Chris McClarney is a consummate songwriter and a staple in leading worship at the hugely popular Church of the City in Franklin , TN . Since we last visited
in January of last year , much has changed in all of our lives . For a while Chris was broadcasting his “ quarantine concert series ”.
“ Speak to the Mountains ” is Chris ’ newest single . It ’ s a beautiful 6 / 8 affirmation of who God is to us , and it ’ s amazingly accessible for worship leaders and congregations . We catch up here with Chris again . A valuable voice of worship for all of us .
“ I won ’ t be shaken . No , I won ’ t be moved . My God is faithful . His promise is true . So , I speak to the mountains , “ Oh it ’ s time to move ”, cause my God is bigger , better , stronger than you ”.
Speak to the Mountains
[ WM ] In songwriting , the pool of lyrics and melody are vast and deep for Christians , yet sometimes I feel that a lot of songwriters “ hang out in the shallow end ”. What are your thoughts on this and how do you personally guard against taking the easy way out in songwriting , consistently crafting with inspiration the best songs possible ?
[ Chris McClarney ] Oh gosh ! Yeah … it does seem that a lot of songs seem to be thin on theology . I don ’ t necessarily think it ’ s a bad thing . I mean , if at the end of the day as long as what theology they do have in them is OK , and Jesus is being lifted up , then I ’ m not gonna hate on them .
But if you ’ re asking for a possible explanation on why then I ’ d say that the main culprit is that culture tends to promote talent over depth of character .
[ WM ] What ’ s the story behind your new release , “ Speak to the Mountains ”?
[ Chris ] The end of 2019 was the most difficult season in my life up to that point . My wife was having super serious health problems , we recorded my own project , the Jesus Culture project and the Church of the City project all within 6 weeks of each other . I turned 40 , we had Thanksgiving and my wedding anniversary all in those 6 weeks too . I was overly stressed