Maverick City Music (Feat. Naomi Raine, Chandler Moore & Todd Galberth) – Good News

To put it succinctly, Maverick City Music is the audience on stage.  Recently, they have collaborated with other artists such as Elevation Worship, Chandler Moore, and Brandon Lake to produce music.

They released seven EP’s and ten albums, including:

• Maverick City Vol. 1 EP (2019)
• Maverick City Vol. 2 EP (2019)
• Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 1 (2020)
• Maverick City Vol. 3, Part 2 (2020)
• You Hold It All Together (EP, 2020)
• Maverick City Christmas (EP, 2020)
• Move Your Heart (EP, 2021)
• Jubilee (EP, 2021)
• Como En El Cielo (Spanish, 2021)
• Old Church Basement (with Elevation Worship, 2021)
• Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition (2021)
• Tribl I (with Tribl, 2021)
• Venga Tu Reino (2021)
• A Very Maverick Christmas (2021)
• Breathe (EP, 2022)
• Simple Adoración (2022)
• Kingdom Book One (2022)

They won three awards last year, including one Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Album for their album Maverick City Vol. 3 Part 1 and two GMA Doves: New Artist of the Year and Worship Album of the Year (Old Church Basement).

Also, check out my previous Maverick City Music reviews.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Maverick-city-music-good-news-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?

Maverick City Music starts this song by describing the negative attitudes and beliefs of the world.  Where is the hope and freedom from a world full of pain and suffering?  Jesus!  He is the good news to a lost and dying world.  It briefly touches His empty grave, which implies His death and resurrection as the basis for our transformation.  We can find freedom.  However, God is going to change us.

To say that God is “in love” with us is an unfortunate phrasing. Yes, God loves us, deeply, and passionately. However, “in love” is closer to infaturation, where one’s emotional stirring and yearning compels them to act in strange and irrational ways just to be with the one they love; dependent on the other person just to feel alive. God isn’t like that. It goes far deeper than infatuation.

Finally, this song’s second half is full of ad-libs.  They are helpful because it clarifies that:

• God does not abandon His children.
• We should spread the good news about Jesus to the masses.
• Our lives before knowing Jesus were full of sin, shame, and guilt. This points to repentance and faith.

Though I often criticize songs for their ad-libs that stray from Scripture, in this case, they helped guide people out of believing that they could follow Jesus without sacrifice.

Side Note: To those who are annoyed by massive repetition, the phrase “God is in love with you” repeats often throughout this song, especially at the end.

Score: 9/10

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

It perfectly does, except for when Maverick City Music says that God is “in love” with us.

[Intro]

This isn’t posted on the Genius link, but…Maverick City Music says “ohh yeah”, which is also Kool-Aid man’s catchphrase. They also direct their audience to clap their hands.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-4: People talk about their problems, similar to the nagging wife in Proverbs 27:15-16.

Lines 5-8: Maverick City Music appeals to that part of us that is looking for hope amid a sin-stained world (Jeremiah 17:9).

[Chorus]

Lines 1-6: The good news is the empty grave, which, there cannot be a resurrection without a death.  This points to Jesus’ death on the cross, which was out of love for us amid our sinful state of rebellion, as alluded to in Verse 1 (Romans 5:6-8).

After that, Maverick City Music asks their audience to jump, followed by more references to Kool-aid man.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: Freedom is found in Jesus (Psalm 119:45, Isaiah 58:6, Isaiah 61:1, John 3:16-21, John 8:31-36, John 10:10, Acts 13:38-39, Romans 6:1-23, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 8:20-21, 1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 7:21-23, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 2:4, Galatians 3:13, Galatians 3:22, Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, Colossians 1:21-23, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 Peter 2:16).

Line 3: An expectation that the way that we live our lives will be different than before knowing Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

[Bridge]

Lines 1-6: While God’s love for us does not depend on our 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), the phrase “in love” carries with it an emotional dependence on the object of affection.  Yes, God loves us, but His love is not dependent on us (Genesis 1:1, Exodus 3:14, Psalm 50:7-15, Psalm 90:1-2, Job 38:4-7, John 1:1-4, John 17:5, and Revelation 4:11).

As for the ad-libs, the only things that I heard that weren’t discussed are:

• The “ooh” filler that I poke fun at with my “Casper the friendly ghost” comment.
• He will not forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:8-9, 1 Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 118:6, Lamentations 3:22-23, and Hebrews 13:5-6).
• Tell others about Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20).
• Off the heels of the previous point, for folks to pull out their phone, record themselves singing the Chorus/Bridge as though they were singing it to the unbeliever, then send it to them; ask the Holy Spirit who to send this to.  If you look at the video (linked at the end of this review), there are people onstage who are also recording, which is excellent leadership.
• Again, based on previous points, Maverick City Music mentions that we were rescued from sin, guilt, and shame.  This points to Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24.
• A partial cover of Clare Herbert Woolston’s Jesus loves the little children.
• A partial cover of Anna Bartlett Warner’s Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Jesus is the good news. Jesus is explicitly mentioned and the good news is stated in a roundabout way that those who are familiar with Christ crucified will comprehend it. Those who are foreign to Christian concepts will require some additional explanation on why the “empty grave” is good news. All of it is written in plain English.

While a God that is “in love” with them could potentially lead them to think that they could live apart from repentance,  Maverick City Music’s ad-lib on forsaking sin and shame makes this interpretation difficult to stick.  Still, it would have been better to say that God loves them and not “in love” with them.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that Maverick City Music calls us to proclaim the good news about Jesus to those who don’t know Him, this song implies that the good news stems from His death and resurrection, and that freedom, transformation, and a clean slate are possible in Jesus’ name, it does not bring Him glory when it says God is “in love” with us, as though God is dependent on us.

Score: 9/10

Closing Comments

Maverick City Music’s Good News is mostly great. It calls us to remember that the world is broken, Jesus is the solution, and others need to be told about His love for mankind. These glorify God. However, the concept of God “in love” with us sounds like God is dependent on us, which is not true. While most unbelievers should be able to follow along with little difficulty, those who aren’t privy to the meaning of the empty grave will be lost.

Without the ad-libs, some of this song becomes a bit more unclear surrounding the role of repentence and faith.  This, alongside God “in love” with us, makes it difficult for me to recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Good News (listen to the song)

Artist: Maverick City Music (Feat. Naomi Raine, Chandler Moore & Todd Galberth)

Album: The Maverick Way Complete

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2023

Duration: 9:07

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