What "What Is This" means
The question is the point. Wonder refuses to answer itself. Jekalyn Carr is writing from the tradition of Black gospel worship, where the experience of God is so overwhelming that language breaks down and the only honest response is the question. "What is this" is not asking for a doctrinal definition. It is expressing an encounter that exceeds categories. The song is placing the congregation in a posture that the Bible returns to repeatedly: the posture of the person who has been met by God in a way they did not earn and cannot fully explain. Mary at the tomb. Thomas before the risen Christ. The disciples in the boat after the miraculous catch. All of them are asking some version of "what is this." The song is not confused about God. It is overwhelmed by God, which is a different and more honest thing. The title is an act of theological humility, the admission that whatever God is doing is larger than the available vocabulary, and that this is cause for celebration rather than anxiety.
What this song does in a room
Wonder opens people up in a way that doctrinal confidence sometimes cannot. A congregation that has been theologically formed but emotionally closed can find a crack in the armor through a song like this. The question "what is this" gives permission to experience God as larger than understanding, to be moved without needing to fully explain what moved them. At 85 BPM in G, the song has enough forward motion to carry the room without demanding vocal complexity. Jekalyn Carr's gospel DNA means the song tends to build in layers, and a congregation that leans into those layers will find themselves in a fuller experience than they expected when the song began. The song tends to work particularly well in rooms that are culturally diverse or that are in the process of becoming more so, because it draws from a tradition that many evangelical worship spaces have overlooked, and the reunion is always worth something.
What this song is saying about God
The song is saying that God is experientially beyond the limits of human comprehension, that an encounter with God produces an involuntary response of wonder rather than a neat summary. It is also saying that God is present in the room, not abstractly represented but actually here, doing something, moving in a way that can be perceived if the congregation is paying attention. There is an implicit theology of divine immanence here, the God who is not distant and managing from afar but who enters the space of gathered worship and acts. The song holds up a God who defies routine, who cannot be predicted or contained by habit. That is uncomfortable for some congregations and liberating for others, and the song does not apologize for either response.
Scriptural backbone
Psalm 8:1 provides the posture: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" The question-as-wonder form is established here. Isaiah 6:1-5 is the encounter behind the experience: the vision of God so overwhelming that Isaiah's first response is not praise but prostration and confession. Mark 4:41 captures the disciples' version: "And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'" Psalm 40:5 is the declaration that emerges from wonder: "You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!"
How to use it in a service
This song earns a post-message placement when the message has built toward an encounter, toward a moment of application or response that exceeds rational decision and requires genuine openness. It also belongs in a Pentecost-adjacent service or any service where the theme is the presence of God. In a series on wonder, awe, or the attributes of God, it serves as the emotional and experiential complement to the didactic content. One caution: do not use this song as filler before a heavy theological moment. It builds toward openness, and if what comes after it does not honor that openness, the congregation will feel manipulated. Place it where the service is ready to receive what the congregation will bring to the table after singing it together.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
The best version of leading this song is one where you are actually in the question with the congregation, not managing the experience from a safe distance. If your body language says "I know what is coming next" while your words are asking "what is this," the congregation will track the body language. The song invites authentic wonder, which means it invites the worship leader to be actually present to the possibility of being surprised by God in this specific moment. That is a vulnerable place to lead from, and it is also the most powerful place. Watch for the moment when the congregation stops reading the screen and starts just being in the room. That is the cue to extend the song or hold the space rather than moving on to the next element.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Band: the gospel DNA of this song means the groove matters more than the volume. A locked-in pocket between kick, bass, and keys is the foundation everything else rests on. Do not let the groove feel stiff or mechanical. If you have musicians comfortable with gospel-inflected playing, let them lead. If your band is more accustomed to contemporary CCM styling, spend extra rehearsal time on the feel rather than the notes. The feel is the content of this song in a way that differs from most contemporary worship pieces. Vocalists: the backing vocalists can be more expressive here than in most songs on your rotation. This style rewards call-and-response, emotive runs in the right places, and harmonies that stack and build. Brief the team on the balance between supporting the lead vocal and being individually expressive. Techs: the low end of this song needs to be clean and present. A muddy kick or a boomy bass frequency will undermine the groove. Spend the sound check time you need on the low end, and keep the room feeling warm and full without losing clarity in the midrange where the vocalists live.