Zach Williams – Old Church Choir

Zach Williams is not a name I am familiar with.  As of this writing, according to his website,

Most recently he can add recording artist to the list. Zach is no novice to the music industry. He had spent a majority of his life traveling with various bands. It was while on the road that the Lord grabbed a hold of him and he decided to leave the rock star life behind.

After that, Zach transitioned into a position at the Refuge Campus of Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas in which he still serves. It came as a shock when the opportunity to sign with Provident Label Group as a new Christian artist arose. Never in his wildest dreams did Zach Williams think that he would be in this place of writing and recording music in the Christian music industry, especially from years of hard living on the road while in a rock & roll band.

His personal testimony of receiving freedom in the Lord is so beautifully reflected in his debut single Chain Breaker. The song came from a place of wanting to reach people who had been struggling and it undoubtedly has. Over the course of its release in the summer of 2016, an influx of stories has been shared on his various social media pages by people who have experienced the life-changing power of broken chains.

Quite touching!  At some point, I would like to review this song for its biblical accuracy, but for now…I will review his song Old Church Choir.

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?

He is joyous because he has a Gospel song in his heart and wishes to share it with others.  While it is good to share Gospel music with other people, the focus is on the music itself and not on the actual message.  This becomes more obvious when we examine the Bridge (see section 2).  This may not have been Williams’ intent; However, that is what he conveys when he states that we should slap and pound our extremities ’til we find that good beat as something we will ever need.

Score: 1/10

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

Very little of these lyrics line up with Scripture.  There is an overemphasis on the music and only lip service to salvation.  Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

There’s revival, and it’s spreading
Like a wildfire in my heart
Sunday morning, Hallelujah
And it’s lasting all week long

Can you hear it?
Can you feel it?
It’s the rhythm of a gospel song
Ohhh once you choose it, you can lose it
There ain’t nothing, there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy

The revival is…a rhythm of a gospel song?  Don’t take this the wrong way, gospel music is great and can minister to many people as a tool for evangelism; however, there is an overemphasis on the music in this verse.

[Chorus]

I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation and it’s beautiful
I’ve got a heart overflowing ’cause I’ve been restored
There ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy
No there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy

Our joy is in salvation (Psalm 9:14, Palm 13:5, Psalm 35:9, and 1 Peter 1:6-9), in trials and tribulations that produce perseverance (Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4) and in good works (John 15:1-11 and 1 Peter 4:13).  Joy is an out flowing of salvation as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  While many born-again Christians will know about restoration from personal experience (John 1:12, Acts 3:19-21, Galatians 4:5-7, and Romans 9:8), this is not clear in these lyrics.

[Verse 2]

When the valleys, that I wander
Turn to mountains, that I can climb
Oh, You are with me, never leave me
Oh ’cause, there ain’t nothing there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy

Who is the “You” described in line 3?  Once again, born-again Christians will understand this to mean God or Jesus; however, it is not clear in this line.

[Bridge]

Clap your hands and stomp your feet
’til you find that gospel beat

Once again emphasizing the music, not the Gospel message.

’cause it’s all you’ll ever need
All you’ll ever need

Unbiblical as the antecedent is about the “gospel beat”, not about God, which is truly what we need (Psalm 37:4, John 3:1-21, John 4:13-14, John 12:46, John 14:6, Romans 8:14, and Philippians 4:19).

I’ve got an old church choir, singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation, and it’s beautiful

A repeat of Chorus, lines 1 and 2.

[Outro]

I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation and it’s beautiful
I’ve got a heart overflowing ’cause I’ve been restored
There ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy
No there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy
Oh there ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy

A repeat of Chorus, including derivatives.

Score: 1/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

There is great joy in Gospel music.  Given the lack of clarity about a relationship with Jesus, they would likely not receive any Gospel from this.

Score: 0/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Gospel music.

Score: 0/10

Final Comments

Sadly, this song follows a dangerous pattern in Christian music.  The power of the Gospel is stripped from the forefront and is replaced with an emphasis on peripheral benefits.  It also contains an unbiblical statement that all we ever need is a gospel beat.

Final score: 0.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Old Church Choir (listen to the song)

Artist: Zach Williams

Album: Chain Breaker

Genre: Gospel

Release Year: 2016

Duration: 2:56

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

*Copyright © 2016 Be Essential Songs (BMI) EGH Music Publishing (BMI) Wisteria Drive (BMI) Fair Trade Music Publishing (ASCAP) Colby Wedgeworth Music (ASCAP) Anthems of Hope (BMI) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved.  Used with permission.

Updates:

03/06/2019 – I was unclear as to why I gave the message 1/10.  I added additional rationale for the low rating.