Last night, I was in one of those moods to create.  Every now and then, I’ll sit down and say to myself, “You need to write a new song.”  Last night, in particular, I wanted to write a slow song for an intimate worship time.  I sat down with my guitar and my thoughts, and lo, and behold….nothing came out.  Try as I might, I couldn’t come up with a single original thought or musical idea.

This reminds me of a truth that I knew before last night, but that I often forget when songwriting.  Don’t push it!  The harder I try to write “the” next great worship song, the less effective my songs will be.  The more requirements that I place upon myself to write a song “right this minute”, the less likely that I am to actually accomplish this goal.  Last night, I could have forced something out, I am sure.  However, I know that it would not have been my best work, and worst of all, would not reflect a genuine experience with our Lord, an important feature for worship music.

So, when you are writing for worship and nothing comes out, don’t force it.  The tricky part of writing worship music is that it is hard work, but if you work too hard at it, you’ll crush your songwriting potential like a delicate flower.  Here’s an interview where Tomlin addresses some of the same ideas.  Check it out!

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