History of Hymns: 'Change My Heart, O God'

He received degrees from California State University, Fullerton (BA, 1976, in Spanish Linguistics and Education) and two graduate degrees from Azusa Pacific University (MA in Counseling, 2003; MA in Administration, 2007).

Though he has spent much of his career in public school education in southern California, he has served as a pastor and traveled the world as a worship leader, including England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Germany, Korea, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, and throughout the United States. In addition to serving many years as a worship leader at the Vineyard in Anaheim, he and his wife, Elsie, have led Spanish-speaking congregations as pastors. Espinosa was on the worship team for Promise Keepers stadium conferences in the mid-1990s.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Espinosa participated with the worship leadership of Faith Assembly Revival Fellowship, a California Pentecostal church. In 1979, he was recruited by Vineyard founder John Wimber (1934–1997) and joined the worship team at Anaheim Vineyard Christian Fellowship, working as a bi-vocational church musician. The name “Vineyard” comes from Isaiah 27:2–3 and John 15:5. Vineyard-associated churches took a central role in the Jesus People movement, rooted in Pentecostal and charismatic renewal.

training worship leaders and nurturing fellowship through guitar classes in home groups. By the mid-1980s, he developed models to guide the sequencing of songs in worship to achieve flow. He used John Wimber’s five-phase pattern—invitation, engagement, intimacy, visitation of God, and giving of substance—to shape his worship leading and to train new leaders. Espinosa is credited as one of the first contemporary musicians to add lead guitar to the band’s sound during the early Vineyard movement and is considered one of the pioneers of the modern worship movement. As a songwriter, he wrote many songs from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, including “Change my heart, Oh God,” “Worthy is the Lamb” (1993), and “You are the mighty King” (1996).

The year was 1982. I had been a Christian since 1969, but I saw a lot of things in my life that needed to be discarded. I had slowly become very complacent. I acknowledged my complacency, and I prayed to the Lord, “The only way that I can follow you is for you to change my appetite, the things that draw me away. You must change my heart!” . . . Shortly thereafter, I was in my car on the way to my work, feeling a desire to draw near to God and with the wrestling still going on in my heart. Suddenly, a melody and some words began to flood through my mind. As I stopped at a stop sign, I reached for something to write on. The first thing I found was a small piece of yellow paper, which, by the way, I still have, and began to write as rapidly as I could. It was like taking dictation. I wrote the words on the paper and kept the melody in my mind. (Terry, 2008, pp. 40–41 cited in The Canterbury Dictionary, http://www.hymnology.co.uk/c/change-my-heart,-o-god)

The text of the refrain draws upon Psalm 51:10 and Ezekiel 36:25–27 with images of renewal and repentance, making it well-suited for use during the Lenten season. Psalm 51, believed to be written by King David after the prophet Nathan reminded him of his sin with Bathsheba, is the appointed Psalm in the Revised Common Lectionary for Ash Wednesday. It is David’s confession and appeal for God’s grace and forgiveness. Ezekiel 36:25–27, included in the appointed readings for the Great Vigil of Easter, bookends the season with God promising “a new spirit” and “tender, human heart” changed from the “stone heart” and made to “obey my laws.” The last phrase of the refrain, “May I be like you,” is a prayer of repentance seeking God’s grace and forgiveness and the promise of renewal in the relationship between God and God’s people.

The text of the brief stanza draws on other scriptural images. The potter (God) and clay (a human being) motif echoes Isaiah 64:8 and Jeremiah 18:4–6 rewritten from a first-person perspective. Interestingly, Espinosa’s words— “You are the Potter, / I am the clay; / Mold me and make me”—are similar to those by Adelaide A. Potter (1862–1934) in the first stanza of her famous hymn, “Have thine own way, Lord” (1902): “Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. / Mold me and make me after Thy will.” In both scripture passages, the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah use this metaphor, linking the potter image with a prayer for renewal in the chorus, reflecting God’s sovereignty and will. -- The Canterbury Dictionary, http://www.hymnology.co.uk/c/change-my-heart,-o-god.

Since its initial recognition, the song has been included in printed resources across denominational lines and recorded numerous times in various arrangements and instruments. The earliest collection to include this song was initially published as an octavo in 1982. Renew! Songs and Hymns for Blended Worship (1995) included it, followed by nearly twenty additional hymnals. Several twenty-first-century collections feature the song, including Baptist Hymnal (2008), Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New (2000), Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), Glory to God (2013), and Santo, Santo, Santo (2019), the latter with a Spanish translation by bilingual pastor and composer Marcos Witt (b. 1962). The song is translated into Korean in Come, Let Us Worship (2001). It has appeared on several Maranatha! Music and Vineyard albums, including Change My Heart Oh God (1996), Change My Heart Oh God: 25 Top Vineyard Worship Songs (2002), and Heart of Worship: Prayer (2012). . -- The Canterbury Dictionary, http://www.hymnology.co.uk/c/change-my-heart,-o-god.

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