United Pursuit – Head to the Heart

United Pursuit (formerly known as Will Reagan & United Pursuit) began their careers by buying a house in 2006 in Knoxville, Tennessee.  They hope to win young people over for Jesus.

They released an impressive total of 19 combined albums and EP’s, including:

• EP (2008)
• Radiance (2009)
• In the Night Season (2009)
• Live at the Banks House (2009)
• Love/War/Solar System (2011)
• Color Of Red (2011)
• Here Begin (2011)
• Endless Years (2012)
• Live At the Banks House (2013)
• The Wild Inside (2014)
• Simple Gospel (Live) (2015)
• Looking for a Savior (2016)
• Simple Gospel B-Sides (2016)
• Tell All My Friends (2017)
• 40. (2017)
• Letting Go (2017)
• The Monthly EP (2018)
• Garden (2018)
• Garden (Live) (2018)

Also, see my reviews of Break Every Chain, Fill Me Up and Nothing I Hold Onto.

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?

United Pursuit is honest with “You”, whose love renews and entices them.  United Pursuit dives head-first into “You”, wanting to spend the rest of their life with “You”.  “You” gives them kindness and trust.  United Pursuit is willing to sacrifice to be with “You”, regardless of what others think.  “You” is more important to United Pursuit than words or good ideas.

Who is “You”?  I’m not sure.  The only hint that might lead us to conclude that it’s God is “You give me faith like a child”.  The word “faith” is often associated with religion, though not exclusively the Christian God.  However, it’s also easy to interpret the entire song as United Pursuit’s earthly lover.

If we assume the song is talking about God, there is potential that “In you, my heart runs wild” means behaving regardless of Godly living.  I’m uncertain about “I found Your love in the open fields”.  It sounds good, but requires clarity.

Score: 3/10

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

I will assume “You” refers to God throughout these lyrics and apply a two-point penalty.

Under this assumption, most of this song aligns with God’s inspired Word.  However, running wild (Verse 2, line 4) could potentially describe freedom to sin.  I’m also not sure what “I found Your love in the open fields” (Bridge, line 3) means.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

I open up to You

United Pursuit is brutally honest with God.  This is supported by the entire Psalms, which are full of honest feelings expressed towards God.

This love that makes me new

That is, a new creation (Isaiah 43:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Revelation 21:5).

Oh, may my heart receive
This love that carries me

United Pursuit loves God because He first loved them (1 John 4:19).

[Chorus 1]

From the head to the heart
You take me on a journey
Of letting go

United Pursuit’s thoughts and emotions grow in sanctification (John 17:19, Romans 8:1, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Philippians 3:9, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 10:10-14, and Hebrews 13:12), deny self (Matthew 5:29, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Mark 9:43, Luke 9:23, Acts 20:24, Philippians 3:2-11, Hebrews 11:25, and 1 Peter 2:11), and conform to His image (Romans 8:29, Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:10, and 1 Peter 1:14–15).

And getting lost in You

That is, totally immersed in God through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:4-5, Acts 2:1-4, Acts 11:15-16, and 1 Corinthians 12:13).

From the head to the heart
You take me on a journey
Of letting go
And getting lost in You

Repeats lines 1-4.

[Verse 2]

My heart is open wide

See Verse 1, line 1.

I will receive Your light

Those who follow Jesus will inherit His light (John 8:12).

You give me faith like a child

Christ gives United Pursuit child-like faith (Matthew 18:3).

In you, my heart runs wild

I’m not sure if this is the best way to describe United Pursuit’s freedom in Christ.  Merriam-webster describes run wild as behaving in a “wild and uncontrolled way”.  United Pursuit is free from the consequences of sin (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); However, they are not free to do whatever they want (Romans 6:1-2).  While there’s nothing wrong with spontaneous excitement (see Chorus 2, lines 1 and 2), God also disciplines United Pursuit for their good (Hebrews 12:10).

On the other hand, the “run wild” is “in You”, which may assume that United Pursuit’s freedom agrees with Godly behavior.  Thus, it is not a complete wild run, but free expression that the world might consider foolish (see Chorus 2, line 2).

I hesitate to describe “wild” behavior as Godly.  Perhaps a more precise alternative would be to sing, “In You, my heart runs free”.

[Chorus 2]

‘Cause there’s no shame
In looking like a fool

This draws inspiration from 2 Samuela 6:14 and 2 Samuel 6:17-22.  No, David wasn’t nude, much less in his tighty-whities when he danced before the Lord.  He wore priest clothes, dancing in front of common people in what his wife Michal described as an “undignified manner”.  He was the King of Israel!  Kings don’t dance with all their strength.  Except David did, and it wasn’t wrong.  Michal was incorrect for scolding her husband.

In the same manner, United Pursuit is not afraid of looking foolish in front of others.  Provided that they don’t violate Scripture or let their freedom become a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 8:9 and Galatians 5:13), then they should freely express themselves.

When I give You what I can’t keep
To take a hold of You

United Pursuit gives God their sin in exchange for His righteousness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

There’s no shame
In looking like a fool
When I give You what I can’t keep
To take a hold of You

Essentially repeats lines 1-4.

[Bridge]

More than words
More than good ideas
I found Your love in the open fields

While I agree that God is worth more than words and good ideas (Philippians 3:8-10), I’m not sure what finding God’s love in “the open fields” means.  I thought about Psalm 23:2 as a possibility, but this doesn’t describe “finding God” in green pastures.

More than words
More than good ideas
I found Your love in the open fields
More than words
More than good ideas
I found Your love in the open fields
More than words
More than good ideas
I found Your love in the open fields

Repeats lines 1-4.

[Outro]

And take a hold of You
And take a hold of You
And take a hold of You
And take a hold of You

Essentially repeats Chorus, 2, line 4.

Score: 6/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will likely conclude that this song is about United Pursuit’s human lover.  There’s nothing wrong with human love songs (Song of Solomon is a Scriptural example of this), but for a song that’s meant to be about God, United Pursuit missed the mark.  There might be some unbelievers who make a religious connection when they see the word “faith”, but as I said in section 1, it’s not tied to Christianity exclusively.

Score: 3/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It’s hard to conclude that this song inherently glorifies God when it’s so unclear.  If we assume that “You” is God, most of the song fits Biblically, except possibly that United Pursuit’s heart “runs wild”.

Score: 3/10

Closing Comments

United Pursuit’s Head to the Heart is vague.  It’s clear that United Pursuit is completely bonkers for “You”, not caring if others think them dumb for doing so.  However, “You” could be a human lover, God, or a life partner.  If it’s talking about God, United Pursuit is a new creation, exchanging their error for His righteousness.  He is the source of their faith, whose Spirit surrounds them.  Even still, “my heart runs wild” potentially describes living without consideration for sin, and “I found Your love in the open fields” is unclear.  Unbelievers will likely conclude that this song is about United Pursuit’s lover, though the word “faith” may cause some to see religion in these lyrics.

I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 3.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Head to the Heart (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: United Pursuit

Album: Simple Gospel (Live)

Genre: Pop

Release Year: 2015

Duration: 5:21

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*Copyright © 2015 United Pursuit Music (ASCAP) Capitol CMG Genesis (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.