#36 The song that made me weep in my car

A lyrical analysis of 'Steeples' by Mia Fieldes

Have you ever listened to a song at just the right time in exactly the right moment and found that God speaks to you powerfully through it?

So, I was driving to Liverpool on my Parallel Faith tour, preparing my heart to speak and input in the church there. Although fitting in speaking and teaching amid a busy work and life schedule is challenging, I am enjoying stirring conversations about discipleship to encourage the church that all of us get to play our part in fulfilling the great commission. It feels such a privilege!

Suddenly, a new worship tune came on via my Apple Music that I had never heard before. I later found out the song was called 'Steeples' by Mia Fieldes, and I’m glad the algorithm decided it was for me. As the piano and strings began to play, and I heard the lyrics for the first time, something moved me deep within...

“You don't need a building… to meet with a heart….”

“You're never too busy…. You don't make it hard…”

What happened after that was an encounter with Jesus, as God filled my car with his powerful presence, and I felt a strong sense that God was speaking to me as tears streamed down my face.

Take a moment to listen to the song for yourself before reading on:

Below I do a breakdown of the lyrics to unpack why it resonated with me so much in relation to all I am sharing at this time on discipleship and mission. 

VERSE 1

You don't need a building

To meet with a heart

You're never too busy

You don't make it hard

Notes:

I love the times in a church service when God seems to meet with people in unique and special ways: the way a song stirs the soul, a message moves the heart, or a moment resonates for the first time with someone is wonderful. Yet, I also know it is all too easy for me to default to assume that God only works in and through these formal religious settings. While most of us would deny REALLY believing this, our practice doesn't always add up to our intention. We are so quick to divide life into sacred and secular, spiritual and otherwise. The truth of this song is a reminder that God is everywhere. He is never too busy for you. He doesn't add obstacles in your way. Through Jesus, we can meet with God right where we are. And if we can meet God wherever—then others can, too.

VERSE 2

You don't need a service

To transform a life

Your arms are an altar

Always open wide

Notes: 

It can sometimes feel like the closer you are to a stage or an altar, the closer you somehow are to God. Yet, this kind of mentality is stuck in an Old Testament frame of thinking. We need to remind ourselves of basic theology 101….

Whenever I think about the journey of the Holy Spirit working in and through people, I am often reminded that the history of the internet is sort of the same as the history of God’s engagement with mankind through the Holy Spirit.

Bear with me for a minute as we unpack it real quick…

• DIAL UP: You had to plug in at a set time and place for a limited period to get a limited connection. This is like how God’s Spirit was present with set people such as prophets or kings at set times and in set places such as the Temple and the Ark in the Old Testament.

• BROADBAND: You are online all the time. In the New Testament, Jesus showed us what it was like for a human to be online all the time and have a constant connection to God’s Spirit.

• Wi-Fi: You can access the web anytime and anywhere via the cloud. The Holy Spirit is essentially the spirit of Jesus gone viral. Because of Jesus, you can access God’s empowering Spirit anytime and anywhere.

If this is true, then ask yourself: How do you expect to make a connection today?

Verse 3:

I’ll become a temple

Spare no expense

Where You'll be exalted

And we will be friends

Notes:

So where now is God? God is in you. And God wants you to look more like him everyday as a result of your friendship with him.  Remember, the goal is not to become a better attendee at religious activities, but rather to become more like Jesus. The destination of discipleship is always Christlikeness. 

CHORUS

But if You want a tent

To start a revival

I'll prepare the way

I don't need a title

If You want a church

I'll be a cathedral

You be the glory

I'll be the steeple

Notes: 

This is where it gets exciting. Here the lyrics invite us to lie down our lives, ambitions, and goals for the sake of something bigger. This flies in the face of modern consumerist churchianity. There is so much jostling in the church today for both position and purpose. But in Christ we find both by receiving not striving.

You want a title? How about Child of God? Or the Body of Christ? What about Temple of the Holy Spirit? Or even Ambassador for Jesus? None of these titles are earnt by special skill: They are all given by special grace. 

You want to know what your purpose is? Here it is in 3 simple words: Prepare the way.

BRIDGE

And when people come

I pray they'd encounter

Jesus alone

The truest of treasures

When people come

No matter their story

I pray they'd be changed

From glory to glory

Speaking in Liverpool

Notes: 

Suddenly, I see a vision of people coming not just to a building made of bricks and mortar, but coming to 'living stones'—that is, you and me as the church every day in every way. Imagine if everyone believed we could share Jesus with people in our daily lives and meet them at their starting point and point of need. What if we genuinely believed that when people encountered us, they would see, hear, and experience something different? This is what mission is all about. We are in the business of changing stories.

What if when people come into our sphere of influence they could somehow find faith, hope, and love no matter what their story? This shifts the focus from the ever-challenging hard sell to convince people to turn up at a building to find God, but reimagines us as missionaries being sent into the mission field of our mundanity.

This is the game-changer. 

And when this happens, it doesn't mean that church meetings and services would become obsolete, rather they would become more authentic and relevant than ever. Church meetings would once again become places of expressing the goodness and faithfulness of God, rather than trying to find it from scratch. This would be overflow, not a warm-up—a celebration, not a hesitation. Our services would become storytelling sessions of heaven’s exploits expressed through words and songs. The electrifying gathering of the saints would be a point of refreshing before we are sent back out into the world again.

And when that happens? You won't be able to find a seat in the house. 

Acoustic version