Response to Matt Redman's Article - Part 3

This is part three of my response to Matt Redman's article: Why Worship Leaders Need Theologians

In the conclusion of the article, Redman wrote:

Many of us, myself included, admit we need assistance in that area. We likely didn’t come into this via seminary or intense theological training; we came in through the avenue of loving music and being able to play or sing.

We humbly recognize we cannot do this on our own. We need help from thinkers, theologians, and pastors. We need to be sharpened by fellow songwriters and worship leaders too.

It’s no accident that the King James Version of the Bible tells us over 1,200 times to behold. We worship a God who wants to be recognized for who he is. My prayer is that the church will grow in this area—seeing ever deeper and truer songs—and leading worship services that help us to behold Jesus like never before.

He said that those who sing worship music did not go to seminary nor had theological training. This should cause us to shake our heads. These worship leaders do not have theological training. I am not too concerned about seminary but the fact they do not have theological training should just make us wonder why we would trust anything they have written. 

We are worship God in truth (John 4:24). That truth comes from the Word of God, not our emotions, experiences, or preferences. Our worship leaders need to be equipped. This is why I am thankful for churches and ministries that have written worship songs that are theological. Sovereign Grace Music, Emu Music, Matt Boswell, and Redeeming Truth Music are just a few examples of solid worship music you can listen to and hopefully some churches will use.

Redman said they cannot do it on their own. They need help. Yes, they do. Matt has written good songs in the past that I will sing from the rooftops. There have been many from Passion and other artists that I can the same thing, but they are not theologically strong as they could be. I hope Redman will seek godly wisdom from solid biblical preachers and theologians when it comes to their songs. Pastors need to take seriously the music they let in their church. 

Redman concludes by saying we worship a God who wants to be recognized for who He is. Amen. God deserves all our praise. He deserves all the glory. I echo Matt's prayer that the church will grow in this area to make our worship more biblical and theological. I pray that our worship will be edifying to the body. Songs from Bethel, Elevation, and Hillsong are not edifying even if the song says right things about God. I will also add Gateway and North Point to that list. 

I believe if we are going to have meaningful worship in our churches, it needs to start with the leadership of a congregation to grow a spine and reject songs from false churches with false ideologies. We need songs that are biblical true. They do teach like it or not. To paraphrase Costi Hinn, to have theological accuracy in our pulpit but not in our worship is hypocrisy. It is also hypocritical to preach against the prosperity gospel and use their worship music. 

May God bring a reformation in the area of worship music for the glory of His name. Amen.