It must have been over twenty years ago now that I was sitting with my family in church, and the “Praise” band started rocking out. Apparently, they were singing about heaven, and this is what I heard:
It’s a big, big house
With lots and lots a room
A big, big table
With lots and lots of food
A big, big yard
Where we can play football
A big, big house…
“No,” I thought. “It is decidedly not. They can establish a precedent for food, but that’s clearly a metaphor. And definitely, you won’t be able to play football there. Why would you want to? You’re in the presence of Jesus.” And it did not minister to me.
In fairness, that Audio Adrenaline song was probably not written for corporate worship. So, why were we singing it in church? I believe songs we sing during worship services should… be worshipful. Is that too much to ask? At my church lately, and at other churches I have attended, the songs are often about us, about our feelings, and how excited we should be. Often, I am not feeling the sensations expressed in the songs, so I feel inauthentic trying to get them out of my mouth. Or we have sometimes taken to singing nonsense phrases like oh, oh, oh, oh, and I honestly don’t know what to do with that since I encounter no content I can genuinely use to communicate with God. I stop singing what feels to me like juvenile nonsense and simply try to worship in my heart. But I am distracted....
