DEREK MAUL: Creativity and Worship

Monday, August 10, 2009

Creativity and Worship

Yesterday morning at church I sang a Beatles tune during our contemporary worship service. There's so much great music out there, and one of the things I enjoy doing is tweaking great songs so they work with the Praise Band.

So I sang "In My Life", a simple arrangement with two guitars and drums. It seemed to communicate pretty well and my re-write went like this:

There are places I'll remember, all my life, though some have changed. There are gifts that I've been given, some are gone but love remains. All these places had their moments, with lessons and prayers I still can recall; some are gone and some are living, In my faith God loves them all.

But of all these gifts and graces, there is no one compares with You. And while memories lose their meaning, I still see God's love as something new. Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them, But God's love is always more.

Though I know I'll never lose affection for people and things that went before, I know I'll often stop and think about them, But God's love is always more.

I'm guessing Lennon/McCartney would frown on such liberties being taken with their work. But here's my theory, as I told the congregation in church yesterday. I believe that all creativity comes from God, and that songwriters are expressing an important element of what it means to be created in God's image - whether they chose to acknowledge it or not...