One of the greatest aspects about being a musician and worship leader is creativity. The appreciation of beauty in the world around us can be a powerful tool of inspiration in our leadership, ministry, and music-making. One way I love to express creativity is through songwriting.
I’ll never forget the day when I played the grand piano in Fuller’s Travis Auditorium for the first time. I had just arrived in Pasadena, California all the way from Sandusky, Ohio. It was a huge step of faith for me in obedience to God’s leading. It was really fun because I literally ‘bonded’ with the piano right away (I know, a little silly!). Right before I left for California, I was playing our piano at home in Ohio, and I began playing a melody that I knew needed to be accompanied with words. After spending some time in the Word and playing the piano at Fuller for about three hours, I began playing the melody again, and… the song just came. The song is called Captured by You. It was inspired by Psalms 62:11-12a and Zephaniah 3:17. Writing Captured by You was a huge step because it was the first worship song I had ever written.
In a recent post, I shared about the book designed to equip worship leaders called “Rise Up & Sing” by Lex Buckley. In the book, Lex includes an insightful chapter about songwriting. I found this excerpt encouraging and wanted to share it with you as well. Lex wrote,
“I was at a retreat for worship leaders, and fellow speaker Matt Redman was asked for suggestions on how to remain inspired and keep songwriting fresh. Matt said that the flow of his writing has a direct correlation to whether he is reading the Bible or not. When he is immersed in God’s Word, the songs flow, but when he has not been spending as much time reading the Scripture, the songs don’t flow as freely.
Worship is a response to who God is and what He has done for us, so it makes total sense that reading the Bible would be the thing that inspires us to write songs. When we read His Word, the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us. He reveals more of who He is, and as we read, we learn about what God has done and about His incredible love for us. Let’s get into the Word so we can know more or our God, become transformed by truth, and respond to Him in worship!”
How about you?
For me, this songwriting experience began with finding a melody and then continued through inspiration from God’s Word. What does your songwriting "creative process” look like? Where do you find inspiration for creativity and new music? From your experiences, do you have any tips to offer? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Sorry to pick on you, and your obvious passion and interest in Christian Music…..But, suggest you give up on the songwriting pipe dream.. Everybody and his brother are ‘song writers’ these days.Good composing takes a combination of technical knowledge and a rare talent for melody and other aspects of music, including lyric writing. It is extremely rare for one person to be good at either one, let alone both skills. These skills are rarely found in the amatuer ranks of students and teachers at Christian institutes, who somewhat imply that just being in the Word is going to magically give them the talent to create good song and lyrics. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that what you write and most of what passes for modern church music with your peers is worthwhile. It’s 99.9% junk. If you really want to learn music skills, study privately or go to an elite music school. You’ll find out there how little you really know, and how fearsome the standards and competition really are. This is also knows as , the real world. You can pick up the spiritual maturity and people skills by being involved in your local church and developing leadership skills. . Guarantee you won’t learn any advanced music skills in an academy such as Brehm. Sorry to be so negative; but perhaps it’s helpful to hear a different side of things than you may be used to hearing.
Dear John,
Thank you for reading this post. However, I will not give up on songwriting simply because “everyone is doing it.” I wrote that song in particular, and all the other songs I write, as an act of worship to God. I’m not trying to “make it big” or anything like that. In the future, I hope to write more songs that are suitable for a congregation in worship. I am a worship leader, so it is my goal to write songs that are biblically inspired and correct. That is why I use the Bible as a main source of inspiration.
I do have formal music training – I hold a Bachelors degree in Music, along with a Bachelors degree in Business Management. I also have a Certificate in Christian Leadership Studies. I decided to come to Fuller for my Master’s degree and study with the Brehm Center because I hope to integrate my passion and skills in music with ministry and work for the kingdom of God. That is what the Lord has called me to do, and I am not turning back.
One of the main reasons I chose to come to Fuller was because of the Brehm Center. Many seminaries across the country do not even have a worship or arts center, but the Brehm Center has been leading the way in this area. The programs are growing and the goal is to equip leaders to integrate worship, theology, and the arts.
I suggest in the future that you are more encouraging to artists and musicians – especially songwriters – instead of shooting the wind out of them. It is a big step to create art and music. It also requires a lot of vulnerability and sensitivity, and I believe those who pursue it should be commended.
Lastly, I am not “out of touch with the real world.” I worked, lived on my own, and supported myself before coming to Fuller. I came out to Fuller by myself, thousands of miles aways from my family not knowing anyone, and am very happy here. From personal experience, I know it’s tough. But is that a reason to give up and stop trying? No. I must push through, grow as much as I can, and be faithful to what the Lord has called me to do.
Again, thank you for reading.
Andrea
I appreciate your modesty of molding yourself with songwriting. There are only few who intertwined with that artistry and even me, myself tried to reach out the best of me putting the best words to compose a very wonderful song.Copywriters
wow. I know this comment is late but what if someone like John had told Matt Redmond to give up on the songwriting pipe dream?
Ted,
Thanks for your comment. And it is “funny” the timing of it because today is my birthday and just yesterday I made a commitment to God to press on in courage and make an album for Him. Because of this post over a year ago when I lived in California, I think I’ve been hesitating to songwrite more, but I know this is what God is calling me to do. Thank you for your comment.
Andrea