Award-winning worship songs are great, but the Church should embrace the local and ordinary too

Our churches consume worship music like they do fast food, but a healthy diet must include home-grown and home-made, says Integrity Music’s Steve Harding

In the lockdown of 2021, I ate a lot of takeaway food. At the end of a challenging day juggling a full-time job and homeschooling two children, it was too easy to pour a (large) glass of wine, slump onto the sofa and order a Deliveroo dinner, instead of cooking something from scratch. While the odd takeaway is yummy, I knew it wasn’t sustainable, for my wallet or for my waistline. Nutritionists say if you want to get healthy, you should cook at home. Yes, it involves more preparation, thought and skill, but often it is healthier.