Creativity Quote by Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith is doing something deceptively tricky here: critiquing his own ecosystem without torching it. In contemporary Christian music, taste is never just taste. A “bad worship song” can imply bad theology, shallow sincerity, or naked commercialism; a “good one” can feel like a small miracle of craft that also functions as prayer. By framing it as “in my opinion,” Smith lowers the temperature. It’s a disclaimer that signals humility while still granting himself permission to judge - and as a veteran who helped define the genre, he knows that permission is contested.

The line also sneaks past a familiar worship-culture taboo: the pressure to treat any song used in church as automatically spiritually valid. Smith’s split verdict pushes back on the idea that intention sanctifies execution. Worship music is supposed to be functional - singable, communal, emotionally legible - which makes it especially vulnerable to formula. The “a lot of” repetition is telling: he’s not talking about a few outliers but an industry pattern, one where trends (the swelling bridge, the vague “You are” language, the motivational climax) can replace specificity and musical risk.

Context matters: Smith is both artist and gatekeeper, shaped by decades of radio, church platforms, and record labels. The generosity at the end (“good ones, too”) isn’t just politeness; it’s a defense of the form itself. He’s arguing that worship music can be art and still be useful, but only if it’s allowed to be evaluated like art.