cocaine and LSD. Then, from the time I was will rejoice over you with singing.” It’s a really
17 until my early twenties, I was a crystal meth powerful image. Somebody said to me once,
addict. I was doing crystal meth every day “When God speaks, He creates things. So
during that time! And, during that time I was what happens when He sings over us?” It’s a
strongly against Christianity. I was the guy who, really powerful image.
if you mentioned Jesus to me, I would cuss
you out! I remember people were burdened for [WM] Another standout song on the record is
me and were praying for me at this time. They “Fall Away.” Who wrote that?
gave me this book, The Case For Christ, by Lee
Strobel. Miraculously, I took it!
[Stephen] I did, with Mia Fields and Jonathan
Smith. That comes direct from the Iron Bell
Stephen McWhirter
Fast forward, it was like 3:00 in the morning, Ministry. We’ve always done this prayer where
I was staying in a house of musicians; I’m in we’re like, “God, anything that’s not from You,
bed with this book about Jesus, there were let it fall away. As we speak tonight, as we sing
drugs next to me on a side-table and basically, and pray, if it’s not from You, let it fall away. If it
I encountered the presence of God in that room is from You, let it take root and let it have its way
that night…the tangible presence of God. We in this place.” That’s really at the core of what
began to have this internal dialog and He would we’re about.
is showing up for us, and we will sit down and say to me, “Stephen, I’m real, and I’m good.
write songs about the way that we encounter Now what are you going to do about it?”
Him. The song, “Sons and Daughters” was
[WM] Tell us about your gear. What guitars are
you playing?
like that for me. It started out where I had this I remember being like, “God I want to give massive shift in my relationship with the Lord, You my life. I want to quit all of this stuff…this [Joel] I am on acoustic guitar, and sometimes
knowing Him intimately as a Father as opposed addiction, depression, and darkness that I’ve electric.
to just conceptually. It became very real to me known for so long, but obviously, I don’t know Rosewood…it’s about 20 years old with the
that He is my Father. So, our desire is to write how to do it.” original Fishman Blender in it. Usually, when I’m
songs out of that place.
I’m
a
Taylor
710
with
playing electric, I’m playing through an AC30
In a thought more powerful than words, I felt
[Stephen] Yeah, it’s really a big part of what God say to me, “Stephen, you won’t do it
we do. It’s not about, “How do we become alone, I’ll do it.” And, Christianity 101, I just took
famous?” or “How do we get bigger, or grow the Lord at His word and I fell to my knees that
a brand?” God wants to take people from this night in my room and I gave my life to Jesus.
intellectual, knowing about Him, to this intimate I went from addiction to redemption…from
knowing Him. We hope that this is kind of what meth addict to being a worship leader about a
the music does and people kind of begin to year later. The Lord also healed my relationship
engage the Lord in this fresh, intimate way that with my father. It was awesome! He actually
kind of draws them into this way of actually baptized my wife and me, and even performed
encountering Him, not just hearing cool songs. our wedding! I always say that “God That
Saves” is more than a song…it’s my story. For
[WM] Steven, would you tell us the back story me, the person and the nature of God is a God
of the song “God That Saves?” that saves, because I literally encountered Him
as a Savior that night in that room.
[Stephen] I grew up as the son of a traveling
evangelist, and the man that I saw in public and [WM] Is there a line in “God That Saves” that
the man I saw in private did not align. I didn’t speaks the strongest to you?
want anything to do with the Christianity I saw
in my father. In my early teens I started to rebel, [Stephen] I think it would be, “I hear the
and what started with smoking, drinking, and sound of victory ringing over me.” Like in
smoking pot became, by the time I was 15, Zeph 3:17, “Your God is mighty to save…He
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playing
December 2017
Joel Gerdis
WorshipMusician.com