and worshipper, how much are you waiting for‘ the one’ to come along, and is there any kind of internal tension as you’ re waiting for it to appear?
[ Phil ] I definitely haven’ t passed that level of humanity, You are kind of always looking for those songs with that unexplainable intangible‘ x-factor’,‘ extra-anointing’, or‘ God- breathed’ moment, and that’ s the chase- to find those songs that are like“ Wow!” There have been songs where I thought,“ This is so special, I can hear churches singing this” and then it’ s one of the least popular songs on the record and it falls to the wayside. You just never know in the long run what that intangible anointing, what God is going to breathe into a song beyond your own influence.
The more you write, the more you get this instinct where you go,“ OK, we stumbled onto something that is unique. It doesn’ t feel like we’ re just trying to write a song anymore, it feels like there’ s an extra amount of anointing and Holy Spirit in the moment.” You learn to recognize and chase after that. The search and the challenge to find that and the digging it takes. Those moments of excavating, like someone looking for dinosaur bones when you just see a toe sticking out of the dirt and think,“ We might have just found something special here!” Once in a while songs feel like that. It could even be just one line, one idea, or vision that God puts in your heart. You know what the song is supposed to be, the truth that it’ s supposed to carry, and have a clear vision for the end result.
“ Living Hope” // Bethel Music
In every song that has stood the test of time for me, there is always the moment of Holy Spirit inspiration. I call it the anchor of the song. This part of the song will never die or be rewritten. This is the part that the whole song is going to revolve around. Then I try to bring it to life for everyone else as much as it is alive for me in that moment. For every song … there is a certain amount of“ We’ ve stumbled on something really special here, let’ s keep running towards it!” and also,“ This isn’ t quite right. This verse isn’ t quite right, lets rewrite it. Ok the chorus isn’ t as good as the verses now, let’ s rewrite that!” I think there are equal amounts, if not more, perspiration than inspiration.
The more you write, the more your instinct grows to know when you have something special. That’ s what makes me want to sit down at the piano, it’ s what keeps me writing. When you stumble into those moments they’ re so unique and special and far between, that it’ s a constant chase for that moment and that
8 August 2018 WorshipMusician. com