A Call to the Church

I love traditional Christmas carols. I truly do. “O Holy Night” moves me to tears every year. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is theological gold. “Silent Night” is hauntingly beautiful.

But we’ve been singing the same songs for 100, 200, even 300 years.

And I wonder: where are the NEW songs? Where are the fresh expressions of these timeless truths? Where are the stories told in the language and musical style of TODAY?

Why New Songs Matter

Psalm 96:1 commands, “Sing to the Lord a NEW song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”

Not INSTEAD of the old songs—but ALONGSIDE them. New songs for new generations. Fresh expressions of unchanging truth.

Our kids are growing up in a world that’s drastically different from even 20 years ago. They need Christmas music that sounds like THEIR music, that tells the story in ways that connect with THEIR hearts.

And honestly? So do we.

The Power of Story-Telling Songs

The Bible is full of songs that TELL STORIES:

• Moses sang about the Red Sea crossing
• Deborah sang about victory in battle
• Mary sang the Magnificat about God’s faithfulness
• The Psalms are full of narrative—telling God’s story

Music has always been how God’s people remember, celebrate, and pass down the faith.

But somewhere along the way, we settled. We stopped writing new stories. We let the old songs carry the weight of the entire Christmas narrative. And while they’re beautiful, they can’t be the ONLY way we tell the story.

What I’m Asking Churches to Do

I’m not asking you to throw out “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World.” I’m asking you to ADD to them.

I’m asking worship leaders to consider: what if we sang a NEW song about Mary’s faith journey alongside “O Little Town of Bethlehem”?

What if we introduced our congregations to “Rachel’s Tears” and helped them sit with the hard parts of the Christmas story—not just the cozy, Hallmark moments?

What if we taught our children “Light Has Come” so they grow up knowing that Jesus is the answer to every darkness they’ll face?

Story-Telling Connects Generations

Here’s what I’ve discovered: when you tell the STORY through song, people connect differently. They don’t just hear facts—they feel them. They don’t just learn theology—they live it.

Traditional hymns are wonderful for doctrine and reverence. But story-telling songs help us ENTER the narrative. They help us see ourselves in Mary’s faith, the shepherds’ urgency, Rachel’s tears, and the unshakeable hope that light has come.

When a grandmother hears “By Faith We Go,” she remembers her own journey of trusting God through the unknown. When a teenager hears “Without Hesitation,” they’re challenged to respond to Jesus with that same immediacy. When a parent hears “Rachel’s Tears,” they’re given permission to lament while still hoping.

Stories do that. Stories connect us across time, across pain, across joy.

The Great Commission of Christmas

Jesus said, “Go and make disciples… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

Part of making disciples is TELLING THE STORY. Over and over. In fresh ways. In new expressions. So that every generation encounters Jesus for themselves.

If we only sing 200-year-old carols, we’re telling today’s generation that the story stopped being relevant two centuries ago. But if we’re STILL writing songs about Jesus, we’re saying: This story is ALIVE. It’s still unfolding. It’s still changing lives TODAY.

An Invitation to Worship Leaders

I’m asking you to take a risk. To introduce one new Christmas song this year alongside the traditional ones. To help your congregation experience the story in a fresh way.

Use “Christmas With The Saints” or any of these songs if they serve your church. Or write your own! Partner with songwriters in your congregation. Encourage creativity. Give permission for fresh expression.

Because the story of Jesus is too good, too powerful, too RELEVANT to be confined to the past.

The Next Generation Is Watching

Our kids are growing up in a world that tells them Christianity is outdated, irrelevant, boring. If all they hear at church are songs from centuries ago, they might believe it.

But when they hear NEW songs—songs that sound like their music, that address their struggles, that tell the timeless story in timely ways—they realize: this faith is ALIVE. This Jesus is PRESENT. This story is MINE.

Story-Telling as Discipleship

Acts 2:42 says the early church devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

But before that, in verse 11, the people declared, “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

In our own tongues. In our own language. In our own musical style.

That’s what I’m calling for—declaring the wonders of God in the language of TODAY, through story-telling songs that help us remember, celebrate, and pass down the faith.

My Prayer for the Church

I pray that churches would become places where:

• Old and new songs coexist in beautiful harmony
• Story-telling is valued as much as doctrine
• Every generation finds expression for their worship
• The Christmas story is told with ALL its dimensions—joy AND sorrow, triumph AND lament
• Creativity is celebrated as an act of worship
• The next generation encounters Jesus through songs that speak their language

Final Thoughts

“Christmas With The Saints” is my offering—10 songs that tell the complete Christmas story in a fresh, contemporary way. But it’s not just an album. It’s a vision.

A vision for what the church COULD be if we embraced story-telling songs. If we gave space for new expressions. If we trusted that the Holy Spirit is STILL inspiring new songs for new generations.

The story of Jesus doesn’t need defending—it needs TELLING. Over and over. In every language, every style, every generation.

So let’s sing the old songs with gratitude.

And let’s write new songs with courage.

Let’s tell the story in every way possible, so that every person—young and old, churched and unchurched—can encounter the baby in the manger who changed everything.

Because Christmas isn’t just a season. It’s a story. And stories are meant to be told, retold, and told again—forever.

Will you join me in bringing story-telling songs about Christ back to the church? Let’s make sure the next generation knows this story is THEIRS.