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New Songs for Our First Love
(Thoughts on
Worship Leadership & Songwriting in The Salvation Army)
by
Phil Laeger
A friend recently asked me, “Phil, what
if The Salvation Army just isn’t made to excel in worship
leading and worship songwriting? What if that’s just not our
thing as a denomination?” In essence, what he was asking was
whether I felt like I was wasting my time with my plea over
the years for the Army to devote more energy to training in
these areas.
At first, I’ll admit I was a little
hurt by the question. But upon reflection, I think it’s a fair
one. And so I’ve been wrestling to find an answer, and here’s
where I’ve landed…
We do so many good things as an
organization and denomination. We serve people well. We do
disaster work brilliantly. We rehabilitate men and women well.
We do camping well. All of these good works spring from our
inception as an Army of God unleashed upon the world as a
weapon against the enemy and the powers of darkness. In
essence, to win the world.
But to win the world…for Jesus. Through
Jesus. In His name and in His power, through the Holy Spirit.
If we lose that, then even our best good works risk becoming
disconnected from their eternal meaning. They risk becoming
band-aids on mortal wounds. Jesus is the reason. His kingdom.
His return. His rule and reign. Salvation in and through Him.
We’re an Army - but we are first and foremost a Salvation
Army.
When we first began, songs “flew off
the shelves” so to speak. We could not contain our
effervescence and excitement about Jesus - who He is, what He
can do, what He has done, and what He will do. We were in love
with Him, and we spent our lives and our songs in service to
Him in the world.
In some places, we have lost much of
that passion. I know there are still faithful voices and
vibrant worship happening across the globe, but in many
contexts we’ve grown quiet, distracted, or too dependent on
outside affirmation. Yet the Lord has something so much richer
for us.
I have tried to leave The Salvation
Army many times. Believe me, I’ve sought satisfaction in
serving the Lord through other means, in other places. But He
keeps bringing me back. And I’ve come to believe that one of
the reasons is so that I might - however imperfectly - remind
us not to silence our reckless and undying passion for Jesus
and His Word. The Army was built upon abandonment to Him fully
- in my mind’s eye, I see the young man kneeling and
proclaiming,
“God shall have all there is of William
Booth.”
That same holy abandonment to Jesus and
worship of Him in song and service is the cornerstone of who
we are. We need new songs that remind us of this - not merely
resting on the nostalgia of past moments, but living fully in
the here and now for Him, offering all of our creative efforts
to this end.
If we stop making *new* music for Him -
not simply brass and vocal arrangements of old songs - it
could be a symptom of a deeper heart-sickness. That’s why I
will keep advocating for worship leadership training and
worship songwriting development, so that we can better steward
our people into a deeper service flowing from a heart of love
for Him.
We need greater investment in these
areas - not just in musicianship, but in equipping leaders who
can shepherd congregations in worship with humility and
faithfulness. Some good work is already happening, but we need
more. And I know there are many of you who share this passion.
If that’s you, I encourage you to make your voice heard. Send
a message to your leaders. Let them know that you long to see
your people equipped and trained in this vital area. For Jesus
and for the sake of the world.
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