Truth in song

Most contemporary songs disappear from church worship services after two to three years. But Stephen Fryrear sees a theme in the ones that do stick around. 

Inside a hymnal at Mountain Brook Baptist Church, he points out an exception. “In Christ Alone,” written in 2001, is now on the page next to “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” written in 1882.

“The songs that do stay are Scripture put to music,” Fryrear said, explaining that he has the same aim in his songwriting. “My goal is to write songs with staying power, and the way to do that is by writing songs that are Scripture-based.”

Fryrear, the contemporary worship leader at MBBC, released a new album in September that features primarily songs he wrote for his church to sing congregationally. The Badlands was recorded it in Franklin, Tennessee, and produced by David Leonard of All Sons & Daughters, Nashville worship leaders who record their own music. 

Fryrear takes writing seriously, making sure to run his lyrics by pastors at the church to ensure they convey what they see as Biblical truth. He wants congregational songs to be singable and memorable, but more than that he said he wants them to be true.

“That’s a big responsibility,” he said. “The most important part is that they need to be true, because during the week they form our thoughts and pop up out of nowhere.”

For Fryrear, songwriting began in high school, but upon moving to Nashville to study at Belmont University, he said he learned he “had a long way to grow” in his writing. He first started writing songs for church congregations while serving as a worship leader in San Antonio at Oak Hills Church, where bestselling author Max Lucado is a pastor.

“I fell in love with writing songs for the church to sing,” he said. 

The thematic idea for Fryrear’s new album, The Badlands, came from MBBC, where Fryrear has worked since he and his wife, Carleigh, moved here three years ago for her medicine residency. 

The church has been singing the hymn “How Firm a Foundation” over the past year. The song is recorded as the EP’s fifth and final song, and serves as the thematic basis for the other four songs. Fryrear said it’s about “the faithfulness of God through trials.”

“If the word is the foundation for this faith, I want it to be the foundation for this record,” Fryrear said.

Fryrear is one of many musicians writing songs for their own churches: “[We] write for where their community is, for what the pastor is teaching, for what the church is going through.”

The album’s title track, “The Badlands,” is the only song that is not congregational. Fryrear’s brother-in-law, whose mother died tragically of complications from cervical cancer, was at the forefront of his mind when writing it.

“I haven’t had a loss that has brought me to my knees, but I know I will and I want to know the truth about it,” he said. 

The climax of its chorus gets at its primary message: “Live long enough you’ll learn to love, The Badlands.” It references how he has looked back at times of trial and seen growth from it. Still, the song, sung with Fryrear’s “bluesy, soulsy” voice, is far from dark. 

Fryrear has led MBBC in singing three of the five songs on the album, which he feels is his best songwriting of the three he has now released. But sharing his music isn’t about himself, he said.

“I don’t care if we sing my song in my church or not,” he said. “I want to do songs that best serve the church and what the pastor is preaching on.”

The Badlands is available on iTunes or stephenfryrear.com for $5.