and fully at the end of my rope . I ended up in a full-on panic attack . I thought I was dying . Couldn ’ t breathe . It was bad !
So fast forward to early 2020 . I ’ m starting to feel a whole lot better . And I sit down with some writers from across the U . S . My goal … I want to write a big middle finger to the devil song . I need a song I can sing that reminds me and my problems - who ’ s actually in charge . Like kids on a playground arguing about who ’ s Dad is bigger . Except we know for a fact that our Dad is the biggest , best , strongest , and greatest .
So yeah … “ Speak to the Mountains ” is a bragging song about how much better our God is than our problems , and my hope is that people will start quoting the song to the mountains that stand in their way … “ It ’ s time to move ! My God is bigger , better , stronger , greater than you ”.
[ WM ] The background vocalist at the end of the song is fantastic . Who is it and how did that come into play ?
[ Chris ] She is so good ! That voice is Nikki Conley . Very early on in the recording process I was like , “ Can we please have a choir ?” and they were like , “ Absolutely !”. Sadly because of stupid Corona , we couldn ’ t all record together . So , I ’ m not actually sure how she approached it . All I know is that it ’ s so freaking good !
[ WM ] When we last spoke , you told [ WM ] of your ministry to the homeless and marginalized in downtown Nashville . How did the pandemic affect your weekly outreach to them ?
[ Chris ] Yes . The Laundry Stop . Just to catch readers up … we built a laundry trailer and we wash clothes for homeless people . It ’ s kinda grown into more and more stuff .
The pandemic was a real issue for our friends . They basically had no way to quarantine and couldn ’ t get into places that used to be open to them . We had to cut down on volunteers because we didn ’ t wanna spread it .
In the end my “ absolute angel of a wife ” went down there by herself or with only a friend , and washed clothes every Tuesday night that they could . Thank you for asking . I ’ m so proud of it . My wife is the best ever !
[ WM ] You know we are guitar geeks around here at the magazine . Tell us about your main guitars ? Give us the download here …
[ Chris ] Ha ! My main guitar for years has been a 1966 Gibson J-45 and I ’ m 90 % sure it has been played by more worship leaders than any other guitar in Christian music . LOL ! It ’ s because I have so many friends and I ’ ll let just about anyone borrow it .
My newer guitar ( but just as beloved by me and my sound guy ) is a Waterloo WL-12 made by Collings . It ’ s such a fun guitar ! It weighs less than 3 pounds . It sounds like a 50-year-old guitar . It ’ s sprayed with nitro so the neck is slippery , not sticky . It ’ s black with a white pick guard . And I honestly can ’ t think of a reason