[Mike] They brought me into that late in in your lyric here. What are your thoughts with what we’ve seen, we’ve seen enough to
the game, because they really had the song on this? know that we’re not calling your goodness into
finished, but the bridge of the song kind of
question here. You’re so good, but where are
made a confession that we covered on the last [Mike] Prayer and my Dad. It’s the last song you right now, God? We don’t have anything
project. And so, they said to me, “Man, write that my Dad got to hear that I wrote. He was for our pain.” And so, we worshiped Jesus with
another bridge”. And that song just really said really my sounding board in a lot of ways, and our pain and poured it out on His feet, and the
my heart, I love that song, and it’s the next he had been listening to the song up until he Holy Spirit came. He reminded us why we call
single actually. passed. We were singing the song over him him ‘comforter”, we experienced His comfort in
and asking Jesus to heal him. We didn’t see that way and I never would have known that
[WM] All but two songs on this project are that healing this side of heaven, but we saw a without a situation like that to go through. That
co-written. You’ve written with Phil Wickham, different kind of healing. When I came in, my has become a valuable treasure to me, I could
Matt Redman, Jeremy Riddle, Jason Ingram, Dad had passed on Christmas morning, my have never asked to go through that, but God
Brenton Brown, Benji Cowart, and a virtual Mom woke me up, my kids were all ready to do met us in that place, He’s so faithful, dude.
“who’s who” of respected and gifted worship the Christmas thing, and she woke me up and songwriters. What is your typical co-writing said, “Michael I think he’s gone.” When I came [WM] I would be remiss if I did not mention
process like? in the room and saw my Dad, I knew that he your song, “Fly”. You wrote this one by yourself.
was with the Lord instantly. His body did not The production is great as are your lyrics. What
[Mike] I always ask the Lord to let me bring look the same, it was like you could tell that his can you tell our readers about the writing of
the idea, so we just bring something from my body had been the home for him. When I saw this song?
heart and then just get around these incredible that I knew that he was with the Lord.
people and dive in. There were a couple of
[Mike] It had been on my heart to write it with
songwriting sessions where I felt like I was But still you call the ambulance and all of that Steven Curtis Chapman. I had told Steven
being taken advantage of, and the Lord told me stuff you have to do. They hooked him up to all about it at an event. I can barely talk around
not to think about it but to just sow it into those of the machines even though he was already Steven because he’s another hero of mine. But
people. Then the next thing I knew I began gone. We got there to the hospital and told the I said, “Man, I would love to write a song with
seeing opportunities open up like I had never doctor that my Dad wouldn’t want to live like this you.” And he said, “Let’s do it!” I just knew that
dreamed of. I wrote with my heroes… I wrote and that we believed he was with the Lord. And Steven understood pain, and I kind of wanted
with Matt Redman at Jonas Myrin’s house, and so, we stood around his bedside and I didn’t to write another version of “I’ll Fly Away”. But
Jonas’s backyard is the Hollywood sign! Only know what to do or say, so I got out my phone. over the course of that next year it was like the
the Lord can do this, you know? And it was just My dad had been playing that song kind of on song slowly wrote itself. When I was finishing
an absolute delight to be around some people repeat, and I put my phone on my Dad’s chest, it up, my wife Candice and I were sitting in our
that I could really look up to as songwriters, and and my brother and his wife and my mom and room the night before we were going to sing it,
even just hang out with them. I just really look I all stood around Dad’s body while they turned and she said, “You need to put a line in there
up to them in the Lord, too. off the machines and unplugged him. We just about your Dad.” So, I went back and in the
let the song play into the room, his doctor was third verse of the song it says, “One of these
[WM] The song, “All Things New”, beautifully there too, and we wept. We literally just kind of mornings I’m gonna stare right at the sun / One
set in 6/8 time, includes a powerful sentiment in widened the hope, that idea, “God, that’s what of these mornings I’ll breathe brand new air
the lyric, “Do only what You can do, and make you just did right now on Christmas morning”. with brand new lungs”. My Dad had struggled
all things new”. I often find myself praying in The Lord told my brother that Dad knows the breathing from pulmonary fibrosis.
evangelistic situations, “Lord, do to them what color of Jesus’ eyes. It was so painful, but the You did to me”. That’s what I heard you saying Lord was there. He was there.
I have yet to sing that song live. We’re playing
That night and the next night I’m telling you, I
held my Mom’s hand in the middle of the night.
At 3:30am in the morning, we were just hurting
and crying because we wanted to see that
breakthrough, because we’ve seen God do it,
I’m telling you. And we just didn’t see it, and
we told Jesus that, “We don’t understand, but
All Things New
24
Fly
November 2019
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