This article was written by Frank Viola, author of “Reimagining Church,” “From Eternity to Here,” “Finding Organic Church,” “Insurgence” and many other titles. Permission was granted to repost it here from his blog.
For over two decades, I’ve engaged in the practice of writing and rewriting songs.
The latter (rewriting) is nothing new. For centuries, Christians have been taking the best tunes that the world has produced and they’ve redeemed — and elevated — them by writing new lyrics to the music.
Many of the greatest hymns known to humankind were created this way.
Yet it’s a lost art today.*
Not only have I practiced this method myself, but I’ve taught it to all the churches I’ve planted or worked with over the years.
Using this method, one of the kingdom communities I founded in the past took Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and raised it to the 50th power.
The rewritten lyrics tell the story of God’s eternal purpose in 5 minutes.
Watch the video below where you can see the saints performing it during a live conference.
(The lyrics are below.)
Also, HERE’S AN AUDIO of the song.**
The words contain echoes of From Eternity to Here.***
It tells the Story of the Ages in 5 minutes.
(Unfortunately, the video recording isn’t the highest quality, but I’m glad someone captured the moment.)