It’s not that your worship songs aren’t catchy enough.
It’s not that they need more lyrics, better arrangements, and slicker production.
[From David: This is a guest post by Arny Sanchez, who blogs at The Analogous Truth. You can follow him on Twitter here.]
If you’re a worship leader, theology is important. Massively important.
Especially if you want to write worship songs. Without a steady diet of immersion in God’s Word, our songs will easily degrade into self centered memoirs to our own passion.
From David: Today I have the privilege of featuring a guest post by Jon Nicol who blogs over at Worship Team Coach. Jon spent some time in Nashville, learning what it takes to be a professional songwriter. He shares his insights here. Be sure to follow him on Twitter.
After talking about it for 5 years, I finally overcame my fear and started traveling to Nashville to write, network, attend workshops, and just soak up whatever mojo is in the air down there.
I wanted to be a professional songwriter.
Worship songs.
There are plenty of them, but are they saying what needs to be said?
Our recent conversation about the importance of theology has led me to consider the content of our worship songs.
I love my name. Not in the sense that DavidĀ is all that fabulous, but in the sense that I love to see it.
I love to see my name on the big screen, getting credit as a songwriter.
Matter of fact, if you don’t know that I wrote a certain song, I’m a bit upset. The more I’m recognized and credited and loved and adored, the more I enjoy my life.
If you suggested a fireworks display to honor my songwriting brilliance, I’d be all over that.
These are the confessions of a self-centered songwriter.
Assuming you want to be the best songwriter you can be, there are certain habits you need to form if you’re going to improve.
Too many people blame great songwriting on talent. I beg to differ.
You can improve your songwriting. But you need to add some habits to your life. Without them, your songs will stagnate.