Jesus, Son of God -- Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher, Jason Ingram

 

These friends did what friends with a common interest so often do, when they are together. Matt Maher and Jason Ingram remember, years later, that it happened one time when they were in Fresno, California (see the flag for Fresno here), and as they were apparently improvising with an unrehearsed song fragment, a message to “Jesus, Son of God” emerged. It was an experience, perhaps one that these two didn’t even really expect. But it must have stuck with them, because they evidently relayed to a third friend, Chris Tomlin, what had risen to the surface from that episode. The finished product was the work of Matt, Jason, and Chris, but certainly they’d be quick to admit that another was present throughout the song’s development. What happened during this whole process underscores one more time that a Spirit – in this case, known as the Counselor, or even better, the Breath of the Spirit of Life – is the creative X-factor when a song that speaks about God comes to life.  

 

To hear Matt, Chris, and Jason relate the evolutionary process of ‘Jesus, Son of God’ is to hear these fellows describe what happens when songwriters understand intimately that scripture is still active today. In the short space of a couple of minutes, Matt and Chris shared ideas from three parts of His word as they reflected on the song in a video in 2016 (see the YouTube link below). Matt said that what happened (at least four years earlier, in 2012) was that the chorus arose during a tour stop that he and Jason made in Fresno; that the words ‘on the altar of your praise…’ and the song’s title formed the embryo of what would later be the completed body of the song.  It was the two of them being ‘…iron sharpening iron’ (Proverbs 27:17), as Matt recalled, to give voice to the initial words. And then, at a crucial point, ‘God breath(ed) fresh air’ upon what the two of them were doing, so Matt and Jason must have really felt personally that He is a Spirit with a Breath of Life, not unlike when God created living beings (Gen. 1:30; 2:7; 7:22). Perhaps they sensed Him as the Counselor also (John 14:26), the Being who was there to teach and guide their music-making. Chris further shared that the verse with the words ‘…crown of thorns…forgiveness…upon your face’ were his favorite in the entire song, because they recalled for him what one writer said about the necessity of shed blood in the courtroom of God’s justice and forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). God required a blood sacrifice in the Old Testament law, and that’s a principle that Jesus could not ignore as He went about inaugurating a New Way; in these few song lyrics, Chris and his friends reemphasize for us that Jesus was not only honoring God’s ancient law -- by wearing the crown of thorns, He shed even more of His blood from His scalp -- but also that He was demonstrating a ‘love…the world had never known’.  

 

To call Him ‘Jesus, Son of God’ might seem pretty simple. It’s just four short words. But, at the root of what Matt, Chris, and Jason have written here is the revolutionary impact on everyone who’s ever lived when those four short words, or their equivalent, are uttered. Just check out how His identity, when shared with others, stirred the passions of those He faced (like in Mark 14:61-63). Surely, these three contemporary songwriters knew what they were proclaiming with their lyrics – something pretty unsettling, for some. He came to bring a sword (Matthew 10:34), but He wasn’t averse to that sword’s effect on Himself. That’s courage, even if the peril that your identity forces upon you makes you sweat blood (Luke 22:44), even before you are offered as a sacrifice for everyone who’s ever inhabited or will inhabit this planet. What a yoke for anyone to bear! He just had to be Divine, to endure all this.       

 

 

See the songwriters discuss the song’s genesis here: Jesus, Son of God, Matt Maher, Jason Ingram, Chris Tomlin (youtube.com) (YouTube video of an Essential Worship late night artist spotlight [at the Experience Conference in Orlando] on 10/8/2016)

 

See information on the Fresno flag here: File:Flag of Fresno, California.svg - Wikimedia Commons. This work was created by a government unit (including state, county, city, and municipal government agencies) that derives its powers from the laws of the State of California and is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 6250 et seq.). It is a public record that was not created by an agency which state law has allowed to claim copyright, and is therefore in the public domain in the United States.

Let Us Be You -- Clarissa Cox and Michael Lusk

 

What was on the minds of Clarissa Cox and Michael Lusk when they wrote some lyrics and married them up with notes that were published in 2005? Perhaps it would be close to the mark to suggest that Clarissa and Michael were thinking about helping people who were depressed because of the overwhelming atmosphere of their lives. Were they street people, maybe those who were just hungry, as God the Son Himself once observed? (See an image of loaves and fish, a painting found in the Catacomb of Callixtus, that is a reminder of Jesus serving people by feeding 5,000 on one occasion [recorded in all four gospel accounts, Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; and John 6].) They musically asked God to “Let Us Be You” when they encountered these needy people, even as they must have realized that their own efforts would not be as miraculous as God’s. But, bring a bit of the kingdom here, as Jesus taught the men around Him once in a model prayer (Matthew 6:10), one that He taught them after teaching them about how to give to the needy, by the way. It’s a sobering thing, to be or represent God to others.

 

While we know not what the specific circumstances were that spurred Clarissa and Michael, nor very little about these two people, the words and music offer enough to motivate the ones who engage in the song’s message. ‘Let us be you’, the two of them thought about, in two ways: first, as a way to ‘revive the church’; and second, as his people ‘on this earth’, representing Him to others. Someone on the outside looking in might imagine, at least momentarily, that these two goals would be separate. What Clarissa and Michael propose, however, is an inextricable linkage of these two goals. The ‘hurting’, the ‘wounded’, the ‘lonely’, and even those who feel that ‘justice’ has abandoned them are all in this world that He created. What must these downtrodden be thinking – might it be even anger that occupies their thoughts, that God has ignored them? Even churches, inhabited by people who are seemingly doing fine, can begin to feel blasé about their routines; so, these two songwriters were doing perhaps a bit of self-examination here, and admitting that the church or churches in their fields of vision needed rejuvenation, even as hurting people who needed a fresh start surrounded them. ‘Stir our spirits’ (v.1)…how, exactly? ‘Help us serve’, they answer. ‘Speak your truth!’ (v.2), Clarissa and Michael say, which is accomplished by helping others – the living proof, the evidence of our Christian values and a God-centered love for all people. ‘Live in our hearts, fill this body’ is what Cox and Lusk ask God to do, rather directly with the first line of this song. A worthy goal, and one that us imperfect humans definitely need Him to actuate.       

 

‘Be You’…’? Those are two small, but intimidating words for anyone to think about, and yet Clarissa and Michael chose to vocalize them. How could I possibly be God to someone else? Maybe these two songwriters also had pause, when they considered this. How would one express this, musically? Allow some music-nerdiness for a moment, if you will. Clarissa and Michael employ an unusual technique at one point, perhaps to emphasize that being ‘on’ this earth can be a bit harsh at times. Notice the major 2^nd interval -- in the music’s E-flat to F in the treble clef -- for ‘on’ this earth, sung four times throughout the song. It sounds a little dissonant (technically known in music theory as an imperfect consonance), perhaps to emphasize that things here on earth are not quite as blessed as they will be in the kingdom (where everything is in perfect consonance). I’m only an imperfect creation, though I can behave wondrously when I allow Him to spur my actions. Being Him, that’s what I aim at, though my mimicry is incomplete, and probably something I should admit to others when I stretch out a hand, and my heart, to assist them. But, come join the rest of us imperfect creatures He made, and see if you find a few more hints of Him among His body.     

 

See musical information about the major second interval here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_second

Read more about the Major second interval here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonance_and_dissonance

 

See information on the image of the fish and loaves here: File:Eucharistic bread and fish.jpg - Wikimedia Commons . This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer. {{PD-US-unpublished}} – for works that were never published anywhere before 2003 and whose author died before 1954 or, if the author's year of death is unknown or inapplicable, were created before 1904.

I Will Never Be the Same -- Geoff Bullock

 

Geoff Bullock was almost certainly in transition mode, though he may not have fully appreciated what that would entail as the next several months transpired. In 1995, he wrote “I Will Never Be the Same”, a statement he undoubtedly made while thinking of his spiritual health, though he doesn’t share precisely what motivated his songwriting in this particular case. Geoff was also perhaps beginning to sense that things were about to change for himself, in more than one way, so if he was reflecting something that he was feeling on several levels, that would be understandable. He’d been the worship minister for several years, after being one of a team of people that established what would later become the Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, a church that mushroomed into a megachurch in the 1980s and ‘90s. Perhaps that atmosphere and its impact were what had Geoff feeling a bit overwhelmed by the mid-1990s, by his own admission. He’d been the guy who had arranged their annual worship conferences since 1987, so when he eventually left in late 1995, there was a lot of personal momentum that came to a halt, though he could not change what – and who -- had already affected him permanently. God had his own purposes, as Geoff later told someone, though he remained somewhat in the dark about the events of the mid-1990s.

 

“I Will Never…” was set to be recorded live at Hillsong in the latter part of 1995, as part of the album “Shout to the Lord”, when Geoff departed from the project and the church abruptly, an episode that left many wondering what had happened. Geoff admitted in an interview nearly 10 years hence that he’d become ‘burnt out’, and that he felt at the time that God was telling him to go. Looking back, he wasn’t so sure anymore, but said he just needed to work on himself for a time. Eventually, his marriage would end (in 1996) following his departure from Hillsong, and he found himself also dealing with various mental health symptoms that would later be characterized as bipolarity. Despite his health challenges, which he didn’t completely comprehend in 1995, Geoff continued to write songs and lead the worship conference, even as a widening gap between how he felt about his ability and how others looked upon him began to develop. From his own comments, one cannot really identify all of the details of Geoff’s insides, though his lyrics do indicate he was an inward-looking songwriter, trying to be responsive to what his Creator was telling him. Introspection was an essential part of what drove Geoff’s spirit. That’s what comes through clearly in ‘I Will Never…’, as Geoff writes about his being unable ‘to return’, and ‘closing the door’ (v.1), but nevertheless trying to answer what he felt God was prompting him to do. ‘I’ll walk the path, I’ll run the race’ (v.1), he said; and then, he sounds like he’s really relishing the life God has for him, even if events ‘fall like fire’, ‘soak like rain’, and ‘rush like mighty waters’, to turn things upside down or inside out – to ‘sweep away…darkness’, burn away…chaff’, in order to ‘glorify (God’s) name’ (v.2). Geoff stood ready to climb ‘higher heights’, and navigate ‘deeper seas’, because he was willing to do ‘…whatever’ (v.3). Geoff didn’t mind if all this changed him irrevocably. He was going wherever and whenever God said ‘go’.

 

Geoff Bullock could not have been entirely content with what happened to himself in the mid-1990s – who could, if they had been in his shoes? But, feeling that God’s prodding you toward something – that was part of the Hillsong church’s neo-Pentecostal atmosphere and message. Experience God at a deep, personal level. Listening to Him, then, was a habit that Geoff would not change, even while his own personal struggles and relationship breakups seemed to complicate matters. Did Geoff reason that a good God doesn’t sabotage a seeker’s life, at least not with some other purpose in mind? Other historical characters must have wondered at times, too -- guys like Joseph, who landed in prison once; and Paul whose life also did a 180-degree turn and landed him in trouble more than once. Makes you wonder what God is doing, sometimes. But Geoff and the others did not stop in the valleys, and neither should we.                

 

Read about the songwriter here:  Geoff Bullock - Wikipedia

 

The song appears on this album, recorded in 1995: Shout to the Lord (album) - Wikipedia

 

Read more about the songwriter here: Geoff Bullock: No Longer the Golden Boy | ChristianToday Australia

 

See information on the flag of Australia here: File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg - Wikimedia Commons.  This image is protected by Crown Copyright because it is owned by the Australian Government or that of the states or territories, and is in the public domain because it was created or published prior to 1974 and the copyright has therefore expired. The government of Australia has declared that the expiration of Crown Copyrights applies worldwide.