Vagueness and 'Mighty to Save'

A fun discussion is happening over here on Peter's blog.

A commenter said this:


“I’ve grown a bit tired of songs that are like a theological treatise and afraid of getting personal with God.”

I hear this all the time.  Mostly I say nothing.  Not this time.  Here's what I wrote. 


Any song that sings like a theological treatise is probably just a bad song. But I’d love to know what songs you put in this category. We sing stuff that is quite meaty… but also engaging and moving. I don’t think I’d want particular songs on my church playlist if they had the emotional impact of a text book. But maybe we are all different on this, and songs that I experience as moving leave my sister in the next pew cold.

The other question I have is about ‘getting personal with God’. What do you mean by this? Is it through confession of sin, telling God how much you love him, hearing about and feeling moved by God’s love for you, or something else? I don’t have a problem with any of these things – it is just worth exploring what it is that you want a congregational singing experience to give you. I was chatting with a friend the other day and realised that what she wanted from congregational singing was a feeling of nearness to God that could be achieved without the drudgery of daily bible reading and prayer and patience with her children. And I want this too. I’m human so the song that builds for the first 3/4 and then climaxes before finishing with a string of whispered sweet nothings appeals to me. There’s buzz in that. Is that what you mean by getting personal with God?

What do you think?