Once Again, Critiquing the Most Popular Praise and Worship Songs
It's been three years since I first reviewed the most popular worship songs heard in church. This was a critique I planned on writing annually (Christian Copyright Licensing International releases their top 100 list every 6 months). But when 2017 rolled around, I looked at CCLI's top ten songs and saw that the list was almost exactly the same as the year before. Some of those songs are still in the top twenty even now, but I think the list has changed enough (and enough time has passed) that I'm able to do my review afresh.
Why is this important? Because the Bible says, "Test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The doctrine in even the songs that we sing must be as sound as the preaching. I'm going to examine not only the theology in the lyrics of these songs but also of the artists who sing them. If you wanted to enjoy these songs in the privacy of your home or singing along with them on the radio, that would be one thing. But do they belong in your church?
The following are the top 10 most popular praise songs according to CCLI. I'll give the title of the song and who the writers are, I'll mention which lyrics are good and which are questionable, and I'll conclude each entry by answering if the song is acceptable to be sung in corporate worship. The title of each song is also a link to a video, if you'd like to hear it.
1) "Who You Say I Am" written by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan
The same writing duo that brought us the chart-topping song Mighty to Save currently has the most popular modern praise song in the world. The official video for Who You Say I Am has nearly 100 million views on YouTube alone. It was released in June, 2018 as the first single from Hillsong church's 26th live album There Is More. Fielding and Morgan are worship pastors with Hillsong.
Good Lyrics
Overall, the lyrics are fine. "Who am I that the highest King would welcome me?" "While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me." "I am chosen, not forsaken. I am who you say I am. You are for me, not against me. I am who you say I am." "In my Father's house, there's a place for me; I'm a child of God." And like any Hillsong tune, many of these lyrics are repeated over and over and over again.
Questionable Lyrics
If the song existed by itself, I would say there's nothing questionable about it. But the mere fact that this song comes from Hillsong makes it questionable. When they sing, "I am who you say I am," what exactly does that mean? Does the singer understand that only those who are followers of Christ are children of God, or are they singing that everyone is a child of God?
Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Houston invites his congregation to stand up and repeat this kind of creed before the preaching begins. They hold up a Bible and say, "This is my Bible: I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do." I believe that, too. But Joel and I believe two different things when it comes to understanding "I am what it says I am." The same is true of Hillsong. If you asked them to actually define their terms, you would get a heterodox answer, contrary to the sound teaching of God's word.
Should the song be sung in your church?
No, it shouldn't. Again, if you just wanted to sing this song in your car, that would be one thing. But it doesn't belong in corporate worship on the sole basis that it comes from Hillsong church. As Dr. Albert Mohler has noted, "Hillsong is a prosperity movement for millennials." In addition to their false teaching, this is an organization that has been covering up pedophilia. Christ's church should have no fellowship with Hillsong.
2) "What a Beautiful Name" written by Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood
Sung by Brooke Ligertwood, this is a wildly popular song, and it could easily hit half-a-billion views on YouTube. It was first released in 2017 on Hillsong's 25th live album Let There Be Light. The song was the Dove Award winning song of the year in 2017.
Good Lyrics
What could be wrong with singing of the beauty of the name of Jesus? In the bridge of the song, we hear, "Death could not hold you, the veil tore before you, you silence the boast of sin and grave. The heavens are roaring, the praise of your glory, for you are raised to life again."
Questionable Lyrics
I don't understand what this means: "You didn't want heaven without us; So Jesus, you brought heaven down." This has an air of saying, "Heaven wouldn't be heaven without us." Heaven is heaven for one reason and one reason only—God is there. To say God didn't want to dwell with Himself for all eternity (contrary to John 17:5) means heaven was lonely and incomplete until we arrived. Maybe you don't interpret the phrase that way, but where in the Bible could you point and conclude, "God didn't want heaven without us"?
Should the song be sung in your church?
No. It's another Hillsong tune. See reasoning above. Hillsong has the top two most popular modern praise songs according to CCLI. Almost the rest of this list is associated with Bethel Church.
3) "Reckless Love" written by Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, and Ran Jackson
The song was released this month two years ago, rose quickly to the top of the praise and worship charts, and won the Dove Award for Song of the Year in 2018. Reckless Love as performed by Cory Asbury is a signature song for Bethel Church of Redding, CA.
Good Lyrics
The first verse starts out great: "Before I spoke a word, you were singing over me; you have been so, so good to me. Before I took a breath, you breathed your life in me; you have been so, so kind to me." Indeed, God has placed His love and affection on His elect before we were even born. Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son." David sang, "In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them" (Psalm 139:16).
Questionable Lyrics
Then we get to the chorus: "Oh the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God." Uh, God's love is reckless? A word that means "without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action"? That contradicts the first verse! You can't sing of God's deliberate, intentional goodness and kindness toward us before we were born and then call that same love reckless.
Should the song be sung in your church?
No. I did a video on this song, and I've since received e-mails from some folks who have told me that they change the phrase "reckless love" to "relentless love." But please hear me on this, and I cannot emphasize this enough—Do not sing Bethel songs in your church.
Bethel is a false church that denies the power of Christ, teaches prosperity theology and other heresies, and uses gimmicks and emotionalism to manipulate people. They manufacture what they call "glory clouds" and say it's the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in their church, or they'll dump feathers on the crowd and say they're actual angel feathers. They perform fake miracles, fictitious healings, and false prophecy. The music they do is just another manipulative tool to hook people into this synagogue of Satan. Have nothing to do with them.
4) "This Is Amazing Grace" written by Jeremy Riddle, Josh Farro, and Phil Wickham
This is the second Bethel song on the list, the number one tune when I first wrote this critique three years ago. The song first appeared in August of 2013 on Phil Wickham's album The Ascension. It was a number 1 hit on the Christian music charts in 2014. Co-writer Jeremy Riddle has been the worship leader at Bethel for almost 10 years.
Good Lyrics
I like the way the song begins: "Who breaks the power of sin and darkness, whose love is mighty and so much stronger, the King of Glory, the King above all kings."
Questionable Lyrics
In the chorus is the line, "That You would take my place, that you would bear my cross." This is likely another way of saying Jesus died for me. But the Bible doesn't say He bore our cross. It says that He bore our sins in His body on the cross (Isaiah 53:12, 1 Peter 2:24). Why would I be so particular about that line? Because Jesus said that to be His disciples, we must take up a cross daily and follow after Him (Luke 9:23). There is still a cross to bear, though we have peace with God in knowing that Jesus has paid for our sins on the cross. And it's His cross, not ours (Galatians 6:14).
There's also a line is in the second verse which begins, "Who brings our chaos back into order." I'm not sure what that means. In Isaiah 45:7, God says, "I make well-being and create calamity. I am the Lord, who does all these things." In Matthew 5:45, Jesus says the Father "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust." The line has the potential to set a person up for disappointment: "Why is my world a mess? I thought following God would put everything back into order!"
The Bible says that all things have been subjected to futility because of sin, and all of creation is groaning and awaiting deliverance (Romans 8:21-23). A day is coming when indeed God will restore all things, but that day is not yet. When Paul begged for his "chaos" to be taken from him, Jesus said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are told to rejoice in suffering (Romans 5:3).
Should the song be sung in your church?
No. For more detailed information, thoroughly researched and backed with sources, I recommend you look up Costi Hinn and Anthony Wood's book Defining Deception. They lay out in detail the problems with Bethel Church in Redding, CA.
5) "Great Are You Lord" written by David Leonard, Jason Ingram, and Leslie Jordan
This song was written and recorded in 2013 by the now defunct band All Sons and Daughters, made up of Leonard and Jordan. (Random fact: In 2012 while in Franklin, TN, I sat in on a writing session with this duo and even threw out a line for the song they were working on. I don't remember what song it was. There's a very slight, remote, minuscule possibility I'm a co-writer on this song.)
Good Lyrics
The very breath of God has been given to us who are created in His image. So I like the line, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise." All Sons and Daughters like to sing those two-phrase repetitive choruses, so you get to sing, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise"—a lot. You sing it more often than "Great are you Lord." The title of the song should have been, "It's your breath in our lungs so we pour out our praise."
Questionable Lyrics
None.
Should the song be sung in your church?
It's up to you, but I wouldn't do it. All Sons and Daughters ran in circles that included Hillsong and Bethel, having met in one of those charismatic, seeker-sensitive, emotionally-driven kind of churches. The band broke up last year after Leslie Jordan and her husband, Thomas, left the church in which All Sons and Daughters was formed (this isn't gossip—they made all of this public online). Leonard and Jordan couldn't come to an agreement on the future of the band. Did the Jordans' theology change? Is that why they gave up fame and fortune and left their church and its problematic teaching? Maybe that's a testimony we'll hear sometime later.
6) "Build My Life" written by Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Kirby Kaple, Matt Redman, and Pat Barrett
There are a lot of names on this song. The first time I heard it was by Michael W. Smith, and there's a version that also features Chris Tomlin. But the song is mainly attributed to Pat Barrett, former lead singer of the praise and worship band Housefires based out of Atlanta.
Good Lyrics
All of the lyrics to this song are good. From the first verse, we sing: "Worthy of every song we could ever sing; worthy of all the praise we could ever bring; worthy of every breath we could ever breathe. We live for you." The chorus goes, "Holy, there is no one like you; there is none beside you; open up my eyes in wonder." My only disappointment is that the second verse is exactly the first verse. With that many names on this song, they couldn't have written another verse?
Questionable Lyrics
None.
Should the song be sung in your church?
Again, it's up to you. I hate to break to you, but like All Sons and Daughters, Housefires is part of the same movement that includes Hillsong and Bethel. Patt Barrett has a version of this song in which he sings with Bethel music's Cory Asbury, and Bethel has released several of their own recordings of this song. As I said earlier, it's one thing to sing a song like this in your car or play it as background music in your home—it's something else to make a congregational worship song in your church.
7) "Living Hope" written by Brian Johnson and Phil Wickham
This is the title-cut to Phil Wickham's most recent album. It was released in March of 2018 with the promotion of the song meant to coincide with the Easter holiday.
Good Lyrics
The chorus goes, "Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free. Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain, there's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living hope."
Questionable Lyrics
The first verse begins, "How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb. In desperation, I turned to heaven; and spoke Your name into the night. Then through the darkness, your loving-kindness tore through the shadows of my soul. The work is finished, the end is written. Jesus Christ, my living hope." That's not much of a coherent thought. It doesn't even rhyme. Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but I found this song to be rather bland. There are much better songs in CCLI's top 100 than this one.
Should the song be sung in your church?
No. Though the song is primarily Phil Wickham's, this is yet another Bethel Church release, having been included on their albums Victory and Living Hope. Co-writer Brian Johnson is a pastor at Bethel Church, the son of senior pastor Bill Johnson.
8) "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)" written by Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman
This is the title-cut from an album released by Matt Redman in 2011, and it has been a top worship song ever since. Most people probably know this song as "Bless The Lord, O My Soul," as sung in the chorus. But that's such a popular title, the name 10,000 Reasons was chosen, as sung in the second verse.
Good Lyrics
It's hard to get that chorus out of your head: "Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name." My kids like singing this one, too. Redman has written several songs that contain lyrics about praising the Lord in any and all circumstances to the very end of life. This is one of those songs.
Questionable Lyrics
None.
Should the song be sung in your church?
Sure. There are many songs written by Matt Redman that I really enjoy, particularly his most popular, Blessed Be Your Name. But I'm not crazy about his associations. He's a great artist, but his discernment needs some work.
9) "The Lion and the Lamb" written by Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, and Leeland Mooring
Another Bethel Church vehicle. Leeland is the band, but Bethel Music is the distributor. Again, co-writer Brian Johnson is Bill and Beni Johnson's son.
Good Lyrics
All of the lyrics are fine: "Our God is the Lion, the Lion of Judah. He's roaring with power and fighting our battles, and every knee will bow before You." There's only one verse and chorus, and like most modern praise songs, these lyrics are repeated over and over.
Questionable Lyrics
None.
Should this song be sung in your church?
No. You know why.
10) "Good Good Father" written by Anthony Brown and Pat Barrett
Another from the Atlanta praise band Housefires, Good Good Father was made popular by Chris Tomlin who released the song in 2015. Surprisingly, this is the only Chris Tomlin song on this list, and it isn't even his song.
Good lyrics
You would have to isolate lyrics to find good lines in this song. Yes, God is a "Good, good Father." Yes, He is perfect in all His ways. Yes, we are loved by Him. But taking these lyrics in with the rest, the song overall contains some terrible theology.
Questionable lyrics
Just consider the way the song starts: "I've heard a thousand stories of what they think you're like, but I've heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night. And you tell me that you're pleased, and that I'm never alone." We do not know the love of God through "tender whispers... in the dead of night." We know His love because of what is said to us in His word.
Maybe the writer of the song doesn't intend to be so dismissive of Scripture, but the opening makes it sound like the "stories" about God we read in the Bible are just man's opinion. Those subjective whisperings we get "in the dead of night"—they are what really tell us about who God is. Or, maybe by "a thousand stories," the writer means all the varying opinions that people have about God. Then what makes his opinion—those "tender whispers" he hears at night—more valid than everyone else's whispers? How does he know those whispers are the voice of God and not his own dumb thoughts?
No matter how you cut it, the theology in this song is quite poor. It celebrates self rather than God and His word (not to mention it's very repetitive and obnoxious). Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" and Proverbs 28:26 says, "Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool."
Should the song be sung in your church?
No.
