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Northern Ireland…historically not really a place of peace, especially for those who’ve been around more than two or three decades (see one flag here, sometimes called the Ulster Banner, that is often used to publicly represent Northern Ireland). And could that have helped spur a group of young people at a church in the Bangor area (a part of the larger Belfast metropolitan area) to form and call themselves the Rend Collective Experiment (now known as the Rend Collective)? The band’s members tell of trying to ‘figure out life’ amid a palpable hostility from their surroundings toward the Christian hope they espoused when they formed in 2002-03, about ten years before “Build Your Kingdom Here” was written – something that you could interpret is rather like the band’s anthem response to their world. You might also guess that these ‘experimenters’ were reading of a powerful promise from one ancient writer, when you watch one of their music videos of the song. This underscores how they feel about their God, and what they yearn for Him to do where they live.
There is a story that the Rend Collective tells about what sparked ‘Build Your Kingdom”, and it apparently is available to those granted access to it (see the link below to a facebook page.) Without that, a researcher could alternately surmise what they were thinking via this 2012 song’s lyrics and by reading about their formation as a group. They quite candidly admit that they sought to counter their culture’s antipathy about Christianity with their music, hoping its message would act like a magnet for unbelievers. One of their videos contains the words of Isaiah (9:7), a prediction that one often hears around Christmastime – that He will bring a government committed to everlasting ‘peace’, implemented through ‘justice and righteousness’. So, what this group of over 15 people (it tours and records its songs with just six musicians) was aiming to do in 2002-03 was still on their minds ten years later. The poetry they crafted is rich in its passionate desire for his power to impact their world. And, it’s not just the words that demonstrate this appeal, but also the videos that reveal an energy among the group’s members that you can imagine is infectious. Words like ‘ablaze’ and ‘wildfire’ (v.1); and ‘hunger’, and ‘thirst’ (v.2); and ‘fire’ (chorus) inhabit their verses to attest to their fervent objective. This Isaiah message also must have helped stir the words about God’s character – that He has ‘power’ (vv.1,3), is ‘mighty’ (chorus), and has ‘strength’ (v.3). And yet, He is also One who defines ‘beauty’ and ‘love’ (v.3). The Rend people don’t call for God to intervene on His own, however, but with their active participation. They ask for ‘unveil(ing)’ and ‘invad(ing)’ by the Spirit, so that humanity will know its purpose (v.1); and they seem to expect that they will play the earthly role in helping the ‘hurt’, ‘sick’, and ‘poor’ (v.2). ‘We are your church’, they declare repeatedly. There’s more in their poetry, and when it’s fused with the vibrant energy they bring to the performance stage, you can imagine that onlookers would want more of a God they represent. This God is not here to spectate, and neither are the Rend Collective.
From where does the ‘Rend’ originate in the band’s name? Joel (2:13) and Isaiah (64:1) are two Old Testament prophets on whom they lean for their identity…they seek to be authentic, not showy, in ‘rending their hearts and not just their garments in worship’ (Joel); and they appeal to God to ‘rend the heavens’ and show His potency as the ultimate force in the universe (Isaiah). Thus, the Rend Collective wants to connect their own rending with His. They felt they were an experiment at first, as they tried to ‘figure out life’, which also seems to further bespeak of a genuine quality in the band’s nature – that they admit they haven’t got it all figured out. But, they seem to know where to look for the One who does. Do you?
See information about the source of the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_Your_Kingdom_Here
Read here about the band that wrote the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rend_Collective
Read some more about the band here: https://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Rend_Collective_Experiment_Bringing_a_fresh_approach_to_worship_music/38854/p1/
Facebook page that shares the story to those granted access: https://www.facebook.com/rendcollective/posts/the-story-behind-build-your-kingdom-here-httptcoscozl2i1g0/10151547692831832/
See this video for song’s performance and for scripture that band shared at end of song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcSWpVKKMcs
See a really spirited rendition of the song by the band here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbdJXKqVgtg
Information about the album on which the song appears: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homemade_Worship_by_Handmade_People
Read an interesting review of the song here: https://www.thebereantest.com/rend-collective-build-your-kingdom-here
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