What "To Be Like Thee" means
At the center of Christian discipleship is a desire that is simultaneously simple to name and nearly impossible to sustain: the desire to look more like Jesus. "To Be Like Thee" by Austin Stone Worship gives that desire a song to live in. Not a triumphant song. Not a song about how far you've come. A song about how far there is to go, and the decision to keep going anyway.
The phrase "to be like thee" is drawn from an older stream of devotional Christianity, the language of total surrender and conformity to Christ that runs through writers like Thomas a Kempis, A.W. Tozer, and the great saints of the contemplative tradition. Austin Stone doesn't dress it up in contemporary clothing so much as they hold the phrase up and let it carry its own weight. The simplicity of the title is the point. You don't need more words. The desire is that simple and that large.
What the song captures is the honest acknowledgment that becoming like Christ is not a weekend project. It is the work of a lifetime, and it requires the constant reorientation of a will that keeps drifting toward its own comfort and preferences. The congregation that sings this song is admitting something: left to themselves, they will not arrive there. They need help. The prayer is both the desire and the asking.
What this song does in a room
At 68 BPM in 4/4, "To Be Like Thee" is among the most contemplative songs in the contemporary catalog. This is not a song for generating energy. It is a song for creating space in which honest desire can surface.
What you will see in the room: people closing their eyes early. Some people's posture will change as the song progresses, becoming more open or more bowed. This is a song that reaches into personal conviction, and the room tends to reflect that with individual responses rather than collective movement. Some will stand still and sing quietly. Some will sit. Some will kneel if the culture of your church allows for it.
Trust the stillness. This song is doing its work when the room is quiet. If you feel the urge to fill the silence with more instrumentation or a more energetic vocal, pause. The song is not broken. It is working. Let it.
What this song is saying about God
The song is saying that God is the standard, the destination, and the strength for the journey. "To be like thee" assumes that God in Christ is the most beautiful thing imaginable, and that the appropriate orientation of a human life is toward that beauty.
It is also saying something about the nature of transformation: that it is received, not achieved. The song is a prayer, not a commitment. You are not declaring what you will do. You are asking for what only God can give. The difference is theologically significant. Sanctification in the Scriptural frame is the work of the Spirit, not the willpower of the believer, and "To Be Like Thee" keeps the agency where it belongs.
The song is also making a quiet statement about desire itself. The desire to be like Christ is not natural to a fallen person. To want it is already evidence of the Spirit's work. So the congregation that sings this is not just asking for transformation; they are giving thanks that the desire exists at all.
Scriptural backbone
Romans 8:29 is the doctrinal foundation: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."
The word "conformed" is doing the heavy lifting. The goal of God's work in the believer is conformity to the image of Christ. Not resemblance. Not approximation. Conformity. The song puts the congregation in alignment with that divine goal by making it a prayer: this is what you are doing in me, God. This is what you have destined for me. Let it happen.
Second Corinthians 3:18 adds the process: "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Transformation by contemplation. You become what you behold. The song is itself an act of beholding, which means singing it is not just about expressing a desire but participating in the process.
How to use it in a service
"To Be Like Thee" belongs in services that deal with discipleship, sanctification, or the cost of following Jesus. Lenten services are a natural home; the season is built around the exact posture the song occupies. Ash Wednesday in particular, with its emphasis on mortality and return to God, creates a context in which this song resonates deeply.
It also works in any service series on spiritual formation, the fruit of the Spirit, or what it means to grow in Christlikeness. Place it near the close of the service, after the sermon has done its work of calling the congregation to a transformed life. The song is the congregation's response: yes, we want this. Please do this in us.
Avoid placing it early in a set when the congregation is still arriving. This song asks for something the room has to be ready to give. Earn the placement by leading the congregation somewhere first.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
This is a song that requires you to mean it before anyone else in the room does. If there is any gap between what you are singing and what you actually want, the congregation will sense it. Spend time with this prayer before you lead it publicly. Pray it privately. Let it cost you something before you ask the room to sing it.
At 68 BPM, there is almost no margin for distraction. Any fumbled transition or uncertain lyric will break the contemplative atmosphere the song requires. Know this song thoroughly so that your hands and your voice can be on autopilot, freeing your full attention for the room and for the content of what you're singing.
Watch the ending. Do not rush out of this song into the next element of the service. Give it a moment. A few seconds of silence after the last chord is not awkward. It is the most honest thing you can do. Let the prayer hang in the air before you move on.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
For the band: this is the most stripped-down song in any set you put it in. Piano alone can carry it entirely if needed. If you bring in additional instruments, each one should earn its place with restraint. Acoustic guitar with fingerpicking rather than strumming, a pad on the keys rather than full chords, light and infrequent brushwork from the drummer if drums are present at all.
At 68 BPM, even a light snare hit on beats two and four can feel heavy depending on the tuning and the room. Consider whether the drum kit needs to be present for this song, or whether removing it entirely serves the prayer better. That is not a knock on the drummer. It is a decision about what serves the room.
For vocalists: this is the song in your set that demands the most tonal honesty from you. No runs. No embellishments that draw attention to the singer rather than the prayer. Sing with a clear, present tone and let the lyric carry the moment. If you are tempted to add something because the song feels too simple, that feeling is usually wrong. The simplicity is the song's strength.
For the tech team: the lowest-energy song in your set is also the one where gain staging and monitor issues are most likely to surface. Do a careful sound check specifically for this song. Monitor levels for the vocalist need to be accurate, because at this tempo and volume, a vocalist who can't hear themselves clearly will start to drift. In the front of house, keep the mix intimate. Less room reverb than you might reach for, a warm and close-sounding lead vocal, and enough ambient bed (a pad or soft strings if you use them) to keep the sound from feeling hollow. The goal is for the room to feel like it is holding the prayer, not performing it.