If I’ve learned anything, and I just turned forty-
five, it’s that twenty-five years ago that I gave
my life to Jesus, and I feel like God is still
reconciling aspects of my life from childhood.
My dad died two years ago, and there is a lot
you’ve got to work through with that. Things go
unsaid. As a kid we spend ten or fifteen years
going to this building week after week, singing
songs, seeing adults, and something happens
and all of a sudden, it’s a source of trauma and
a source of stress, and we can’t enter into it
anymore. Then years later we have a spiritual
awakening and all of a sudden now we’re a
Christian. But we have this whole other part
of our life that we’ve essentially boxed up and
were like, “Jesus saved me from that.” And,
yeah, but have you allowed Him to reconcile
it? I think part of the reconciliation of it is like
getting to a place of shalom. I’ve watched God
do that, I’m not really a terribly smart person, I
feel like I’ve been really lucky to be surrounded
by really smart people and I try to pay attention.
Sometimes I feel like it’s a song I write that God
uses to touch someone, but I feel like I’ve also
been used because literally I’m a practicing
Catholic. Someone will listen to my music and
is a lack of support in infrastructure within the
in the culture.
Catholic Church. On a practical level they are
so mired down right now, in financial troubles You look back at the Jesus Movement when
or scandal. The idea of asking the question of Larry Norman was having Bible studies and
how we raise up a new generation of worship Dylan was showing up. And it’s so funny now,
leaders and songwriters… not even just in the because everyone looks at Kanye West and
church but to help create cultural renewal and what’s happening with him and thinking it’s
cultural transformation. A lot of friends of mine crazy. Saint Augustine was a pagan, he was a
who are musicians in the church used to say rhetorical speaker who used to lecture against
that the purpose of renewal in the church is for Christianity and he had a kid illegitimately out
it to spill out of the church into culture. Revival of wedlock. Saint Francis was the son of a
happens not for the church, I mean, it usually rich clothing merchant, his dad was basically
does happen first in the church for Christians. a fashion designer and so his conversion to
Catholics don’t sing this stuff.” Revival is usually about Christians coming to an Christianity was scandalous in the day.
[WM] I love the boat being rocked and I love from God, there is usually come kind of idol I think God’s been about transformative work
you doing it. that’s been built that needs to get exposed in worship, and I think some of it is about
and dismantled. It’s not limited to somebody reconciling Christians and bringing unity, and
[Matt] (laughs) What I’m thinking about now because of their political affiliation, it’s everyone. I think its probably for the purpose of a larger
There are some people where it’s going to be work.
then they’ll find out that I’m a Catholic and
they’ll have to go wrestle with that. I think Jesus
is doing this work where He is dismantling
perceptions and ideas, and again, it’s stuff
that we create false assumptions as a blanket
answer for having an experience. Why did I
have this experience of Catholicism? You think,
oh, it must all be like that. Then all of a sudden
you hear a song you like and you’re like, “I
love this artist”, then you have a friend who’s
Catholic, and you’re like, “What? That can’t be.
is that I’ve been very fortunate to have been
a part of what I’ve been part of. But now I find
myself saying, all right God, what can I do on a
platform level to inspire? I don’t think I’m the only
one, is what I’m saying. I think right now there
understanding of how far away they’ve gotten
politics, and there are some people who its
going to be materialism, for some people its [WM] Let’s discuss some of your new music.
going to be money. Once that revival happens Much like 2015’s All the People Said Amen (and
and it brings about renewal it starts showing up I think the title song is one of the great songs and
March 2020
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