"Light Will Shine"

I've always been fascinated with light. Even as a little kid, after getting a telescope for Christmas, I went right out to our back window and fixated the lens on the brightest object I could find in the night sky, which I thought was Venus at the time, but apparently it was the North Star. As a character in the movie Anchorman stated, "I love lamps". I'm mesmerized with electricity and glowing bulbs. Scriptures like Acts 20:8 and Matthew 5:16 are just so cool to me. I think as believers who are called to walk in God's "marvelous light", there should be this wonder and awe when we see the sun, the moon, and the night stars. All of these beautiful displays of God's creation were inspiration for my latest worship EP, "Light will Shine", produced by my good friend and acclaimed Nashville music man, Akil Thompson. We approached the album with a very unique and distinct model - we wanted to be creators. We stretched ourselves, and threw out all the limits that people often place on worship music. We created sounds that I'm positive we'll never be able to replicate again. We swung for the fences. I spent time praying in the spirit and seeking God every morning before the record button was punched. I really believe this created the atmosphere for true creation in the studio.

I think too often we limit ourselves as worship leaders, singers, and writers, and say, "No, that guitar part would never work", or "How could you use a keytar in worship?" For too long, Christian music has taken a backseat to the trends and newest sounds in music worldwide. If we are created in the image of God, then it's my belief that we are created to be CREATORS. No one has an imagination like God. He called the earth out of chaos, and created everything we see that is good in this world. He gave us dominion over this earth, and we all remember the Bible story, how God told Adam to name all the animals (I bet that was a lot of fun). I think it's our destiny to be at the forefront of culture. We're called to be the head, not the tail, to be the leaders, and not the followers. This is how we sonically approached this album.

If I had to pick one song off the CD to tell people to check out, it'd have to be "It is Finished." This is a tune that was written right after a small group meeting I had with a group of about 20 young adults. Our entire night was spent discussing God's grace, and just how much He loved us, to send His only son to die the most excruciating death, for a people that had turned their back on Him. I think grace might be the hardest concept of the New Testament for so many people in this day and age to grasp hold of. We live in a society where we have to give something, to get something. We think, "if I do bad, I get bad, and if I do good, I get good". That's not Christianity, that's Karma. Because of what Christ did on the cross, and God's grace, IT IS FINISHED. We don't need to carry around guilt and condemnation, that Christ already paid for. I love the freedom that we have in Christ, and that is one of the key points of the whole album. We are a people saved by grace, and called to walk in His light.
A preacher once told me "Light will always displace darkness, darkness can never overcome light." That's the phrase that brought about the album title - "Light will Shine."