why this pastor still sings "secular" songs (outside of church)
why this pastor still sings "secular" songs (outside of church)
WHY THIS PASTOR STILL SINGS "SECULAR" SONGS
July 26, 2026
Every so often someone asks me a sincere question:
"Why do you, as a pastor, perform secular music?"
It's a fair question. If you've seen me playing acoustic sets at a coffee shop, community event, or even the occasional bar, you might wonder why I spend time singing Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Johnny Cash, Billy Joel, or my own original songs instead of only worship music.
The answer isn't because I love Jesus any less.
It's because I believe God created us to tell stories.
I deeply believe the Church should sing songs that exalt Christ, proclaim the gospel, and teach biblical truth. Worship has a unique purpose that nothing else replaces.
But worship songs are not the only songs God's people have ever sung.
The Bible itself contains music that doesn't fit neatly into what we'd call "worship music."
The Psalms include songs of grief, confusion, celebration, national history, repentance, victory, and honest lament. Some barely mention praise until the very end. They simply give voice to what it feels like to be human before God.
Then there's the Song of Songs—an entire book celebrating romantic love. It isn't a congregational worship chorus. It's poetry about the beauty of human relationships.
Scripture reminds us that God is interested not only in our praise but in our whole humanity.
I sometimes describe this kind of music as story music or life music.
These are songs that help us process joy, loss, regret, hope, growing older, friendship, love, work, family, and home. A song like Fire and Rain, If You Could Read My Mind, or The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald isn't trying to replace worship. It's telling a human story.
Stories matter.
God made us in His image, and one of the ways we reflect that image is by creating and sharing stories that help us understand what it means to be human.
Long before I became a pastor, music was where I processed life.
I've always written songs because some emotions simply fit better into melody than prose.
Sometimes a sermon is the right place to teach a biblical truth.
Sometimes a three-minute song says something that a thirty-minute sermon never could.
Writing music has always been one of the healthiest places for me to bring together memories, gratitude, loss, questions, and hope.
Many of my original songs aren't "Christian songs" in the industry sense of the phrase.
They're simply honest songs written by a Christian.
I don't feel the need to force a sermon into every lyric. Sometimes telling the truth about being human is enough.
One of the reasons I don't struggle with this question is because I don't believe there is such a thing as a secular Christian.
There are certainly secular professions, secular venues, and songs that aren't written specifically for worship. But wherever a follower of Jesus goes, Christ goes with them.
A Christian carpenter builds differently because of Christ.
A Christian teacher teaches differently because of Christ.
A Christian mechanic serves differently because of Christ.
And a Christian musician performs differently because of Christ.
We don't stop representing Jesus when we leave the church building. We carry Him with us into our neighborhoods, workplaces, coffee shops, concert venues, and everywhere else life takes us.
That's why I don't see my music as existing in some "neutral" space outside my faith. Whether I'm leading worship on Sunday morning or singing Carolina in My Mind on a Friday night, I'm still the same person. My integrity should be the same. My kindness should be the same. My humility should be the same. My love for people should be the same.
I'm not trying to hide my faith when I play outside the church. I'm simply living it in a different setting.
If my music opens a door for a conversation about Jesus, I'm grateful. If it simply leaves someone feeling seen, encouraged, or reminded of an important memory, I'm grateful for that too. Every act of beauty, kindness, truth, and genuine human connection can point beyond itself to the God who created us.
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Mike