Why Should I Write Songs for My Local Church?
Before I answer this question, let me first say this. If you don’t like to write songs, if you don’t have the time to write songs, or if you don’t see it as a calling, there is an endless supply of simple, singable, gospel-centered, doctrinally rich songs that will be a blessing to your local church. It can take a lot of work to weed through the noise, but they’re out there. I say that to say what follows is in no way a mandate for all Music Directors, Worship Leaders, Cantors, etc. I’m just here to nudge those that might be itching to write but are needing a good reason.
1. They’ll Know You
Why do we sing at all? That’s a big question with way too long an answer. For now, let’s agree that singing is an expression of our joy and our pain. In worship, it is a physical, intellectual, and affective response to the law and the gospel proclaimed to us in God’s word. Thankfully, the Christian faith is one that allows for every thought in the mind and sentiment of the heart to be shared with its God. Why do we know this? Because we read it from the lips of God’s people in Scripture. We know that we can be honest with God because David was. We know we can express joy because we hear it in Mary’s song. We know we can cry out in agony because Job came away still standing. As leaders in our church bodies, our expressions of our faith encourage our people in a very personal, tangible way. They know they can express what is on their hearts because they see what’s on yours. It is a great service to your people to let them see the honest expression of your relationship with God.
“When a piece of art captures one story, it can speak to an unimaginable amount of people. ”
2. You Know Them
Have you ever written a song with someone specific in mind? I’m betting you have—perhaps a crush, or a friend, or someone you walked by in the street. In fact, I’m betting that you write better songs when you write with that focus. Of course, in writing for worship, we generally write for three persons...one God. But when we write for worship we should also be writing with the people in our congregations in mind. Remember, we are proclaiming the gospel when we sing. We are confessing God’s word back to him, to ourselves, and to each other. If you’ve gotten to know the people in your church over the years, chances are you know some very specific stories. We know that the gospel, while wholly in the Holy Spirit’s hands, can be extremely poignant when infused into someone's specific story. We also know that when a piece of art captures one story, it can speak to an unimaginable amount of people. There are so many stories sitting in your pews. If you take the time to hear them, you’ll find you’ll be able to speak powerfully to them.
“The Christian faith is one that allows for every thought in the mind and sentiment of the heart to be shared with its God. ”
3. You’re You
Why are you where you are? I think I’m going to print that on a t-shirt. WAYWYA. Maybe that’s a thing already, I don’t know. My point is this. Do you believe you are in the community God wants you to be? I hope you do. As a leader that means your skills, your talents, your life experience, and your faith are meant to be fully shared with your people. If you’ve got a single bone in your body that has even the slightest ache to help your people through song, it’s time to get to it. I’m sharing a new song with my congregation this week. To be honest, I went back and forth about it. We do a lot of my songs already. A voice in my head made me doubt the importance of it. Made me doubt my motives. Made me doubt the song’s quality. But then I thought, "why am I where I am?" (another t-shirt). If I trust that God wants me to write songs for his church, and I trust that God has me in this church on purpose, why would I hold back on a song I think will communicate the healing power of the gospel? Hold back no longer. Embrace your calling!
Kip Fox is the Director of the Songwriter Initiative for the Center for Worship Leadership at Concordia University, Irvine. He is a Music Director at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Mesa, AZ, and a nationally recognized songwriter & clinician. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Michelle and his son Beau. To hear more about the CWL Songwriter Initiative, click here. You can find his music at kipfox.com.