe we have the perspective to always understand the painful things that happen to us, or appreciate the wonderful things that happen every day. We do have the choice to see them as the working of a loving Father and even if we don't understand them, praise the God that made the universe in which we live and who is our ultimate hope and salvation.
I have a hard time singing it without being overwhelmed by the thought of a widow faced with the worst evil and uncertainty of her life throwing herself wholly onto a God...who is really there to catch her. Of a brave man singing it to himself during the most jarring of transitions, and maybe joined by a chorus he believed in but never saw until then. Of his fellow officers who heard that song for the first time, and may have wondered if there really is something to the life Todd tried to lead and the Lord he served.
'Powerful' doesn't even begin to cover that song, at least for me.
Ezekiel comes to mind for me. I was glad to see Keith brought him up.
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