7/11 Worship

Church music bores me; at least some church music bores me. A pattern has developed in “modern” Christian music where a chorus is all there is in a “worship” song. It used to be the chorus would be sung between verses, usually verses packed full of God-truths. As an example, one of my favorites is It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio G. Spafford.

There are six verses divided by a chorus (or refrain). I particularly like verses 1 and 2:

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my

way,

When sorrow like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me

to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Chorus/Refrain: It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Chorus/Refrain: It is well, with my soul, It is well, it is well, with my soul.

The verses are statements of truth explaining why “it is well” for the composer in the midst of his earthly struggles. It is not enough to know it is well with my soul. Knowing the circumstances that brought forward the need to worship is necessary for complete understanding of a chorus. (The story around It Is Well With My Soul is the composer’s loss of family to a shipwreck and yet he can say he is well in spite of the situation and his grieving).

So my beef with modern worship music stems from my desire to know why and when and how we need to trust and worship God as the choruses tell us to do. Without the verses, that kind of understanding is not possible. I’ve heard these choruses called 7/ll songs (7 words, sung 11 times). Just like a 7-11 convenience store, the choruses are convenient, quick, and can only provide the bare minimum needed – and at a much lower cost than a bigger store could provide. 7/11 choruses do not meet all our needs; they are superficial and water down the way we worship God.

While I can go to my favorite hymns to get the depth I seek, there is a generation, like my own children, who have been raised on the superficial choruses. They know those pretty well, but will those “seven” words sustain them in the struggles that will come their way? I wish they will, but I’m ready to share deeper levels of worship should the need arise.