the God who saves , the God we would ride across the heavens to help those that He loves . That He would never leave us lonely , that He would never leave us , that ’ s just not who He is . And it ’ s important that we never forget that . We wanted to sing it in a vertical way to acknowledge that . I ’ m going to be honest , with our whole news cycle , when we were caught up in that everywhere you looked , it was difficult and it was difficult sometimes to worship and to stand and lift your hands . I wanted to shift and give us language to remind us who He is but to also worship Him in the midst of it . That He ’ s still saving , He ’ s still delivering , that ’ s who He has been to us and that ’ s who He will always be , and that ’ s where that song came from … that was the heart of it .
[ WM ] Chandler , “ The Blood ” is an epic song of testimony , and with the reprise , runs over 23 minutes in length ! You , along with Nicole and Ryan , passionately lead this time of worship with excellence , and I noticed that Tasha Cobbs Leonard , whom I also interviewed just few months ago for this publication , was a co-writer on the tune . Please tell us about this song .
[ Chandler ] Yeah , so this is one of my favorite songs ever written . What happened was this song was written before Maverick City was even Maverick City . I think it was one of the first writing camps that we did , and I wasn ’ t even there . Tasha , Tony Brown , JJ , Tasha ’ s husband Kenny Leonard , and Kirby and Daniel Baxter sitting all in one room and they came up with a chorus and some verses . I came back and listened to it a couple of years later and I was like , “ Man I love this chorus ”. So , I took the chorus and me and one of my friends , Taylor Hill , rewrote the verses and I wrote the bridge . So we just kind of reimagined the song .
The Blood
This song , literally that night , we recorded this song in 48 minutes . It was a 48-minute moment that we had to pare down . It was just a very powerful moment in the room , its very special to me .
[ WM ] Let me ask you about “ Hymn Medley ”. You combined three traditional hymns within a deep worship experience . Sadly , I think that sometimes hymns are considered dusty church songs for old people , but y ’ all have modeled something quite different for us . Chandler , you have again magnificently led this one and the piano accompaniment is beautifully played by Tim Reddick . What can you say about this recording and the songs you chose ?
[ Chandler ] So this was done in top of June last year so it was right after the George Floyd thing and during the pandemic , so in high racial tension and injustice and the pandemic going crazy , in the heat of it . I wanted to sing some hymns . One of my mentor pastors tells us , “ The hymns gather us and the new songs focus us .” So I wanted to sing some hymns to get us all on one page and to remember that the same God who brought all our ancestors through and the same God who brought our nation together years ago is the same God here with us now prevailing in the moment who will win , who will overcome , who will triumph . Tim is a classically trained guy but also in church so he
knows all those hymns . We just wanted to sing those hymns and allow the atmosphere to be charged with great lyrics and great melodies .
[ WM ] Is there anything you would like to say about the song “ Ruins ” and / or “ Testify ”?
[ Chandler ] I love “ Ruins ”. That song I listen to on repeat a lot , I really love hearing songs about how God takes broken things and restores them and redeems them . That ’ s one of my favorites .
[ Naomi ] What I would love to say about “ Testify ,” one of the strongest things we have as Christians is our testimony , because testimony is the spirit of prophecy . When we say what He has done and we repeat that to others … it gives Him the opportunity to do it again and it showcases His glory . I love that song , I think Dante led it so well , just as Joe L led “ Ruins ” so well .
[ WM ] Who have been some of your influences is worship or even in mainstream music ?
[ Chandler ] For me … Steffany Gretzinger is an influence to me . Travis Green . Todd Delaney . And KJ Skriven , who is one of my mentors and is just profound . And John Mayer . I listen to a lot of John Mayer .
[ WM ] You were reminding me of old Donny Hathaway .
[ Chandler ] Wow , that is an honor , I ’ ve never heard that .
[ WM ] Thank you both so much for this time today . I really appreciate it . God bless you and all the work that you do for the Atlanta community .
When Tony asked me who I wanted to be on it I went , oh my God , if Nicole Binion could be on this song with me it would be like a dream come true . I love her . She ’ s one of those people who ’ s like a far away mentor in worship . She ’ s been one of those for me just watching her .
Hymn Medley