Pop goes the worship!

(Edit: After starring at that picture for a while, I realize just how creepy it is. She's going to eat your brain. Don't stare for too long. You'll turn to stone. Ok, I'm done now...)

On Wednesday, Ed tried something that I thought was kind of insane. During worship, he inserted the chorus of "Replay" by IYAZ into our normal rendition of "Forever" by Chris Tomlin. The words are as follows:

"Shawty like a melody in my head that I can't keep out got me singing like "na na na na" every day. Like my iPod's stuck on replay."

Now, the true professionals among us can justify this by noting that OBVIOUSLY God is Shawty. Even the most grizzled theologian can reach that conclusion. But I think one of the more basic question that reaches each of us is "Should I include a Miley Cyrus song in my worship service?"

I've racked my brain for the better part of thirty seconds, and came up with some tips for helping you discern the right time to throw down with Jay-Z.

1. Are there curse words? This is a deal breaker unfortunately. Unless you're Mark Driscoll. Then go for it. But seriously, probably not a good idea at that point.
   
2. Do you have to change the words? This one might be a bit snobby of me, but as a song writer is drives me crazy when people change the words to someone else's song. I know that one word is driving you nuts, and if it wasn't there it would make the perfect song for your situation. But it's not your song, and one word is more than enough reason not to do it. Plus, your kids are probably going to hear the song on the radio anyway, hear that word, and think that you've endorsed it. Just don't do it. Fight temptation.
   
3. Just a dab will do ya! Don't think you have to cover the whole song. I think the drop in is the most effective strategy here. Just a chorus, or a bridge, will do just fine. For Replay/Forever, Ed just stole the chorus, which was more than enough to get the point across, and fit the topic pretty well.
   
4. Look for a song that's already out there. This one's more for the musicians, but try to find something that fits musically with what you're doing. I'll give away the big one Ed and I were holding on to, that Jordin Sparks "Battlefield" is IDENTICAL to Awesome God. Listen to it again. It's exactly the same. That's handy for the in and out drop in.
   

So there are some suggestions. Have you ever tried this before? Leave some comments below!

Godspeed,

Jason