The Best and Worst Christian Songs–Your Nominations

The Best and Worst Christian Songs—Your Nominations

I invite you to nominate Christian songs as “best” and “worst” using theology as the criterion. Please do not include whole verses or choruses in your nominating comment! Copyright laws forbid it. Just include a line or two and how that illustrates what’s theologically good or bad about the song. Follow my example below.

Also, please explain your nominations briefly.

Finally, please do not nominate songs that are so obscure nobody would have ever heard of them or songs drawn from non-Christian sources or hymnbooks (etc.) of denominations considered sectarian or “cultic” for doctrinal reasons. Choose songs large swaths of Christians might have sung or heard.

My nomination for best Christian song is “And Can It Be?” by Charles Wesley. The whole gospel is there—everything one needs to know to understand the gospel. Sure, it uses imagery that needs explaining to most unchurched contemporary people (and some churched ones, too!), but theologically it is comprehensive and profound. I have sung it in all kinds of churches—including strongly Calvinist ones. It’s beautiful, theologically profound, thought-provoking and God-glorifying.

My nomination for worst Christian song is “He Was There All the Time.” A line from the chorus says of Jesus “…waiting patiently in line; he was there all the time.” The overall gist of the song is that Jesus is the pot of gold at the rainbow’s end and just waiting in a line among other good things to be chosen. This was recorded by several Christian recording artists some years ago and I have heard it sung as a “special number” (trios, duets, solos, choirs) in churches. Obviously, someone wasn’t thinking biblically or theologically. It reminds me of the bumper sticker I saw just yesterday that says “Jesus Is the Pizza of Life!” Seriously.