Crafted during a year when the church could not gather due to the pandemic , Phil Wickham ’ s new album , Hymn of Heaven , is a solid offering of songs accessible to the church . Wickham states about the new project , “ All I want to do is facilitate moments where people can encounter the presence of God ”. Join us as Phil tells the stories behind the project , his 2021 touring plans , and gives us a glimpse about the true meaning of impact .
[ WM ] Hi Phil ! We haven ’ t talked or seen each other in a while . It ’ s good to visit with you today .
[ Phil Wickham ] Great to talk with you ! Brandon , my manager , and I are actually in a car and we ' re headed to downtown San Diego to film a music video for a tune from the new project .
[ WM ] But you ' re doing well these days ? You got through the pandemic ?
[ Phil ] Yeah . There definitely were some frustrating moments , and I don ’ t mean to sound insensitive , but I think 2020 was really and honestly a blessing for me and my family in some ways . Just being together and having a reason to stop hurrying so much . And I ' m thankful for that part of it , you know ?
[ WM ] I ’ ve heard that same comment from others as well . It was great to have both you and Evan participate in the
interview that I did with your Dad a couple of months ago . It ’ s really a blessing to me as a friend of your Dad ’ s for almost 55 years now , to see the impact that both he and your Mom have had upon your family .
[ Phil ] I was honored to play a small role and you did a killer job on that , on writing that interview . So , thank you for honoring my Dad like that .
[ WM ] Absolutely . And speaking of impact , you have made impact upon the worshiping church for almost 20 years now . Impact is one of those few words that when spoken , sound like what they mean . Most often , we don ’ t realize the full scope of impact without the benefit of hindsight . What musical moments , records or concerts , have been impactful to you regarding your calling ?
[ Phil ] Um , how long do you want the answer to be ? ( laughs ) There are so many moments ! The ones that come to mind are the ones that I ' ve ended up kind of zeroing in on as really formative moments in my calling . And there are also moments where , you know , I could not deny God ' s presence was in the room and he was speaking to me . As you know , I grew up watching my parents lead worship and understanding worship music to be very pigeonholed in a specific genre . That it was just the ‘ praise band music ’ kind of music that came out of it and out the eighties , which is so full and so beautiful and everything about it