Brandon Lake, Nate Moore, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, & Tony Brown – This Is a Move

This Is a Move contains four authors: Brandon Lake, Nate Moore, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, & Tony Brown.

Brandon Lake recently joined the roster of Bethel Music artists in January 2019.  He loves to write about songs about extending God’s Kingdom and currently serves as a worship pastor in their Seacoast Church Charleston, South Carolina location.

Nate Moore and Tony Brown are both members of Housefires. They serve as co-worship pastors for Grace Midtown Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard is a solo artist, formerly leading worship at Dream Center Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  She currently serves as a worship leader at Relentless Church in Greenville, South Carolina.

Since this song contains multiple authors, I’ll reference them by combining their first name initials: “BNTT”.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Brandon-lake-this-is-a-move-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

BNTT believes that God performs miracles today when He moves.  They request Him to “do what He does” because they need a miracle.  While I appreciate that they ask God to redirect their hearts to Him, their rationale for His wonders comes across as insistence. They seem more interested in what God can do as opposed to who He is.  While I laud BNTT’s faith, their heightened focus is concerning.  “We’re here for you so that you can work miracles” is what I hear.

Score: 6/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Much of it agrees with Scripture; However, the end of Chorus sounds more like a demand for a miracle than a request.  Also, as mentioned in section 1, BNTT seems fixed more on God’s works than on His character.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: BNTT believes that God still moves mountains (Matthew 17:20 and Mark 11:23-24), loosen strongholds (Jeremiah 1:10 and 2 Corinthians 10:4), and performs wonders through believers (1 Corinthians 12:10).

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: BNTT tells God that they are here to serve and invite God to…be God.

Lines 3 and 4: Repeats lines 1 and 2.

Line 5: That is, BNTT asks God to reorient their hearts so that their desires are for Him (Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 2:29, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and 2 Corinthians 7:10).

Line 6: Repeats line 2.

Lines 7 and 8: BNTT’s rationale for their request is that they need another miracle.  Unfortunately, this comes across as demanding, focusing on the gift instead of the Giver.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: More examples of modern miracles that show God is still moving.  Line 2 is an allegorization of David slaying Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:50.

Lines 3 and 4: Repeats lines 1 and 2.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Yes, yes they do.

Line 3: Repeats line 1.

Line 4: Essentially repeats line 2.

Lines 5-8: Repeats lines 1-4.

Line 9: It certainly is!

Line 10: Repeats line 9.

Score: 6/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

BNTT is clear in their communication, that God works miracles, and Christians are here for Him.  I appreciate the faith that BNTT offers before unbelievers; However, their high focus on God’s works makes it sound like receiving miracles from God is more important than knowing Him.  It will likely act as a stumbling block to following Jesus for who He is.

Score: 5/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God by stating He works miracles, its fixation on miracles zaps much of it away.

Score: 6/10

Closing Comments

Brandon Lake, Nate Moore, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, & Tony Brown’s This Is a Move is a mixed bag.  Although it correctly describes God as a miracle worker, who ought to direct our hearts towards Him, its focus on God’s miracles and seeming demand for them makes it sound like His acts are more important than Him, dulling His glory.  It’s great to talk about the benefits of God; However, I fear that it may act as a barrier to following Jesus for unbelievers.

I cannot recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 6/10

Artist Info

Track: This Is a Move (listen to the song)

Artist: Brandon Lake, Nate Moore, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, & Tony Brown

Album: N/A

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2019

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

Updates:

06/25/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Brandon Lake’s theology via Bethel Music.

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.