taken from relevant magazine, july/august 2005.

written by jason boyett [the pocket guide guy].

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Romanticized Boyfriend Jesus

  Contemporary worship music has done a lot of good things for the Church over the last 30 years, not the least of which is enlivening the worship experience for a generation that had trouble relating to centuries-old hymns and might-as-well-be-that-old Gaither choruses. However, the modern worship movement brought with it an unfortunate by-product: the extreme to which we've taken the "Bride of Christ" metaphor. Song of Solomon was one thing. John Donne and Teresa of Avila took it a step further. The classic hymnster Issac Watts even threw his hat into the ring with "Jesus, Lover of My Soul."

  But us? We've driven the Love Truck over the edge. You won't get far in contemporary worship music without running into achingly intense expressions of desire for the Son of God. Critics have called it the "Jesus Is My Boyfriend" syndrome, in which the Bridegroom has become the object of our romanticism. Oh, how we love Jesus. We long to be with Him. We want to touch Him. We want to see His face.

  Sing it with me now, and be sure to scrunch your eyes up with emotion: "Jesus, I am so in love with You."

  Good: God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and believers are instructed to love Him back with all their hearts, minds, souls and strength. Magnifying God through worshipful music is a good place to start.

  Bad: But it's the magnifying God part we often forget about. Because when we sing songs about how much we looooove Jesus, the main focus isn't on Jesus; it's about us. About our love for the Son of God. Next Sunday, count the number of self-congratulatory songs that talk about what we, the worshippers, will do. We will worship. We will lift up our hands. We will shout, stand, sing, clap, etc. The majesty, holiness and glory of God? The Savior who rescued us from sin and death? Not so much the focus there.

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sounds like a familiar drum beat...