Sloppy. Wet. Kiss.

I have an ongoing, continuing, internal upheaval at the sound of the song “How He Loves” by John Mark McMillian.  It’s a spectacular, honest song about God’s love for us.  My favorite worship song ever, and maybe even favorite song ever.  I should just make it a category of posts in my blog, I’ve written so much about it.  If you haven’t listened to it, You Tube Kim Walker and Jesus Culture doing “How He Loves”.  It’s just one of many renditions of the song.

There’s a problem I have though with the hundreds of versions I’ve heard of this song.  So many people feel the need to edit out or change the lyric “Heaven meets Earth like a sloppy wet kiss”.  As if those lyrics were meant to be sexual or perverse in some way?

• David Crowder Band just released a verison of the song and made a big deal out of it, releasing a single. I expected Crowder to do something different and creative but instead it was basically the Jesus Cultue version in a studio without Kim Walker.  Plus they cleverly swapped “sloppy wet kiss” for “unforeseen kiss”.  Unforeseen kiss, besides not being the written lyrics to the song, is something that makes no sense.  There was nothing unforeseen about Jesus’ sacrifice for us, his redeeming us, or his coming return to save us.  It was prophesied 2000 years in advance and when he came there was no mystery as to who he was.  Not unforeseen.  The lyrics, while being “church safed” have lost thier power.  Jesus didn’t “church safe” anything he said.
• My church back home does the song now and then, and they change “sloppy wet kiss” into “the holiest kiss”.  Which is a little better, at least making sense.  Still I think it’s weak and denies the song it’s brilliant imagery that has caused so many to turn.  God’s love for us is clearly that graphic.  You aren’t Weird Al Yankovich, don’t change lyrics to a song you didn’t write.
• I’ve even heard of a couple churches banning the song from their worship services for the sake of not offending anyone.  This is better, in a way, than butchering the lyrics, but is still a sad way to miss out on the power of this song.  It’s the raw honesty in the message of “How He Loves” that has caused the song, through God, to touch so many.  Lord knows I needed to hear every lyric of the song two years ago when it changed the way I thought.  I STILL get goosebumps every time I hear it anywhere.  There are churches who, for fear, will deny their congregations that in a cooperate setting for the sake of not being visual and graphic in a song.  Evey member of that church, bar the young ones, has experienced a sloppy wet kiss from someone they love, like spouses and fiances.  They can tell you it’s a beautiful, heart-melting thing.  How much more is the love of God a sloppy wet kiss to our lonely souls than the kiss of another person to our lips!

So that was my rant.  Sorry to the people and churches I directly called out if you come across this blog somehow.  I don’t think you’re a holier church for “playing it safe”.  Steer clear of Song of Soloman in your services and check out Hillsongs 4 Kidz if you need some new worship material for your tender-eared congregations.