I may find the music funny, but the words are familiar Christ’s redemption of the wayward teenager isn’t new. What that means for me is this: If reaching today’s young people with the good news of Jesus Christ looks a lot more like Y&F’s message than Hillsong United or even Don Moen’s – more power to them.īesides, while I may not be inclined towards Y&F’s new stuff on a musical level, some of the other messages within the latest single are, without exaggeration, actually timeless. Think about what the apostle Paul said: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22b).Īll possible means. For in reaching out to the people we want to introduce to Christ, the effectiveness of our methods must always be on our minds.
So while the album isn’t recognisably “Christian” – I don’t think that’s what Hillsong Y&F is trying to do – it’s not a bad thing.
The songs aren’t overtly Christian, but they’re not particularly covert in the way they reflect on life and faith either.įorms of music or styles of worship, at the end of the day, are just preferences. You’d have to go out of your way to insist that the song isn’t Christian (and to what end?). Throughout the stanzas, there’s a distinct sound of young hearts crying out for something more – a “higher way” – and we get a strong hint of that in the hook of the chorus: “We want the truth… I know it’s You.”
And that’s understandable.īut if I can speak plainly, I think we risk being myopic if we focus on that one (legitimate) observation. So while choruses with “na-na” in them do nothing to help my intimacy with God and are songs that I would prefer not to sing in a church service, I recognise that it might help thousands of younger people find God and begin to walk with Him.Īnd I’ve journeyed with enough young people to learn that a disparaging and exasperating spirit certainly won’t.īut what about the lyrics of “Best Friends”?ĭepending on who you’ve been talking to, there’s been some concern over the seeming omission of God and Jesus’ name. It’s not something primary or doctrinal even worth fighting or separating over. And I’ll tell you why: Forms of music or styles of worship, at the end of the day, are just preferences. That’s not necessarily me, but the band carries a message I can still get behind. So, who’s the band looking to impact? According to Toggs: “It’s also about zeroing in on a person that might be lost, that the songs may inspire them to find God and find their path.”
THIR.ST TALKS: Getting real with Hillsong Young & Free Therefore, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that I didn’t immediately get it (the music and message) because I wasn’t the exact target or demographic. That’s as young as those born in 2007 to give us a little perspective (oof). Similarly, Y&F is a younger band for younger people today, probably something like 13-21 years old. In other words, Hillsong United (formed in 1998!) was a band that came out of my generation, for my generation. That was how Y&F first came to the fore in 2012. In a 2016 Billboard interview, Y&F worship leader Laura Toggs shared that as members of Hillsong United (I liked these guys very much) matured and began to “have families of their own and take on adulthood, many people at the church felt that there was a need for a new group that would aim its message at younger people with a stimulating new sound”. I really don’t wanna be that guy (after all, where does the criticism end?), so I thought I’d at least try and understand Y&F a little better. I had turned into that Uncle who had such disparaging opinions of the songs I listened to when I was growing up. That was the precise moment I realised that I really was just being critical and judgmental. If I could describe my taste in Christian music now, it’s probably a lot more Methodist in nature (just to give you an idea, I really love the hymns at Bible Study Fellowship).Īs the “Best Friends” music video continued to play, I found myself stewing in increasingly uncharitable thoughts as the worship leader pranced around on screen. Worship is doubly challenging, though I do try my best to sing to God. Because, unlike before, I now find it impossibly hard to connect with loud rock songs or the droning tones of much modern music. Some serious things must have happened over the years to kill this young and excitable teenager inside of me. For a moment, in my head, I went back to a better time – a time when I would eagerly queue up for Hillsong United concerts and anticipate being awestruck by the shenanigans of Planetshakers’ double-pedalling maniac on the drums.