Bonfire Songs and Taylor Swift
A university friend of mine named Jeremy ran into a problem while pastoring a few college students: “We were all hanging around the bonfire, and one of the guys pulled out a guitar because people wanted to sing praise songs, but nobody could think of any songs they knew the words to, so we started singing DC Talk, which eventually led to Taylor Swift.”
While I definitely have no issue with singing pop songs around a bonfire, I sympathize with my friend’s dilemma. His church sang beautiful, theologically robust songs on Sunday; but the Church had a difficult time bringing those songs with them outside the church doors.
My friend asked, “What things are we trying to accomplish in music that don’t get fully accomplished through preaching, prayer, offering, etc.?” Implicitly he was asking why we aren’t singing songs that contain singable tunes, theological truths, and memorable lyrics that can sustain us through the week.
While I believe that music has many purposes for the church, I believe that one of them is to take God’s truth with us so that at a moment’s notice when we are feeling hostility at home or in our work environment or if we are gathered around a bonfire, we can be sustained by truth and united in our worship through song.
This Sunday we will be singing “A Shield About Me” from Psalm 3. I would consider it an ideal “bonfire song.” What other songs would you recommend as simple songs that are beautiful to sing, full of truth, and simple enough to remember at a moment’s notice?
– Matthew Hoppe
July 7, 2011 @ 3:40 pm
Love Shane and Shane – so much of their stuff is straight out of Scripture and very singable…
July 7, 2011 @ 7:19 pm
My favorites are those my dad sang to me and my brother at night when we were little. (I always enjoy when they come up during communion at RAC). My dad came to the Lord during college so his Christian music repertoire began with the Jesus movement. Keith Green and Maranatha worship tunes were staples in our house, on road trips and especially around bonfires. Songs like: “Jesus, Name above all Names,” “Seek Ye First,” “I Love you Lord.”
I hope Beth chimes in b/c I also have fond memories of Tues. Worship in college where a couple folks with guitars would strum away and us non-instrumental types would sing along. Such a glorious respite during the secular barrage and mental fatigue of all that book-learnin’.
July 8, 2011 @ 2:02 pm
Great post, Matt. I agree, and run into this with my kids too, who can call up lyrics to all kinds of pop songs but not so readily on the worship songs. That said, at bedtime every night my 3 year old and I sing “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning, great is your faithfulness.” I also love the newly re-done hymn that begins “O love that will not let me go…” The line that often runs thru my head is “I chase the rainbow thru the rain and know the promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be.”
July 8, 2011 @ 4:25 pm
You’ve made a tall order! Here are a few suggestions
Many songs by Rich Mullins: Sometimes by Step (the longer version of Step by Step), Step by Step (the shorter version), If I Stand, Creed, Everywhere I Go I See You, Calling Out Your Name, etc.
Your Love Is Strong, Jon Foreman
Classics of the past — Be Thou My Vision, Amazing Grace, etc.
So I finally got around to watching True Grit, during which I realized pretty quickly in that the old hymn Leaning on the Everlasting Arms runs through the entire film. It was amazing to me how quickly those words came flooding back to me even though only the music was playing. I think your question is onto something here — not sure how to help much, but it’s an interesting question anyway.
Oh, and before I forget for communion — One Bread, One Body
July 8, 2011 @ 5:47 pm
Ever since you mentioned this, snatches of a song from my high school days kept going through my head… Finally figured out it’s “We Exalt Thee,” from Ps 97:9. (“For thou O Lord art high above all the earth; thou art exalted high above all gods.”)
July 8, 2011 @ 6:16 pm
Thank you all so much for these thoughts and suggestions. The straight scripture songs are great, and It warmed my heart to hear Rich Mullins and some classic 80s choruses mentioned. Cindy, do you have a couple favorite Shane and Shane songs? And I’m still waiting for Beth to “chime in.” Thanks and keep the bonfire songs coming!
July 10, 2011 @ 7:47 pm
Sorry guys, I was off the radar this weekend, but I’m loving this thread now that I’ve caught up. Erica, I particularly remember singing U2’s “40” during that Tuesday night worship song time, which I suppose satisfies both the easy-to-recall pop music and scripture-based, psalm-lyrics categories. It was, and always will be, one of the most moving and favorite “bonfire” songs of mine. I’m a huge fan of some of the crazy old Young Life jam-outs, like “Blind Man,” but my reoccurring favorites are “Sing Alleluiah To the Lord,” “Come Thou Fount,” “Be Thou My Vision” and a bunch of Caedmon’s Call tunes from their self-titled album. Let’s gather all our favorites and have a bonfire where we can share them with one another. Great post and food for thought Matt!
July 12, 2011 @ 12:04 pm
Will we not be singing Taylor Swift in heaven?
July 12, 2011 @ 5:52 pm
Oh geez.. Matt, you asked and I couldn’t narrow it down to just a couple. I did give you a top 4 though… Thanks for asking – it was a great opportunity to go back and listen to some great music!
• Top 4
○ Vision of You (incredible harmony)
○ When I Think About the Lord (one of my favorite praise songs when my cup is particularly overflowing)
○ You Said
○ We Love You Jesus
• You and I (the bridge in this one makes me cry – reminder that God sees us as clean while we tend to live in our dirtiness and don’t accept how he sees us…)
• God Did
• Psalm 145
• I Want it All
• Psalm 62
• Yearn
• Psalm 13
• Song of Surrender
• Embracing Accusation
• Namesake (From “An Evening With” I’m a sucker for good percussion)
• Mercy Reigns
• In You
• Beg
July 20, 2011 @ 11:27 am
I would not limit what we sing in Heaven. I think Jesus might very well be a Taylor Swift fan… I’ve been known to sing a few of her catchy songs (we were both young, when I first saw you, I close my eyes and the flashback starts and there you were…). Although I REALLY get excited about true lyrics and am not ashamed to sing them with all my heart in the company of Believers.
I was saved in college, so worshipping for me meant Campus Crusade jamming out to Passion Sacred Revolution. David Crowder Band was a weekly regular there and still holds a special place in my heart. Their “stars” is a great campfire song, although the verses can be a little complicated so me and my buddies would mix up verses whenever we tried to sing it for memory (part of why I LOVE GRACE!)
My discipler was big into Rich Mullins and Keith Green. “Rushing Wind” is awesome but again it has complicated verses.
I eventually grew to love Good Hymns: Amazing Grace, Be Thou My Vision, When Peace like a River, Doxology… we had a “hymn of the week” where me and a group of friends would meet and pass out small pieces of paper with the lyrics written on them sing hymns and work to memorize them.
The songs I have memorized (like scripture memory) has been most helpful “outside the doors of the church” where I need Truth to combat lies stemming from False Evidence Appearing Real (fear = anxiety).
For singing old favorites I don’t have memorized, I keep my “emergency hymnal” in my car along with “emergency camp gear” and “emergency spare tire & jack” Who knows when you might need it! I love singing “Just as I am” but need a hymnal to get the verses straight.
The songs from other posts sound wonderful. I look forward to singing them with you soon and for eternity in Heaven! It’s going to be AWESOME!
July 20, 2011 @ 11:48 am
Thanks for the input, Psalm 100 Shouter! I’m thinking we might also sing some Beatles, Doobie Brothers, Bob Marley, Weezer, Blindside, and Collective Soul. My two year old son thinks we will be singing “Food Glorious Food” from Oliver and the new Micky Mouse theme song in the new heaven/earth. We’ll see if any of those have staying power or if we get to start over with a more accurate view of our Maker. It’s exciting to think of singing into eternity!