DC Talk – What If I Stumble?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these last twenty years, you’ve likely heard of TobyMac or the Newsboys, possibly Delirious?.  Before Toby, Michael, and Kevin formed/joined separate bands, these three college students formed a band familiar to many.  DC Talk was their name.

Forming in 1987 in college, DC Talk released five albums:

• DC Talk (1989)
• Nu Thang (1990)
• Free at Last (1992)
• Jesus Freak (1995)
• Supernatural (1998)

They won four Grammy’s and 16 Dove awards for their work under this name.

Also, check out my review of Jesus Freak.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Dc-talk-what-if-i-stumble-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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The song’s main theme is about spiritual warfare.

The song starts by quoting from Brennan Manning, which I partially agree and disagree.  Christians are often hypocritical, but I think unbelief is the primary cause of atheism (see section 2).

DC Talk then asks a few rhetorical questions about what happens if they fall into temptation and sin.  They question their motives to sing songs, struggling to become holy.  They also recognize that their audience requires God’s love just as much as they do.

They cannot put their fears and tumult into words, fearing that their actions will lead to spiritual death.  They cannot hide anymore.  Others find out about DC Talk’s worries.

Acknowledging their walk with God is a snail’s pace and that we should all go through trials, they hear the still, small voice of God that tells them His love for them is unconditional, that is, God’s love for them is not conditioned on their performance.

While it might be tempting to think that this song incentivizes sinning so that grace might increase (Romans 6:1), these lyrics exist in the backdrop of Brennan Manning’s quote, which skewers the idea that Christians should express belief and not do what He says.

Score: 9/10

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

Almost all of it agrees with the Bible except part of the introduction.

[Intro]

Lines 1-4: Let me ask and answer some important questions:

1) Do some Christians “acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle”?  Yes they do.  In fact, Jesus warned Christians that if they deny Jesus before others, He will deny that Christian before the Father (Matthew 10:33).  It’s not enough to merely say that we believe in Jesus.  After all, the demons do the same, and shutter (James 2:19).  That’s the point of the oft-misquoted passage in James 2 in that faith without works is dead (James 2:26).  Faith that is without action is useless, thrown away and tossed aside.  They will say “Lord Lord” and Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you!” (Matthew 7:23).  This part is true.

2) Does an “unbelieving world simply finds [this] unbelievable”?  I don’t know any unbelievers who hold this view.  It could be true that generally speaking, the collective of unbelievers think it shocking that Christians are hypocrites, but judging from my personal interactions with hundred’s of atheists on the internet and a few in real life, countless “digs” by atheists such as Matt Dillahunty, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins about the hypocrisy of Christians, they don’t seem to find this shocking.  What turns heads is when a Christian is consistent and without hypocrisy.  That is simply unbelievable!  But Christians who “acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle”?  Not so much.

3) Are Christians who “acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle” the “the greatest single cause of atheism”?  Again, I must disagree.  According to the atheists I’ve talk to, Christian hypocrisy plays a role into the overall process of deconversion, but I haven’t seen any evidence to support that it’s the “single greatest cause”, but there is a correlation between Christian hypocrisy and deconversion of children according to research conducted by PhD student Joseph Langston.  That might have been what Brennan Manning intended, that it was the “leading” cause as opposed to the “greatest”.

According to Scripture, the “single greatest cause of atheism” is unbelief, not Christian hypocrisy (Romans 1:18-23).   We don’t help matters when we show a lack of love to those who don’t yet believe.  Perhaps we speak the truth, but fail to love, acting as “clanging symbols and noisy gongs” (1 Corinthians 13:1) rather than speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).  Perhaps we judge outsiders, contrary to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13.  We could do a better job representing Christ.  But, our hypocrisy is not the “greatest single cause of atheism in the world today”.

Lines 5 and 6: Great questions!  We’ll get to that later.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-8: The struggle that DC Talk has on stage is about their motive.  Why do they continue to sing on stage?  Is it about pleasing man or pleasing God (Galatians 1:10 and 1 Thessalonians 2:4)?  Is it about becoming holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, Romans 6:1-14, Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10-14, 1 Peter 1:13-16, 1 Peter 2:16) or famous (Matthew 6:1-7, 1 Peter 1:24, and 1 John 2:15-16)?  DC Talk is experiencing internal turmoil (Matthew 4:1-11, Romans 7:14-25, Ephesians 6:12-17, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

[Pre-Chorus 1]

Lines 1-4: Despite their struggle, with sin crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7), DC Talk recognizes that their audience needs God’s love, shown by what Jesus has done (John 3:16 and Romans 5:6-8).

[Chorus]

Lines 1 and 2: Repeats Intro, lines 5 and 6.

Lines 3-6: These are also great questions!  The answer is forthcoming.  Lines 1 and 2 repeats Intro

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats Intro, lines 5 and 6.

[Post-Chorus 1]

Lines 1 and 2: Repeats Intro, lines 5 and 6.

Lines 3 and 4: This hints at God’s response.  God does not leave nor forsake DC Talk when they stumble or fall (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:8-9, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 118:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, and Hebrews 13:5-6).

Lines 5 and 6: Repeats Intro, lines 5 and 6.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-4: DC Talk cannot put to words the daily inner-struggle they experience.  In such instances, Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:26-27).

Lines 5-8: DC Talk inquires that if there’s a reason for struggle to enter the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13), then why they are afraid that their sin would leave a permanent stain?  Perhaps they are worried about sin that leads to death (1 John 5:16-17).

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Lines 1-4: DC Talk wonders if others notice their struggle, realizing that it’s out in the open.  They can’t hide it.

[Bridge]

Line 1: Repeats Intro, line 5.

Line 2-5: The Christ follower’s daily walk towards holiness often progresses slowly, where they fight to overcome trials and tribulations (Psalm 66:8-12, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:5-9).

Lines 6 and 7: Repeats lines 2 and 3.

Lines 8-13: Repeats lines 2-7.

[Pre-Chorus 3]

Lines 1-4: God’s answers to DC Talk’s questions is that His love for them will not be altered based on their performance (1 Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5:13, 2 Chronicles 20:21, Psalm 89:2, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 117:1-2, Psalm 118:1-29, and Psalm 136:1-26, Lamentations 3:22-23, and Romans 8:38-39).  God will remain faithful, even if we are faithless, for God cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13).

[Post-Chorus 2]

Lines 1-6: Repeats Post-Chorus, lines 1-6.

Lines 7 and 8: God is the comfort of DC Talk (Psalm 23:4, Psalm 71:21, Psalm 119:50-52, Psalm 119:76, Psalm 119:82, Isaiah 51:3, Isaiah 57:18, Isaiah 61:2, Isaiah 66:13, Zechariah 1:17, Matthew 5:4, Matthew 11:28-30, and 2 Corinthians 1:3-7).

LInes 9 and 10: Repeats Verse 1, lines 1 and 2.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

I already talked about the song’s introduction in sections 1 and 2, that they would not find this shocking and would cite hypocrisy as a contributing factor, but not the “single greatest” cause of atheism.

It will be clear to unbelievers that DC Talk struggles internally between following God and chasing fame and that, regardless of their choice, God’s love is unchanging.  On a human level, this will be easy to identify with.  On a spiritual level, we cannot expect unbelievers to comprehend the internal turmoil of the consequences of sin in how it affects the relationship with God.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God in that it expresses His ceaseless love amid spiritual warfare, only slightly veiled by quoting from Brennan Manning’s partially incorrect statement.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

DC Talk’s What If I Stumble? is good overall.  It communicates the inner-struggle of daily living between holiness and fleshy desires, often leading to hypocrisy that contributes to unbelief in those around us.  Yet, God’s love is immovable, bringing Him glory.  Unbelievers will find this interpretation easy, though they will likely disagree with Brennan Manning as I do.

This song is thought-provoking and convicting, but not appropriate for corporate worship.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Artist Info

Track: What If I Stumble? (listen to the song)

Artist: DC Talk

Album: Jesus Freak

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), Hip Hop/Rap

Release Year: 1995

Duration: 5:06

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

Updates:

03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.