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Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism
In a sweeping investigation of the music of megachurches and political rallies, a journalist How did songs beloved by white evangelicals become the soundtrack of Christian supremacy's war on democracy?
Praise and worship music often fits hand-in-glove with Christian Trumpism, and in this unsettling account, journalist Rick Pidcock How did songs like "How Great Is Our God" become anthems of rallies for the regime? How do lyrics like "Praise is the water my enemies drown in" shape the people who sing them? Singing with others creates a powerful sense of belonging and transcendence. So what happens when the music of one movement becomes the soundtrack of another?
Pidcock, who led worship in evangelical churches for twenty years, uncovers how worship gatherings blur into political rallies and vice versa. He takes us to worship gatherings on the National Mall, to charismatic concerts around the country, and into the early days of contemporary Christian music itself. He looks at the racism, misogyny, apocalypticism, and individualism that underwrite the songs, and at the ways children are being indoctrinated by the lyrics of silly songs with disturbing undertones. He uncovers a worship culture increasingly controlled by a set of powerbrokers and looks at how algorithms define the worship repertoire.
Celebrity worship leaders like Sean Feucht and worship collectives like Bethel Music and Hillsong are crafting worship experiences that strengthen the power of those at the top, dehumanize those below, and wage war against people who won't submit. The same songs sung at your local megachurch this Sunday--about power and punishment, floods and flames, pain and praise--now mark many political gatherings. As praise and worship music sands down the edges between Christianity and politics, Pidcock Where are songs of conquest and spiritual warfare taking us?
Praise and worship music often fits hand-in-glove with Christian Trumpism, and in this unsettling account, journalist Rick Pidcock How did songs like "How Great Is Our God" become anthems of rallies for the regime? How do lyrics like "Praise is the water my enemies drown in" shape the people who sing them? Singing with others creates a powerful sense of belonging and transcendence. So what happens when the music of one movement becomes the soundtrack of another?
Pidcock, who led worship in evangelical churches for twenty years, uncovers how worship gatherings blur into political rallies and vice versa. He takes us to worship gatherings on the National Mall, to charismatic concerts around the country, and into the early days of contemporary Christian music itself. He looks at the racism, misogyny, apocalypticism, and individualism that underwrite the songs, and at the ways children are being indoctrinated by the lyrics of silly songs with disturbing undertones. He uncovers a worship culture increasingly controlled by a set of powerbrokers and looks at how algorithms define the worship repertoire.
Celebrity worship leaders like Sean Feucht and worship collectives like Bethel Music and Hillsong are crafting worship experiences that strengthen the power of those at the top, dehumanize those below, and wage war against people who won't submit. The same songs sung at your local megachurch this Sunday--about power and punishment, floods and flames, pain and praise--now mark many political gatherings. As praise and worship music sands down the edges between Christianity and politics, Pidcock Where are songs of conquest and spiritual warfare taking us?
242 pages, Hardcover
Published September 29, 2026
About the author
Rick Pidcock
2 books6 followersRick Pidcock is an author and journalist, and a weekly contributor for Baptist News Global. His book, Weapons of Worship: How the Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism, will be released by Broadleaf Books in September 2026. His work has appeared in the American Academy of Religion, BioLogos, Patheos, the Bucks County Beacon and Real Clear Religion. And his writing has been cited in pieces for the New York Times, The Boston Globe, Rolling Stone, MS NOW, Vanity Fair, Salon, MS Magazine, and many others. He also hosts BNG’s Highest Power: Church + State podcast.
Before turning to journalism, Rick led worship for twenty years. He holds a Master of Arts in Worship from Northern Seminary and is an at-home parent to five children. He and his family live in South Carolina.
Before turning to journalism, Rick led worship for twenty years. He holds a Master of Arts in Worship from Northern Seminary and is an at-home parent to five children. He and his family live in South Carolina.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 13, 2026
A very readable argument, sharpest in its analysis of the industry around worship music. The theological analysis of worship music was less convincing to me, but still provoked good reflection.
Full video review here: https://youtu.be/ppP88_lAUW8
Full video review here: https://youtu.be/ppP88_lAUW8
October 3, 2026
I started reading this book in hopes of better understanding how worship music can be used as a tool for evil. I never understood the nuances of how the church is run like a business. There are so many layers to how deep this all goes. I highly suggest reading this book if you are hoping to understand the ins and outs of how evangelical worship leaders are motivated by money and clout. This book goes into detail about why people may be drawn to the field of leading worship. And how it's disproportionately white worship leaders. It delves into racism, colonialism, and the barbaric history of worship music during times of war.
I found this book to be very enlightening (even if it is rage-inducing). The information is valuable. I am blown away by how in-depth this book went into details regarding current events.
As someone who grew up a devout Christian in the Vineyard movement, I find this book absolutely spot on. I was impressed by the sheer mention of IHOPKC. This guy really knows his stuff.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rick Pidcock for the amazing opportunity to be an arc reader. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
I found this book to be very enlightening (even if it is rage-inducing). The information is valuable. I am blown away by how in-depth this book went into details regarding current events.
As someone who grew up a devout Christian in the Vineyard movement, I find this book absolutely spot on. I was impressed by the sheer mention of IHOPKC. This guy really knows his stuff.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rick Pidcock for the amazing opportunity to be an arc reader. I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
October 4, 2026
In this book, Pidcock shows how evangelical worship music is formed and promoted to generate revenue for leaders and CEOs in the music industry. The content of many of the most played and sung songs sets the stage for, or even promotes, hierarchies, racism, sexism, Christian nationalism, right-wing politics, and justifies violence and harm to our neighbors. I have often pondered words of worship music at church, objecting to what some of them are saying while being surrounded by people singing these words who are either oblivious to or, worse yet, in agreement with the song’s message. This book helped me see how this music is transforming people to align with the propaganda set by the industry selecting the songs for profit. This quote sums up the need to look closely at the themes permeating white evangelical worship music today: “‘As we worship, so we believe, and so we will live’ (p10).”
Rick Pidcock is a journalist with a master’s degree in worship from Northern Seminary and is a work-from-home parent of five children. He led worship for twenty years and has published a number of songs. His insight and rich examples come from years of experience in multiple churches as well as attending and investigating multiple worship events.
Chapter 1: Soundtrack of an Insurrection
“These days I write stories about Christians who have reached the height of power in religion and politics. … I grew up in white evangelicalism, and I led worship in its churches for more than twenty years (p3).” “Everything that the pastors and politicians are saying from stage [at ‘Let Us Worship’ on the National Mall] is backed by the soundtrack of a live worship band. … They sing about rejoicing, but justice appears to include their neighbors being blown away (p4).” “Even as worship has been spilling over into political gatherings, politics has been infiltrating worship gatherings (p7).”
“[T]he average white evangelical in the pew is … not thinking critically about who wrote the songs, why they wrote them, and how those songs fit hand in glove with the purposes of a particular political movement that is gripping their nation (p8).”
“Then she [Constance M. Cherry] sums it up: ‘As we worship, so we believe, and so we will live’ (p10).”
Chapter 2: The Worship of Oligarchy
“But in reality, they’re part of an algorithm that is being shaped by the worship music industry, which is helmed by people with money and power (p29).” “As megachurch organizations build their brand, their videos feature people who tend to be between the ages of eighteen and thirty who are very stereotypically attractive (pp34-35).” “‘A few megachurches and a small number of affiliated artists have come to shape the song repertoire of a broad swath of Christian congregations’ (p39).” “By releasing certain songs as singles, they [the Big Four worship brands] were essentially preselecting which songs churches ended up singing (p40).” “How many pastors and worship leaders have considered that a Spotify CEO may be affecting their congregation’s worship life? … Algorithmic playlists are created through machine learning (p44).” “When capital and algorithms are driving the decisions at the business level, eventually the power lies in the hands of corporate executives, who essentially treat worship songs as financial assets to trade (p46).”
“While the songs being sung on Sunday mornings may seem to be chosen by worship leaders and pastors who believe they are guided by the Holy Spirit, they’re demonstrably driven by algorithms owned and controlled by the wealthiest music businesses in the world (p49).”
Chapter 3: It’s On
“While many churches continued to meet exclusively online or outdoors [during Covid], as long as public health officials recommended, some churches kept meeting in person. In large gatherings. Maskless. Despite the risks (p52).” “At the heart of this chapter’s story – how praise and worship songs became the centerpiece of white evangelical resistance to Covid-era public health orders – is a crisis of authority. … During the pandemic, many outside of evangelicalism wondered: How do they make sense of worshiping God through song when doing so might mean killing their neighbor? (p55).”
“White worship music both reflects and fuels hierarchies that strengthen the power of those at the top, dehumanize those below, and wage war against those who won’t submit (p56).”
“How have many white Christians shifted from seeing neighbors as people Jesus called them to love to seeing them as enemies to be louder than? (p60).” “By framing modern politics as politicians submitting to God, they create a scenario where politicians demonstrate their humility under God by ruling over other nations according to white evangelical morality (p68).”
Chapter 4: White Noise
“In this chapter, we’ll trace the role that worship has played in hierarchies of race and ethnicity, beginning with white colonizers committing genocide against Native Americans and white slave owners and soldiers dehumanizing and enslaving Black people (p77).”
“[T]hese white colonizers had one focus: ‘that God intended America to be a new Euro-Christian promised land; and its corollary: that the systemic violence we have wielded to seize it is justified’ (p80).”
“While white communities were publicly singing war songs about conquering their neighbors and exercising dominion over them, Black communities were secretly singing worship songs of liberation, and of God’s deliverance from evil (p84).”
Chapter 5: Barbies and Kens
“When I led worship, we would regularly receive complaints about the way women on the worship team dressed, moved, or sang. … We never fielded any criticisms like this about the men on stage (p102).”
“Over time, the absence of women in gatherings of wealthy songwriting men is also going to affect the rhetoric of the songs (p106).”
“In order to keep their Barbies boxed in, the white male executives added morality clauses to their record deals, stipulating sexual abstinence and detailed dress codes and dance guidelines (p110).” “Industry power brokers have nudged songwriters away from ‘flowery’ songs and toward ‘warrior-type’ songs (p113).”
“Whether it’s done through roles defined in record deals, altar calls at worship events, the evolution of worship lyrics over time, or the commodification of bodies in worship, it’s all driven by white male power that devalues women. And among the most vulnerable are children (p119).”
Chapter 6: Child Soldiers
“If we want to figure out how children are being groomed to become Christian nationalists, we would do well to look at the songs adults are teaching them. … After that we’ll consider how it all becomes sexualized, as children of conservative churches enter into puberty through purity culture (p122).” “Indeed, at the heart of all these stories, as interpreted by white evangelicals, is the threat that if we don’t submit to their idea of God, then we deserve the same fate as God’s enemies: eternal conscious torment in hell (p125).” “And the songs of white evangelical childhood major, above all else, in happiness (p130).”
“The suffering of others becomes, in many of these songs, not something to lament but a cause for joy (p131).”
“The Good News curriculum references punishment seven times per hour. … and explicitly talks about hell two and a half times per hour (p133).” “Jesus begins to look like the bully on the block, with very specific stipulations for being in his club (p134).”
Chapter 7: The End Is Near
“Bombs are being flown into Iran, and [Sean] Feucht’s worship warriors are overflowing with praise (p139).” “In this chapter we consider how white evangelical worship music helps worshippers process their fear of the end times. We look at how this music also becomes the very vehicle through which authoritarian Christians have attempted to usher in the end times (p142).” “So to whom do these worshippers turn? Donald Trump, who looks up to violent authoritarians like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán (p148).”
“With decades of worship music providing the soundtrack to these fears, it’s no wonder Christian nationalists today so easily fall for QAnon conspiracy theories (p149).”
Another common end-times view is postmillennialism. “And rather than hoping for escape, it hopes for accumulated power (p150).”
“Imagine if Christians exchanged celebrating an end-times vision of violent retribution for an end-times vision of liberating restoration (p155).”
Chapter 8: Bend the Knee
“[W]hile corporate worship is, by its very nature, communal, the songs white evangelicals sing overwhelmingly describe and celebrate individual spiritual experience. … An individualistic gospel shapes worshippers into private, atomized consumers, disconnected from concerns about their neighbors. The repertoire of an individualized faith can be imported to a political movement that promotes individual responsibility and ignores systemic realities (p159).”
“This is why white evangelical conceptions of justice look like retributive violence against human bodies. Justice is punishment. Violence is the solution. Cruelty is the point (p161).”
Chapter 9: Sunday, Bloody Sunday
“In this chapter, we’re going to explore how the typical Sunday morning worship space creates dynamics that allow Christian nationalism to flourish (p170).”
“Then [Josh] Howerton adds, ‘People aren’t on a truth quest. They’re on a happiness quest. So a joy-filled church is more attractive than an accurate one’ (p170).”
“We are not aware of how our songs are conditioning us for anxiety, and perception of threat, and extremism (p181).”
Chapter 10: Gangsters of America
“To prepare for the 2024 election, the extreme right took their worship warfare to the next level by creating revival services that doubled as political recruitment programs (p192).” “And how on earth has humbling yourself [2 Chronicles 7:14] come to mean rising up to humble your neighbors (p198).” “The Seven Mountain Mandate is one strategy by which Christian extremists envision exerting influence and authority over society (p200).” “This way [with property hidden behind a firewall], if the church gets sued, it doesn’t have property assets to lose. With multiple Hillsong pastors, including its founder, Brian Houston, being caught in sexual abuse scandals, that’s convenient (pp202-203).” “[Vance] Boelter had graduated from the Christ for the Nations Institute, whose founder, Gordon Lindsay, used to say, ‘Every Christian should pray at least one violent prayer a day’ (p205).”
“The drumbeat of dehumanization is unrelenting. And the songs of evangelicalism are the sugar that helps the poison of power go down (p216).”
With 23 pages of endnotes, this well-researched work brought to light many aspects of white evangelical worship that contribute to racism, misogyny, Christian nationalism, individualism, and extremism that are harmful to people who don’t submit to or don’t fit within the white, male, power-driven evangelical lifestyle. This book highlights one strand in a thick cord of evangelical culture. Other threads in this cord include patriarchy, individualism, authoritarian leadership, science denial, whitewashed history, excessive capitalism, warped homeschooling curriculum, sexual abuse scandals, lack of empathy, multi-level marketing organizations, and more. These strands weave together an image of the undercurrents in modern evangelical beliefs and behaviors that looks so very different from the picture Jesus paints in the Sermon on the Mount.
I highly recommend Weapons of Worship because music is so influential and often consumed without awareness of its agendas and power. I hope many will read this important work, choose to seek music that echoes the greatest commandments to love God and neighbors, and guard their hearts against musical messages that empower earthly empires.
Rick Pidcock is a journalist with a master’s degree in worship from Northern Seminary and is a work-from-home parent of five children. He led worship for twenty years and has published a number of songs. His insight and rich examples come from years of experience in multiple churches as well as attending and investigating multiple worship events.
Chapter 1: Soundtrack of an Insurrection
“These days I write stories about Christians who have reached the height of power in religion and politics. … I grew up in white evangelicalism, and I led worship in its churches for more than twenty years (p3).” “Everything that the pastors and politicians are saying from stage [at ‘Let Us Worship’ on the National Mall] is backed by the soundtrack of a live worship band. … They sing about rejoicing, but justice appears to include their neighbors being blown away (p4).” “Even as worship has been spilling over into political gatherings, politics has been infiltrating worship gatherings (p7).”
“[T]he average white evangelical in the pew is … not thinking critically about who wrote the songs, why they wrote them, and how those songs fit hand in glove with the purposes of a particular political movement that is gripping their nation (p8).”
“Then she [Constance M. Cherry] sums it up: ‘As we worship, so we believe, and so we will live’ (p10).”
Chapter 2: The Worship of Oligarchy
“But in reality, they’re part of an algorithm that is being shaped by the worship music industry, which is helmed by people with money and power (p29).” “As megachurch organizations build their brand, their videos feature people who tend to be between the ages of eighteen and thirty who are very stereotypically attractive (pp34-35).” “‘A few megachurches and a small number of affiliated artists have come to shape the song repertoire of a broad swath of Christian congregations’ (p39).” “By releasing certain songs as singles, they [the Big Four worship brands] were essentially preselecting which songs churches ended up singing (p40).” “How many pastors and worship leaders have considered that a Spotify CEO may be affecting their congregation’s worship life? … Algorithmic playlists are created through machine learning (p44).” “When capital and algorithms are driving the decisions at the business level, eventually the power lies in the hands of corporate executives, who essentially treat worship songs as financial assets to trade (p46).”
“While the songs being sung on Sunday mornings may seem to be chosen by worship leaders and pastors who believe they are guided by the Holy Spirit, they’re demonstrably driven by algorithms owned and controlled by the wealthiest music businesses in the world (p49).”
Chapter 3: It’s On
“While many churches continued to meet exclusively online or outdoors [during Covid], as long as public health officials recommended, some churches kept meeting in person. In large gatherings. Maskless. Despite the risks (p52).” “At the heart of this chapter’s story – how praise and worship songs became the centerpiece of white evangelical resistance to Covid-era public health orders – is a crisis of authority. … During the pandemic, many outside of evangelicalism wondered: How do they make sense of worshiping God through song when doing so might mean killing their neighbor? (p55).”
“White worship music both reflects and fuels hierarchies that strengthen the power of those at the top, dehumanize those below, and wage war against those who won’t submit (p56).”
“How have many white Christians shifted from seeing neighbors as people Jesus called them to love to seeing them as enemies to be louder than? (p60).” “By framing modern politics as politicians submitting to God, they create a scenario where politicians demonstrate their humility under God by ruling over other nations according to white evangelical morality (p68).”
Chapter 4: White Noise
“In this chapter, we’ll trace the role that worship has played in hierarchies of race and ethnicity, beginning with white colonizers committing genocide against Native Americans and white slave owners and soldiers dehumanizing and enslaving Black people (p77).”
“[T]hese white colonizers had one focus: ‘that God intended America to be a new Euro-Christian promised land; and its corollary: that the systemic violence we have wielded to seize it is justified’ (p80).”
“While white communities were publicly singing war songs about conquering their neighbors and exercising dominion over them, Black communities were secretly singing worship songs of liberation, and of God’s deliverance from evil (p84).”
Chapter 5: Barbies and Kens
“When I led worship, we would regularly receive complaints about the way women on the worship team dressed, moved, or sang. … We never fielded any criticisms like this about the men on stage (p102).”
“Over time, the absence of women in gatherings of wealthy songwriting men is also going to affect the rhetoric of the songs (p106).”
“In order to keep their Barbies boxed in, the white male executives added morality clauses to their record deals, stipulating sexual abstinence and detailed dress codes and dance guidelines (p110).” “Industry power brokers have nudged songwriters away from ‘flowery’ songs and toward ‘warrior-type’ songs (p113).”
“Whether it’s done through roles defined in record deals, altar calls at worship events, the evolution of worship lyrics over time, or the commodification of bodies in worship, it’s all driven by white male power that devalues women. And among the most vulnerable are children (p119).”
Chapter 6: Child Soldiers
“If we want to figure out how children are being groomed to become Christian nationalists, we would do well to look at the songs adults are teaching them. … After that we’ll consider how it all becomes sexualized, as children of conservative churches enter into puberty through purity culture (p122).” “Indeed, at the heart of all these stories, as interpreted by white evangelicals, is the threat that if we don’t submit to their idea of God, then we deserve the same fate as God’s enemies: eternal conscious torment in hell (p125).” “And the songs of white evangelical childhood major, above all else, in happiness (p130).”
“The suffering of others becomes, in many of these songs, not something to lament but a cause for joy (p131).”
“The Good News curriculum references punishment seven times per hour. … and explicitly talks about hell two and a half times per hour (p133).” “Jesus begins to look like the bully on the block, with very specific stipulations for being in his club (p134).”
Chapter 7: The End Is Near
“Bombs are being flown into Iran, and [Sean] Feucht’s worship warriors are overflowing with praise (p139).” “In this chapter we consider how white evangelical worship music helps worshippers process their fear of the end times. We look at how this music also becomes the very vehicle through which authoritarian Christians have attempted to usher in the end times (p142).” “So to whom do these worshippers turn? Donald Trump, who looks up to violent authoritarians like Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán (p148).”
“With decades of worship music providing the soundtrack to these fears, it’s no wonder Christian nationalists today so easily fall for QAnon conspiracy theories (p149).”
Another common end-times view is postmillennialism. “And rather than hoping for escape, it hopes for accumulated power (p150).”
“Imagine if Christians exchanged celebrating an end-times vision of violent retribution for an end-times vision of liberating restoration (p155).”
Chapter 8: Bend the Knee
“[W]hile corporate worship is, by its very nature, communal, the songs white evangelicals sing overwhelmingly describe and celebrate individual spiritual experience. … An individualistic gospel shapes worshippers into private, atomized consumers, disconnected from concerns about their neighbors. The repertoire of an individualized faith can be imported to a political movement that promotes individual responsibility and ignores systemic realities (p159).”
“This is why white evangelical conceptions of justice look like retributive violence against human bodies. Justice is punishment. Violence is the solution. Cruelty is the point (p161).”
Chapter 9: Sunday, Bloody Sunday
“In this chapter, we’re going to explore how the typical Sunday morning worship space creates dynamics that allow Christian nationalism to flourish (p170).”
“Then [Josh] Howerton adds, ‘People aren’t on a truth quest. They’re on a happiness quest. So a joy-filled church is more attractive than an accurate one’ (p170).”
“We are not aware of how our songs are conditioning us for anxiety, and perception of threat, and extremism (p181).”
Chapter 10: Gangsters of America
“To prepare for the 2024 election, the extreme right took their worship warfare to the next level by creating revival services that doubled as political recruitment programs (p192).” “And how on earth has humbling yourself [2 Chronicles 7:14] come to mean rising up to humble your neighbors (p198).” “The Seven Mountain Mandate is one strategy by which Christian extremists envision exerting influence and authority over society (p200).” “This way [with property hidden behind a firewall], if the church gets sued, it doesn’t have property assets to lose. With multiple Hillsong pastors, including its founder, Brian Houston, being caught in sexual abuse scandals, that’s convenient (pp202-203).” “[Vance] Boelter had graduated from the Christ for the Nations Institute, whose founder, Gordon Lindsay, used to say, ‘Every Christian should pray at least one violent prayer a day’ (p205).”
“The drumbeat of dehumanization is unrelenting. And the songs of evangelicalism are the sugar that helps the poison of power go down (p216).”
With 23 pages of endnotes, this well-researched work brought to light many aspects of white evangelical worship that contribute to racism, misogyny, Christian nationalism, individualism, and extremism that are harmful to people who don’t submit to or don’t fit within the white, male, power-driven evangelical lifestyle. This book highlights one strand in a thick cord of evangelical culture. Other threads in this cord include patriarchy, individualism, authoritarian leadership, science denial, whitewashed history, excessive capitalism, warped homeschooling curriculum, sexual abuse scandals, lack of empathy, multi-level marketing organizations, and more. These strands weave together an image of the undercurrents in modern evangelical beliefs and behaviors that looks so very different from the picture Jesus paints in the Sermon on the Mount.
I highly recommend Weapons of Worship because music is so influential and often consumed without awareness of its agendas and power. I hope many will read this important work, choose to seek music that echoes the greatest commandments to love God and neighbors, and guard their hearts against musical messages that empower earthly empires.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is an examination of Evangelical Christianity using the vector of worship music, more generically here Christian Rock. It is a thorough examination, to the point of the book's detriment. It is searingly personal, written by a Bob Jones graduate turned journalist through a transition from a rank and file believer into a more sophisticated one. The text is focused on the ills and evils of Christian faith, that, as the author shows, you can still have deeply while criticizing the...well, 'extremist' feels wrong, when it is a prevailing or at least politically-endorsed form.
The music is of a God who hates sin, women, and Black people, and loves violence and triumphalism. The book is uninterested in the music per se but in using music as an opening to discuss these other topics, though the music remains a crucial bit. It is how the message can get in, even within people who might otherwise intend or profess otherwise.
I like it, but I can't recommend it. Saying "this book should have been a podcast" comes off as sneering, but it feels natural here, particularly when the topic is music. (I can only assume the rights issues, though.) But the same sort of motivation that spurs the potency of the book kind of blunts the message, or makes it less interesting for a reader like me who is more interested in the music, in the narrative and history of it and its performers, doing more criticism of it. This is much more about awareness, either as a call to current worshipers to examine their own feelings or as warning to others of what is going on in the Evangelical community. That, again, would play better in a different sort of medium (i.e. the podcast) but hurts the message here by creating an uneven sense of urgency.
My thanks to the author, Rick Pidcock, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Broadleaf Books, for making the ARC available to me.
The music is of a God who hates sin, women, and Black people, and loves violence and triumphalism. The book is uninterested in the music per se but in using music as an opening to discuss these other topics, though the music remains a crucial bit. It is how the message can get in, even within people who might otherwise intend or profess otherwise.
I like it, but I can't recommend it. Saying "this book should have been a podcast" comes off as sneering, but it feels natural here, particularly when the topic is music. (I can only assume the rights issues, though.) But the same sort of motivation that spurs the potency of the book kind of blunts the message, or makes it less interesting for a reader like me who is more interested in the music, in the narrative and history of it and its performers, doing more criticism of it. This is much more about awareness, either as a call to current worshipers to examine their own feelings or as warning to others of what is going on in the Evangelical community. That, again, would play better in a different sort of medium (i.e. the podcast) but hurts the message here by creating an uneven sense of urgency.
My thanks to the author, Rick Pidcock, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Broadleaf Books, for making the ARC available to me.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Rick Pidcock's posts have been appearing on several of my social media feeds for a while now. A friend shared a post, I resonated quite a bit with it and read a few more, my clicks fed the algorithm (or however that works) and he just kept appearing after that. So when I found Weapons of Worship while browsing Edelweiss, I snapped it up immediately.
Which is to say that I was probably predisposed to like it and resonate with it anyway.
The recent history of the worship movements that Pidcock tracks were the soundtracks I grew up with, albeit at a distance and a slight delay. Passion's One Day Live was *THE* big album in my teens. (Weird note: I actually don't quite remember that last track, "America", probably because it didn't feel relevant to me.)
Being on the other side of the world (Malaysia), Hillsong Australia and Planetshakers still held a little more sway in the early noughts, but by the time I started leading worship in the main service somewhere around 2007 to 2018, our "top 25" charts were also filled with all the usual suspects: Chris Tomlin, Bethel, Kari Jobe/Gateway, Hillsong. We did like Israel Houghton, but generally decided his songs were too hard to sing in church; we did not have a choir or Black voices.
It's not surprising that there is little variation between worship songs in English-speaking churches in Asia and those in America. Due to colonialism, our faith is a very white-washed one, and Pidcock does address it in context of USA. This quote (of a quote) felt particularly relevant):
At any rate, we have very few local churches that write and produce their own worship songs - in English, at least. (Funnily enough, the book traces how what gets sung in church may actually be influenced by Spotify more than anything else...)
It was not with a little horror that I realised how all these songs - songs that in and of themselves aren't exactly wrong - have culminated in and fed a twisted, unrecognisable brand of Christian Nationalism that is standing proud and ugly in America today. But how, then do churches elsewhere not have the same impact, seeing that we mostly sing the same songs globally? I think part of it is the mindset of the people themselves, as well as the direction coming from their pastors and leaders. It's the context we bring to lyrics that we sing. I wrote about singing victorious songs once, and whilst some of it echoes what Pidcock says American evangelicals are pushing back against, the context and tone is very different. I tend to believe that Malaysia is generally not a war-like country (tendency of running amok aside) so when I think of victory, and of winning, I do not go straight to wars and guns, or somehow subjugating everyone else to prove that God is on my side. I think of going into situations with the peace that whatever the outcome is, God has already dealt with it in the somehow, somewhere, nebulously (probably some back-office talk/nego, strange compulsions, lol) and I don't have to fight for anything.
...also there's the fact that we shouldn't be hypocrites by welcoming the attempt to Christianise America, when we protest and claim oppression when Malaysian politicians try to claim we're a Muslim nation.
All that aside, Weapons of Worship is an extremely eye-opening read for anyone in the church, especially those who are involved in the music ministry in any capacity. If I had any criticism, it's that there is no "what's next" or "how do we fix this?" - but that was never in the scope or premise of the book.
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Broadleaf Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Which is to say that I was probably predisposed to like it and resonate with it anyway.
The recent history of the worship movements that Pidcock tracks were the soundtracks I grew up with, albeit at a distance and a slight delay. Passion's One Day Live was *THE* big album in my teens. (Weird note: I actually don't quite remember that last track, "America", probably because it didn't feel relevant to me.)
Being on the other side of the world (Malaysia), Hillsong Australia and Planetshakers still held a little more sway in the early noughts, but by the time I started leading worship in the main service somewhere around 2007 to 2018, our "top 25" charts were also filled with all the usual suspects: Chris Tomlin, Bethel, Kari Jobe/Gateway, Hillsong. We did like Israel Houghton, but generally decided his songs were too hard to sing in church; we did not have a choir or Black voices.
It's not surprising that there is little variation between worship songs in English-speaking churches in Asia and those in America. Due to colonialism, our faith is a very white-washed one, and Pidcock does address it in context of USA. This quote (of a quote) felt particularly relevant):
Cultural genocide, [George e. Tinker] argues, is "the effective destruction of a people by systematically or systemically (intentionally or unintentionally in order to achieve other goals) destroying, eroding, or undermining the integrity of the culture and system of values that defines a people and gives them life."
At any rate, we have very few local churches that write and produce their own worship songs - in English, at least. (Funnily enough, the book traces how what gets sung in church may actually be influenced by Spotify more than anything else...)
It was not with a little horror that I realised how all these songs - songs that in and of themselves aren't exactly wrong - have culminated in and fed a twisted, unrecognisable brand of Christian Nationalism that is standing proud and ugly in America today. But how, then do churches elsewhere not have the same impact, seeing that we mostly sing the same songs globally? I think part of it is the mindset of the people themselves, as well as the direction coming from their pastors and leaders. It's the context we bring to lyrics that we sing. I wrote about singing victorious songs once, and whilst some of it echoes what Pidcock says American evangelicals are pushing back against, the context and tone is very different. I tend to believe that Malaysia is generally not a war-like country (tendency of running amok aside) so when I think of victory, and of winning, I do not go straight to wars and guns, or somehow subjugating everyone else to prove that God is on my side. I think of going into situations with the peace that whatever the outcome is, God has already dealt with it in the somehow, somewhere, nebulously (probably some back-office talk/nego, strange compulsions, lol) and I don't have to fight for anything.
...also there's the fact that we shouldn't be hypocrites by welcoming the attempt to Christianise America, when we protest and claim oppression when Malaysian politicians try to claim we're a Muslim nation.
All that aside, Weapons of Worship is an extremely eye-opening read for anyone in the church, especially those who are involved in the music ministry in any capacity. If I had any criticism, it's that there is no "what's next" or "how do we fix this?" - but that was never in the scope or premise of the book.
Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Broadleaf Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
October 8, 2026
Rick Pidcock is an ideal voice to dive right into the world of megachurches, political rallies, and the soundtrack of Christian supremacy's war on democracy.
That's exactly what happens in his "Weapons of Worship: Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism." Pidcock led worship in evangelical churches for twenty years. Suddenly, it seems like the light bulb came on and he began to see a connection between the worship being created and the rise of a thirst for power within evangelical Christianity.
"Weapons of Worship" is an intriguing book, especially toward its end, though I'll admit I began to feel like I should start a fundraiser based upon how many times Pidcock means celebrity worship leader Sean Feucht. I'd raise a fortune.
It's not that Feucht isn't an important factor in this discussion. He is. But, he's a low-hanging fruit in this discussion and one piece of a seriously behemoth puzzle. The obsession with Feucht distracts from the fullness of this discussion.
The "sweeping investigation" here never feels like a sleeping exploration. It's a valuable discussion, of course, and even a necessary one. But, with a singular focus on the contemporary this discussion feels a little too stream of conscious to land qutie the impact I was hoping it would have.
How did we reach a point of praise and worship music becoming central to this political rally meets Christian worship world? How did Trump really center all of this in a way that works so effectively? How have entire worship houses (think Hillsong, Bethel, etc.) come to amplify it? Pidcock explores these questions, though my favorite parts of "Weapons of Worship" are quieter ones - especially the chapter toward the end where Pidcock begins exploring a breakdown of constructing a worship service? This chapter? Remarkably powerful.
Pidcock ultimately begins to take the mask off of a worship culture often devoted more to power than worship, algorithms more than the actual faith journey. Pidcock shows how that same power culture has been used to end the careers of anyone, especially women (Jaci Velasquez, Amy Grant to a degree, etc.), daring to challenge it or to violate its strict moral codes.
I appreciated "Weapons of Worship," though by the end found myself tired of the Feucht references and wanting a deeper dive than is ultimately offered here. "Weapons of Worship" is a "101" discussion of topics deserving of far more of our attention. This is a good place to start. Don't let it be the place you finish.
That's exactly what happens in his "Weapons of Worship: Songs of Evangelicalism Form the Soundtrack of Extremism." Pidcock led worship in evangelical churches for twenty years. Suddenly, it seems like the light bulb came on and he began to see a connection between the worship being created and the rise of a thirst for power within evangelical Christianity.
"Weapons of Worship" is an intriguing book, especially toward its end, though I'll admit I began to feel like I should start a fundraiser based upon how many times Pidcock means celebrity worship leader Sean Feucht. I'd raise a fortune.
It's not that Feucht isn't an important factor in this discussion. He is. But, he's a low-hanging fruit in this discussion and one piece of a seriously behemoth puzzle. The obsession with Feucht distracts from the fullness of this discussion.
The "sweeping investigation" here never feels like a sleeping exploration. It's a valuable discussion, of course, and even a necessary one. But, with a singular focus on the contemporary this discussion feels a little too stream of conscious to land qutie the impact I was hoping it would have.
How did we reach a point of praise and worship music becoming central to this political rally meets Christian worship world? How did Trump really center all of this in a way that works so effectively? How have entire worship houses (think Hillsong, Bethel, etc.) come to amplify it? Pidcock explores these questions, though my favorite parts of "Weapons of Worship" are quieter ones - especially the chapter toward the end where Pidcock begins exploring a breakdown of constructing a worship service? This chapter? Remarkably powerful.
Pidcock ultimately begins to take the mask off of a worship culture often devoted more to power than worship, algorithms more than the actual faith journey. Pidcock shows how that same power culture has been used to end the careers of anyone, especially women (Jaci Velasquez, Amy Grant to a degree, etc.), daring to challenge it or to violate its strict moral codes.
I appreciated "Weapons of Worship," though by the end found myself tired of the Feucht references and wanting a deeper dive than is ultimately offered here. "Weapons of Worship" is a "101" discussion of topics deserving of far more of our attention. This is a good place to start. Don't let it be the place you finish.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I was given this book for free as an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book is important. It sums up and analyzes so much of what's going on with the intersection and melding of religion and politics in the United States today. And it presents it all in a compelling, evidence-based way.
I picked up this book because I'm always up for analyzing worship music; I am much more familiar with the "Jesus is my boyfriend" variety also discussed in this book, as there are very many worship songs that are utterly indistinguishable from love song (and even strongly suggest a sexual relationship with Jesus), and it was so interesting to see the author's perspective on the gender (and level of attractiveness) of the singers mattering a great deal when it comes to whether that type of song is appropriately viewed as "non-emasculating" and male worship leaders typically leading songs with a more violence/war related theme in them.
I was so close to giving this book five stars, but ultimately decided not to just because of the way it presents some of its arguments earlier on in the book. Since the author says that his audience also includes current evangelicals, I think that the way arguments are structured and worded don't really work for convincing these people or giving them any reason to doubt their beliefs. I can imagine them feeling defensive and attacked rather than thoughtful, unfortunately. Still, that's an incredibly high ask anyway. It is so, so hard to change people's minds, even in the face of solid evidence, because that's just not what shapes people's thinking, in comparison to even things like worship music, which has the emotional resonance to influence your thinking. I think this book's audience is much more people who already have something to critique about the MAGA conservative evangelical movement or people who know nothing about it, rather than people who are fully bought in, since I don't really think this is the book that would change their minds.
The end of the book was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. It is also the part that stands out the most to me. I am frightened for the future, as it feels like it's building up to some kind of crescendo, and unlike the conservative evangelicals, I don't believe that it's the end times coming, but more likely a civil war, increasing oppression, and this dehumanizing language culminating in violence. It is a sobering thought to think about.
This book is important. It sums up and analyzes so much of what's going on with the intersection and melding of religion and politics in the United States today. And it presents it all in a compelling, evidence-based way.
I picked up this book because I'm always up for analyzing worship music; I am much more familiar with the "Jesus is my boyfriend" variety also discussed in this book, as there are very many worship songs that are utterly indistinguishable from love song (and even strongly suggest a sexual relationship with Jesus), and it was so interesting to see the author's perspective on the gender (and level of attractiveness) of the singers mattering a great deal when it comes to whether that type of song is appropriately viewed as "non-emasculating" and male worship leaders typically leading songs with a more violence/war related theme in them.
I was so close to giving this book five stars, but ultimately decided not to just because of the way it presents some of its arguments earlier on in the book. Since the author says that his audience also includes current evangelicals, I think that the way arguments are structured and worded don't really work for convincing these people or giving them any reason to doubt their beliefs. I can imagine them feeling defensive and attacked rather than thoughtful, unfortunately. Still, that's an incredibly high ask anyway. It is so, so hard to change people's minds, even in the face of solid evidence, because that's just not what shapes people's thinking, in comparison to even things like worship music, which has the emotional resonance to influence your thinking. I think this book's audience is much more people who already have something to critique about the MAGA conservative evangelical movement or people who know nothing about it, rather than people who are fully bought in, since I don't really think this is the book that would change their minds.
The end of the book was equal parts fascinating and horrifying. It is also the part that stands out the most to me. I am frightened for the future, as it feels like it's building up to some kind of crescendo, and unlike the conservative evangelicals, I don't believe that it's the end times coming, but more likely a civil war, increasing oppression, and this dehumanizing language culminating in violence. It is a sobering thought to think about.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. As we worship, so we believe and so we will live."
I am pretty familiar with the author's work already and have read quite a few of his articles. I knew going in that I would both agree and disagree with some things, but I am truly interested in his perspective on this topic.
This book was eye opening for me, and was so thought provoking that it earned a 5 star rating, even if I didn't always agree. Some of the things I learned made me uncomfortable (I really love worship music) and now knowing more of the behind the scenes of the industry has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Should I be surprised that so much of the reason behind which songs get sung in my church is money, celebrity, and algorithims - unbeknownst to many of the congregation and worship leaders? No. Not anymore, anyway. Still, it stings.
Other topics addressed are the theology in worship songs, the pressures worship leaders face, and how we worship affects how we relate to the world (excellently done). He draws on his experience as a worship leader, and a lot of research as well.
The biggest theme addressed in this book is the syncretism between politics and worship, and dominion ideology and worship. This was excellently shown. At some political rallies now, you will hear worship music about spiritual warfare. This songs in context with the kind of warfare talked about in the Bible are neither bad or wrong, but when overlaid with politics, your enemies quickly become people who vote differently than you, and your weapon of "melody" might become a real weapon. This book does a great job of showing of how this is a real thing that happens (both historically and currently). The last chapter is pretty harrowing.
All in all, this was a pretty interesting and well-researched book that I will reference back to!
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Broadleaf Books for the ARC!
I am pretty familiar with the author's work already and have read quite a few of his articles. I knew going in that I would both agree and disagree with some things, but I am truly interested in his perspective on this topic.
This book was eye opening for me, and was so thought provoking that it earned a 5 star rating, even if I didn't always agree. Some of the things I learned made me uncomfortable (I really love worship music) and now knowing more of the behind the scenes of the industry has left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Should I be surprised that so much of the reason behind which songs get sung in my church is money, celebrity, and algorithims - unbeknownst to many of the congregation and worship leaders? No. Not anymore, anyway. Still, it stings.
Other topics addressed are the theology in worship songs, the pressures worship leaders face, and how we worship affects how we relate to the world (excellently done). He draws on his experience as a worship leader, and a lot of research as well.
The biggest theme addressed in this book is the syncretism between politics and worship, and dominion ideology and worship. This was excellently shown. At some political rallies now, you will hear worship music about spiritual warfare. This songs in context with the kind of warfare talked about in the Bible are neither bad or wrong, but when overlaid with politics, your enemies quickly become people who vote differently than you, and your weapon of "melody" might become a real weapon. This book does a great job of showing of how this is a real thing that happens (both historically and currently). The last chapter is pretty harrowing.
All in all, this was a pretty interesting and well-researched book that I will reference back to!
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Broadleaf Books for the ARC!
July 31, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This is very much one of those ‘buckle up, buckaroos’ kind of books. It exposes a very nasty, incredibly toxic vein of thinking in evangelical Christian circles that is becoming increasingly common, and it’s very well done by the author, who has clearly had ample experience in the sector.
The link between evangelicalism and the far right is alarming, and made very clear by this book. The way that faith has been commercialised for Christianity is alarming at best, and the lean in to the fervour of a shared mania in ‘worship’ is also a worry. This book aims to examine the link between worship music and extremism, and it does an excellent job of that.
I appreciated that I learnt so much about the monopoly of the record labels in the space, and their gaming of the charts. The ostracism of women, as well as how the music is designed to be a ‘call to war’ was also really well explored.
I do feel that some of the points could have gone slightly further, but I do understand that there was an attempt to keep this balanced. I wished that there could have been some facets that hammered the point home a bit more, but at the same time, it covered the points well.
I don’t honestly know if it will make a difference for any of the people currently engaged in that kind of church or evangelism, but it’s well worth it if it even makes one person have a good solid think about things.
This is very much one of those ‘buckle up, buckaroos’ kind of books. It exposes a very nasty, incredibly toxic vein of thinking in evangelical Christian circles that is becoming increasingly common, and it’s very well done by the author, who has clearly had ample experience in the sector.
The link between evangelicalism and the far right is alarming, and made very clear by this book. The way that faith has been commercialised for Christianity is alarming at best, and the lean in to the fervour of a shared mania in ‘worship’ is also a worry. This book aims to examine the link between worship music and extremism, and it does an excellent job of that.
I appreciated that I learnt so much about the monopoly of the record labels in the space, and their gaming of the charts. The ostracism of women, as well as how the music is designed to be a ‘call to war’ was also really well explored.
I do feel that some of the points could have gone slightly further, but I do understand that there was an attempt to keep this balanced. I wished that there could have been some facets that hammered the point home a bit more, but at the same time, it covered the points well.
I don’t honestly know if it will make a difference for any of the people currently engaged in that kind of church or evangelism, but it’s well worth it if it even makes one person have a good solid think about things.
October 12, 2026
I won't this book and tried to read it as it was a different perspective from me but I could not finish it. This is not written from a Christian perspective. The author is not a Christian.
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