What’s the most popular Christian song sung in churches today? It’s called “Build my Life” from Bethel Music. The song was written in 2016 and has stood the test of a whopping six years of longevity.
A new study on worship music “found that the lifespan of a hit worship song has declined dramatically in recent years.” There are reasons for this phenomenon. The research indicates that worship songs are made to “feed the algorithm.” In other words, they are intentionally written to supply a current need, instead of embracing any sense of historical need. As one pastor observed:”
…the churn of worship music reflects the way Americans consume media in general, where ‘everything is immediate and has a short shelf life.'”
I suspect anyone who has been reading my words for the last couple of years, has a deep appreciation for my parody-like observations on such topics and is assured by my vivacious display of righteous anger towards the inevitable words above.
But I don’t want to simply use the above as some apologetic for despising Bethel or Hillsong. So, give me a couple of minutes to indoctrinate you just a bit. After all, it’s the only reason I have a Facebook account. It will be slow and painless. I promise. I will even tell a few stories. Then, I will close with some pertinent questions. So, stick around, kids!
Back in the 1990s–give or take a year or two before the rapture–I remember engaging in some random radio program when I lived in Pennsylvania. The speaker had this remarkable voice filled with the sophistication of someone trained rhetorically under the best. He hailed from a town about an hour from where I was called Ligonier.
(more…)
