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Steve Lindsley - I Believe

from Round 38, Week 2 by Monday Morning 3AM Music Club

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Fun fact: when I started this songwriting group 26 songs ago, I dared myself to not write songs with an overtly religious message. As a pastor I pretty much live in that world and was looking forward to branching out of it a bit. That said, when the week's prompt is to "write a song you could sing in church....."

As it turns out, this round I'm paralleling each week's song with the overall message of each track of U2's "The Joshua Tree," and for this Week 2 the second song happens to be "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Despite what the title appears to say, I've always thought this song to be a statement of faith - certainly not a faith that claims to have all the answers or be content with the way the world currently is (who could be?).

So I decided to essentially write an Affirmation of Faith, which in my tradition is a part of the worship service where we corporately affirm our faith, typically using a creed from our church history. I based these lyrics off the Iona Creed, which does an amazing job of holding tension in the messiness that belief can often be, and recognizes doubt not as the antithesis of faith but rather a testimony to it.

Somewhat ironically, I probably couldn't get away with singing this song in my current church, which embraces more of the traditional. But I bet I could sing it in somebody's church.

lyrics

I believe in a higher power
A presence in the dark before the dawn
A song of joy heard in the suffering
I believe in uncertain waiting
Where doubt and faith come together and link arms
The two as one

This is the journey that I'm on
I've just begun

All we've ever known
A drop of water in
A deep and massive sea
All above, below
All I hope to be
This I believe

I believe that beliefs should take us
Beyond a safe place out into the world
And into our vulnerability
I believe love will always win
No matter who you are or who you love
Such a wide embrace

Stand with those living on the edge
We raise their voice

All we've ever known
The colors bleed to one
A million rising suns
Darkness turns to day
Light for all to see
This I believe

I believe we have more in common
Than what might tear us apart

And when we think we’ve found it all
Still looking for

All we've ever known
A drop of water in
A deep and massive sea
All above, below
All we hope to be
This I believe

credits

from Round 38, Week 2, released September 5, 2022

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Monday Morning 3AM Music Club Winston Salem, North Carolina

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