HAIL, INCARNATE ADEQUACY

There’s nothing quite like spending six hours in a Taurus with three small children who don’t want to be there, but that’s how I spent my Saturday afternoon. The Director of Operations was holding the wheel, which meant that she had full control of the stereo. She likes to listen to Christian music on the radio because of the positive lyrics . . . but when the signal peters out, she switches over to top-40 country. She’s in love with all those dead-grandparent/new-baby songs, even though they only make up about 15% of what’s on top-40 country radio these days.

For some reason the Christian radio signals were extra-strong this weekend, so I got six hours to listen to Christian music in between 90-decibel crying jags from the back seat. And I feel, more than ever, that Christian songwriters need to admit defeat and start working with lyricists. The state of Christian lyrics is simply dreadful.

Lots of things are “worthy to be praised”–certainly Jesus is, but so is the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act. For that matter, the Double Deluxe at Culver’s is also deserving of praise. Whoever invented instant powdered infant formula–you, too, are “worthy of praise.” Get the point? Even if the whole concept of “worthiness” is all over the book of Revelation, making “worthiness” the main thing you’re going to say about Jesus is like saying he probably wasn’t shorter than average. It’s a pretty minimal distinguishing characteristic.

Yet there it is, over and over. How many Christian songs don’t include this cliché?

Does anybody in Christian music read any parts of the Bible besides Revelation and the Psalms? Where’s the great music coming out of Lamentations or Ecclesiastes? Or even First John? Is no one inspired by anything other than the Rapture these days? Because, listening to Christian radio, it certainly seems like we’re all just biding time until the Second Coming.

While I’m no traditionalist, it irks me to see a blizzard of substandard, uninspired and uninspiring music drowning out the great wealth of traditional hymns, songs which have something to say besides “Jesus? Yeah, he’s pretty good.” There have been a lot of good praise and worship songs written in the last quarter century that I’ve grown to love–”Shine, Jesus, Shine,” “Lord, I Lift Your Name On High,” and “He Is Exalted” to name just three. But to me they’re just appetizers. They whet my appetite to learn more, to know more, to say more about my faith.

Some people can make a meal out of appetizers. Bully for them. We know in the long run such a diet will leave you overfed and undernourished.