Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religious Music and Entertainment
Build Something Better (Songs from the Journey)

Build Something Better (Songs from the Journey)

Last updated on: January 27, 2026 at 7:40 am by James F. McGrath

0 Comments

Build Something Better (Songs from the Journey) 2026-01-26T07:08:11-05:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I had grandiose ideas about what I might do to offer some music in connection with the release of my book Beyond Deconstruction: Building a More Expansive Faith. Having offered some piano music on Spotify, I thought maybe I could redo all the major songs I’ve written over the years and release them as an album. That didn’t happen, in large part because I wasn’t sure that there was a desire for that. I do have music to share, but not nearly as polished and precisely done as I would ideally have liked.

I knew that it was all but obligatory to have a new song in connection with the release of my book. I also knew that I felt a parody song of the sort that I had made for other books was going to be too frivolous. Deconstruction is traumatic for many. I was hoping that I could write a hymn for the deconstructed and still progressing. I hope that is what I manage to offer through my song “Build Something Better.” Other songs I wrote previously also connect closely with the theme of the new book, but precisely because the book is about moving forward in a dynamic fashion, none of the earlier songs seemed entirely adequate. You can listen to the song and read the lyrics to “Build Something Better” at the end of this post.

Longtime readers of this blog will be familiar with all the songs that I share below except one brand new one. Going back 13 years to 2013, I released a recording of a song “Reality” that represented the first in a flurry of songwriting after a long period of silence. I continued playing music, but I hadn’t been writing. As with writing books and articles, anyone who knows me will know that a long period without creative activity is an indication that something is amiss. In this case, I had been working through for about a decade what the implications might be for my faith of the fact that my studies had led me to radically rethink views that I previously held. I had pondered many options, but “Reality” represented my first true articulation of my panentheist viewpoint in song.

Already some key ideas had found expression in poetry and other formats. While it never became a song, the idea in a poem that I wrote, which began “There are cracks in the foundation” explored the metaphor of building a house on the rock, as one had been told to do echoing words of Jesus, and yet finding that the metaphorical house of one’s worldview had nevertheless not stood firm, but had gone “crash” as the children’s song colorfully depicts.

The song I actually quote in Beyond Deconstruction at length is titled “Creed” and it is about emphasizing what we do and not only what we say. Both “Reality” and “Creed” have been performed with the help of other musicians at my church, Crooked Creek Baptist Church. I have also shared my newer songs “Come Where the Healing Waters Flow” and “Let There Be Light.”

Almost all of these songs are new recordings. In most cases the backing track that I made way back when is reused for this new version.

I knew I wanted to do one brand new song in connection with the book Beyond Deconstruction. Initially I started working on one that used the earlier title for the book, “Reconstructing Your Faith,” as part of the chorus. I wasn’t entirely happy with that one and so set it aside. The vibe was a bit like Larnelle Harris’ classic song (which has also been in my mind of late and which I’ve thought of singing at church) “I Can Begin Again.” These were the lyrics I had for the first verse and chorus.

Upon That Rock

Are you tired
Of living midst the rubble
Of the only home you ever knew
But now it’s gone?

Are you done
With having no identity
Except that you’re no longer
What you were?

There is light ahead
Say who you are instead

You have felt lost in the dark
Fumbling about in the night
This is the path of uncertainty
that leads to the light

Start reconstructing your faith
Out of the ashes, new life
When it’s all you’ve known
it comes as quite a shock
You can build a different house upon that rock

Here are recordings of the songs. If you want to think of it as an album released on YouTube, let’s call it “Build Something Better (Songs from the Journey)”. Please do read Beyond Deconstruction to understand what these songs have meant to me in my spiritual journey and why I thought it appropriate, and perhaps necessary, to release some music in connection with the release of my book. I felt it would be strange to talk about music in the book, sharing song lyrics, and yet not have actual music made freshly available to go along with it.

Here’s the new song:

And here are the others that make up a large part of the soundtrack of my journey beyond deconstruction:

Here are the lyrics for that new song, “Build Something Better”:

Upon the solid rock I sat
My house of straw had fallen flat
It wasn’t s’posed to be this way
For too long that was all I’d say

We build with anger and with pride
Lay bricks of truth, then mortar lies
No solid rock will guarantee
A house will stand, built shoddily

But we can build something better
Yes we can build something better

I heard a knock upon the door
I made the fences more secure
I built up walls so thick and high
And felt secure when locked inside

I built it with such certainty
(I thought that that was faith, you see)
I made a temple much too small
Then acted shocked that it would fall

But we can build something better
Yes we can build something better

It is a blessing that it fell
That mix of love and fear of hell
For what I’m building in its place
Looks much more like amazing grace

The rock is solid, we are frail
A house of hands is bound to fail
Yet it can serve to point the way
To One beyond what words can say

Let’s tear down fences that exclude
The life of fear is servitude
So bring your courage and your mind
For if you seek then you will find

Religious Music and Entertainment

music

Beyond Deconstruction

Previous Post

January 23, 2026

Minneapolis Temple Tantrum

Next Post

February 1, 2026 Paid AIgitators

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"V. good.For me, the gold standard for this sort of thing is still Wikihistory by ..."

Scurra

The Time-Traveler’s Apprentice (A Short Story)

"The one who says "no one comes to the Father but through me" is the ..."

James F. McGrath

Attack on Religious Freedom in Indiana

"Until I read, "As a Christian, it is possible but not at all necessary to ..."

Sam Vimes

Attack on Religious Freedom in Indiana

"Hey James, regarding your penultimate paragraph, I struggle with the same issue. I do think ..."

Jeff Cate

The Fourth Synoptic Gospel

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Corinthians 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy academia Acts of the Apostles afterlife Akhaten Alcatraz American Academy of Religion Amos Anglican Arabic Aramaic archaeology art artificial intelligence astronomy atheism atonement Babylon 5 Baptists Battlestar Galactica Bible Biblical Studies Carnival biblioblogging Black Mirror Blade Runner Book of Job book review Buddhism Call for Papers China Christianity Christmas Christology Chronicles Coptic creation Daniel Deuteronomy Doctor Who Dune Easter Ecclesiastes economics education Eldad Keynan Enoch Seminar Ephesians eschatology Esther Evangelicals evolution Exodus Expanse Ezekiel Ezra fantasy Fringe fundamentalism Galatians games Ge'ez genealogy Genesis Gnosticism Gospel of Jesus' Wife Gospel of John Gospel of Judas Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Peter Gospel of Thomas Greek Harry Potter Hebrew Hebrews Hinduism historical Jesus history Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Holidays horror Hosea humor incarnation India inerrancy information literacy inspirational Intelligent Design Ireland Isaiah Islam Israel Italy James Jeremiah John the Baptist Jonah Joshua Judaism Jude Judges Judith Lamentations languages Latin Leviticus libraries literature Lord of the Rings LOST Mandaeans Mandaic memes Methodism Micah monotheism morality Mormons movies music mythicism NASSCAL Nehemiah new perspective New Testament news Numbers Orthodox paganism panentheism pantheism Patheos Paul and his letters Pentecostals Philippians Philippians 2:6-11 philosophy physics Planet of the Apes podcast politics Progressive Christianity Protestantism Proverbs Psalms pseudoscience racism religion Revelation Roman Catholicism Romania Romans Ruth scams science science fiction Secret Gospel of Mark Society of Biblical Literature Song of Songs Star Trek Star Wars Stargate Swahili Syriac Taoism technology Terminator The Handmaid's Tale The Hobbit The Matrix theodicy theology theory Timeless Titus tomb Torchwood travel TRON Uncategorized United Kingdom Westworld X-Files young-earth creationism Zechariah

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 February 2007 January 2001

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz