Who We Are
PSALLOS IS A MOVEMENT, sparked by a desire to glorify God and proclaim the gospel through adventurous, theologically rich music.
It is shaped and defined by the following observations and values.
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The Bible is the Word of God. Inerrant, true, and sufficient, Scripture is our authority and guide in all matters related to life. Its overarching narrative is that of a good God redeeming fallen creation through Jesus Christ for his own glory. For believers, growth in sanctification comes through reading, studying, and meditating upon Scripture, by the power of the Spirit.
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Music is a good gift from the Lord. It is a common grace that, in and of itself, reflects the glory of redemption and directs God’s people to worship him. Music, even instrumental music, tells stories through patterns of Home-Away-Home and waves of tension and release; these stories can stir our emotions and lead us to think about the ultimate story: God saving his people from their sin through Jesus Christ.
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The addition of lyrics to music focuses music’s ability to facilitate worship. When words are joined with music, objective communication is brought together with subjective expression, creating song, an art form that is effective in fostering worship. The Church sings, not only because it is commanded in Scripture, but also because it marries our hearts and heads in spirit and truth worship.
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Music created by the Church should be done with excellence. Beauty, truthfulness, sincerity, craftsmanship, artistry, expressiveness, and creativity are attributes to which Christian songwriters should aspire.
Stemming from these tenets is our mission: we exist to tell edifying stories through adventurous, artistic music that is rich in biblical theology.
In our lyrics, we aim to communicate scriptural truth in a manner that is clear and builds up our listeners. We use imaginative and poetic language, oftentimes including humor, to capture the essence of a particular passage or theological topic and present it in an enjoyable way. We want the words that we sing to be distinctively Christian, saturated with Scripture, with depth that invites repeated listens. We recognize the benefit of presenting biblical passages in larger contexts to better understand the author's intent and design.
In our music, we strive to create compelling and engaging listening experiences through adventurous songwriting and composition: we take risks, incorporating musical styles, vocabulary, and approaches that are unconventional, even avant garde! We see tonality as only one system of music (a very good one), and also recognize that there are many others, such as those flowing out of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Twentieth-Century periods, along with folk traditions. In all our efforts, we seek to craft music that is excellent, interesting, varied, and multi-layered, hoping to lead Christian music out of its current stale, formulaic state into an output of art that responds to the high calling of music in a Christian ecology.
As the Lord has directed our steps, our labors are focused primarily in our goal to set all 21 New Testament epistles to music. In addition, we plan to continue writing and recording congregational worship songs for churches to use in their services.