How an Australian Church Is Changing Christian Songwriting
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra tells the story of how one Australian church’s thoughtful songwriting has shaped the way we worship with rich, theologically sound music.
Recorded · Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
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Show Notes
Over the last few decades, church music has shifted. Congregations sing fewer hymns and more praise songs. We hear fewer organ chords and more guitar riffs. We read lyrics that are less theological and more generic.
The move toward quicker and more casual songwriting means new music hits our Spotify—and CCLI—lists more quickly. But it also means Christians are sometimes singing repetitive choruses, nonsensical lyrics, or wrong theology.
That matters, because we sing those songs so often that we memorize them. We hum them in the car. We play them while we’re making dinner. We lean on them when hard times hit.
About 10 years ago, a church in Australia noticed these problems. They tried a different songwriting process. It was slow and clunky and never should have worked—and yet it did.
Odds are, you’ve sung their good theology in your church, in your car, or in your kitchen.
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