Matt Maher continues to act as a force uniting the church . His songs are sung worldwide , uniquely in both Protestant and Catholic gatherings . Now touring internationally through June , Matt has kicked off his new long-term project with “ Leaning ”, a deep stream worship offering released by Essential Records .
[ WM ] Hi Matt . It ' s been a while since we ' ve had a visit .
[ Matt Maher ] I know . It has been .
[ WM ] I ’ m going to jump right to it . I ’ ve heard the old hymn , “ Leaning on The Everlasting Arms ”, many times and in many contexts . It ’ s been used in movies and recorded by country artists going back to the Carter Family , and on upbeat Southern Gospel recordings . But I don ’ t remember ever hearing it in the context of real worship . What was the genesis for using that chorus and reinventing it for worshipers today ?
Matt Maher , Lizzie Morgan - Leaning ( Official Live Video )
[ Matt ] I ' ve always tried to say that in my song writing as a worship leader , I ' ve always had I guess , I don ' t want to say a knack , but a ... I ' ve always felt a calling . Part of my calling as a songwriter , particularly as it pertains to worship music , is to continually find old architecture and point people back to it . And by architecture , I don ' t just mean buildings . I mean prayers and sayings , colloquialisms , cliches , stuff that over the course of 2,000 years of Christianity , we just take it for granted . Their meaning , significance , where they come from , and why they were written .
But I think what I ' ve realized over the past three years , or it ' s actually been five years now since my Dad passed away , is that I don ' t find these old songs , they find me .
And when I helped write “ Lord I Need You ”, over 10 years ago now , I didn ' t come into that song with the desire to write a song based on a hymn . What happened was , I was on a plane flying to Atlanta to write songs for a collegiate conference . And in prayer , I just had this image of a solitary soul crying out to God . And so , we started writing this song . And when the chorus , " Lord , I need you ," popped in , someone else , who was a Baptist , brought up , " You know , that sounds like the old hymn , “ I Need Thee Every Hour ." And I thought , " What ' s that ?" Because I ' m Catholic . I didn ' t grow up singing any of these songs .
I had a Baptist grandmother . So , there would seem to be something for me , I think , on a