what we ’ re going through , hope can exist and it is just a breath away .
[ WM ] I would like to touch on the theme of hope . Tell us about your vision for impacting the world with hope . Your song recently released called , “ Not Alone ”, permeates the message of hope and was written during a time of pandemic and lockdown in Southern California .
[ Jonas ] That ’ s right , it was a very , very , tough time for us to be living in So Cal , because everything was shut down . Literally , we would barely see our neighbors . It was a ghost town . I had never seen anything like it . I had a different song that we wrote , but I just felt and I spoke to Brad O ’ Donnell , and I said , “ I think we need to release “ Not Alone ”, I think we need to change the plan ”. I said , “ Right now , in this lockdown , this is the song .” I had friends that know the song that have left me voice messages singing it over me , saying the song had been going around and around in their heads . In this time , we all are isolated , and we all are on our own . Isn ’ t it amazing that we are all in this together ? We ’ re actually together and not alone . This song was what I wanted to put out as an offering to the world .
So we changed the plan and I had to make a music video in three weeks . We finished the production of this song , and my friend who is an amazing director had the great idea of going into the middle of Yucca Valley in the middle of July , which is probably the hottest place in America in July ( laughs ). But he had this vision of me alone in the desert wilderness , and to see I ’ m making a way through the wilderness from Isaiah . It was almost a prophetic image of that video , the car driving through the wilderness , that we are going to get through this . David says , “ When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death ”. We are going to get through it . That ’ s what I loved about the image of this car driving through this desert landscape . We ’ re not alone , because God is with us in every season and in every circumstance . Even in the valley of the shadow of death .
[ WM ] That ’ s beautiful . Such great imagery for that subject matter . 2020 has been such a tough year . I spoke with Tommee Profitt last month and we both agreed that there will be great creativity born next year , induced by this pandemic . What are you looking forward to in 2021 ?
[ Jonas ] That is a great question . First , I ’ m going to say I totally agree with you and Tommee . I think what we ’ re going to see … the word that came to me actually is the word renaissance .
... I think God will birth a new song for the church like He did then [ in the Middle Ages ], where people will run to the church to see the art that is being made .
Renaissance is a French word that actually means “ rebirth ”. When we look at history , we can see something being rebirthed after a difficult time . I think creatively we are going to see a rebirth of things in 2021 . My prayer is that we see the church have a renaissance . We ’ re going to see art being made that will just take people ’ s breath away for the glory of God . We ’ ll be able to dig deeper . Even in the brokenness but also in the peace and in the pain , that we can find it all through this year . I think there are so many things that God wants to teach us through the pandemic , and I really believe that a new fresh thing will be birthed , a renaissance .
[ WM ] I think that ’ s a perfect word . For me , growing up in Southern California in the 60 ’ s , the music that happened was part of a renaissance that followed and was during , some very troubling times . I like your comment about it coming from the church . That ’ s the way it should be !
[ Jonas ] That ’ s right ! We can see it looking back at the Middle Ages , the renaissance happened in the church back then . Those paintings and those altars are still standing , and that art is still speaking . Those compositions by Bach and Mozart are still as relevant today as they were then . They were birthed out of crisis , different pandemics and wars that had happened . I think it ’ s a challenge for us as the church , it ’ s so easy to just copy the world , but I think God will birth a new song for the church like He did then , where people will run to the church to see the art that is being made . That ’ s my prayer , that - that will happen today .
[ WM ] Jonas , I ’ m going to end this interview with that . That ’ s a beautiful thought and one that we should all embrace . It has been such a pleasure to visit with you today . Thank you for spending this time with us .
[ Jonas ] Thank you ! Stay safe !
Alex MacDougall Former member of Daniel Amos ( DA ), Larry Norman Band , Randy Stonehill Band , and the Richie Furay Band . He ’ s also worked with Andrae Crouch , Bob Bennett , Phil Keaggy , and hundreds of additional artists and projects . He serves as an Adjunct Professor , teaching in Music Business at Dallas Baptist University and Trevecca Nazarene University ’ s National Praise and Worship Institute , in Nashville , TN . Alex is available for lecture , teaching , and conference workshops . professormacbna @ gmail . com