I’ve ranted before about how, if you don’t like the lyrics to a worship song, leaders should feel free to change it. Of course, as a worship leader, you should know what the heck you’re talking about before you do so.
Case in point—the DC Talk version of “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum. They decided to change this bit…
- ♫ Never been a sinner
- ♫ I’ve never sinned
- ♫ ’Cause I’ve got a friend in Jesus
- ♫ So you know that when I die
- ♫ He’s gonna set me up with the Spirit in the sky
…to reflect their theology:
- ♫ You know that I’m a sinner
- ♫ We all sin
- ♫ But I’ve got a friend in Jesus
So the DC Talk version reflects a more Calvinist total-depravity belief about sin: that everybody does it. Whereas the Greenbaum original reflects a more Arminian sanctification belief about sin: that Jesus washed those sins away.
So which one’s more theologically correct? More hopeful? More inspiring? More likely to work on pagans? Should DC Talk have been futzing with it?
(Musically, though, I’ve gotta go with Greenbaum; that guitar lick rocks.)