Note: This is a slightly edited repost from September, 2010.
If you’ve been to an average American church, no doubt you know what a cheesy Christian song is all about. From “Shine Jesus Shine” to "From The Inside Out" to “I Can Only Imagine,” solid theology is out and emotions and feelings are in. I like what Stephen Nichols has to say about this.
One caveat: I like "Shine, Jesus, Shine!" :)
"Since Christians learn much of their theology from the songs they sing in corporate worship (and privately), no wonder American Christianity is a mile wide but only an inch deep." Well-said, Rev. Lems.
Shine Jesus Shine didn’t fare too well in the Praise Song Cruncher (“Flow River Flow? What is there a fourth “River” member of the Trinity now?) Sorry, I just ruined THAT song fer ya…
(you can ffwd to about 16min in if you want to save some time, but hey, why not enjoy the whole show?)
Thanks Rube!
Never took the song’s lyric as suggestive of a “quadrinity.”
Blog post about a similar subject: http://schreiberscribbles.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/catching-the-word-in-worship/