Ten Questions with Matt Redman
CBN.com A ground-breaking force in the modern worship movement, Matt Redman is known for such classics-in-the-making as "The Heart of Worship" and "Let My Words Be Few." But to Redman, worship ministry is more about relationships, reverence and revelation than anything else. Songs4Worship.com caught up with him, right before his new album released, and he gave us some real food for thought.
S4W.com: What compels you to write new songs for worship?
Redman: Songwriting doesn't feel like work to me. It feels like the most natural way of responding to God, like it's a part of my devotions. Every song involves a Bible study and a time of pouring out your heart to God. And I listen to a lot of music, which is the only way to learn about music. There is some amazing stuff out there, and it's important that we don't rob ourselves of the amazing palette of inspiration that is God-given.
S4W.com: What has been one of the most profound lessons you've learned about worship over the past few years?
Redman: Lately, the whole thing for me has been about reverence. The new album is called Where Angels Fear to Tread because I really wanted to convey a deep, fresh reverence for the Lord. There's a song on the album called "Rejoice and Trembling," which is taken from
. It basically says, "The Lord's presence came and people shouted for joy and fell face down." I think so often the church is used to "shouting for joy" part, but how often do we do the "falling face down" part. Different times in scripture we see the heavens open (Isaiah 6, Revelation 4, Ezekiel 1 and Daniel 7), and these little moments are so insightful. We see people on their faces in the most reverent, bowed-down worship. It's because they've seen something from the Lord, and my prayer is that we would see as they've seen. If we would see what they've seen, I'm sure it would result in a whole lot more songs, a whole lot more bowing down and a whole lot more holy lives. As a worship leader, too often I've dwelled on response, and if you do that you are in danger of trying to work things out in order to create a response. If somehow we can just usher people into the revelation of Jesus, their response will take care of itself.
S4W.com: Do you think we've lost a sense of reverence within the act worship?
Redman: I think we've had a degree of reverence. I know in my life over the past five years, God has been really highlighting intimacy and friendship with the Lord. But I know He's been really saying to me, "Okay, now grasp this reverence side." And I know that when we do, the mystery kicks in. You can admire someone without wonder, you can appreciate someone without wonder, maybe even adore someone without wonder, but you can't worship someone without wonder. In our worship, there has to be something about the omniscience of God. If it doesn't contain a degree of realizing that God is "other," that He's almighty, and if it doesn't contain that essential element, then is it really worship? Yes, worship is intimate, and it's about drawing near to God, but it must also contain that real sense of the "otherness" of who He is.
S4W.com: Do you try to convey that same sense of reverence within the context of a song?
Redman: It's harder to write reverent songs than it is to write love songs. And there's a place for both. In fact the best sorts of songs are reverent love songs-when you can mix the two. But I think that's harder to do. Maybe it's because I haven't learned enough about my own life before the Lord. Maybe it's because some of the words we write in reverent songs seem dark and a little more antiquated or because we don't use them in our culture. When you're sitting in a room with a guitar, pouring out your heart to God, it's a lot harder to convey something about being before the throne of God and the awesome holiness in that.
S4W.com: What challenges do you face as you pursue music as a calling and a career?
Redman: As a worship leader, you can carry such a big burden in terms of being expected to bring something fresh every week to church. You actually have to make a conscious decision - whether it's just a few hours a week or longer - to spend time really being still and receiving from God. It's essential. If I'm not receiving any fresh revelation from God in terms of having a healthy relationship with Him, then I find that I don't write songs. It's like a little spiritual barometer. Sometimes I'm really struggling to write songs and it's frustrating. And nine times out of ten, it's because I'm experiencing more output than input. There's such a Biblical thing about waiting for God.
S4W.com: How do you explain the powerful connection between music and worship expression?
Redman: I think it's all about revelation. Some songs have got that something that makes them particularly wonderful to sing in church - and I don't know quite how you formulate that. It's about seeing something and then singing it. Too often, when we write songs, we try to sing before we've seen. Isaiah poured his heart out, saying, "My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." And in fact, seeing not only brings out a song, it brings out a change in his lifestyle. I'm trying to learn that lesson.
S4W.com: How do you approach the task of trying to capture the essence of worship on an album?
Redman: It has to be more than just a combination of songs and lyrics people can sing in church. For this record, we actually decided to have church in the studio. We shared communion together. Sometimes there's a real musical bond when musicians come together in the studio, but we said, "Let's start this album realizing that we have a greater, deeper bond than that-and that's Jesus Christ. Something could happen here that hopefully will go way beyond the bond of music. It will just be the bond of fellowship and the bond of gathering around His throne together to play, sing and respond to His Word." I love that approach because sometimes I worry that worship projects can get a bit dry. I hope [the album] can reflect something of church, in terms of people of God responding to God together.
S4W.com: What is a common misconception about worship, and how have you tried to reshape it?
Redman: Too often when we worship we take for granted what we are doing and what we're singing. It sometimes takes us a while to really stop and realize, "Wait, this is more than just a musical thing. We have the divine privilege today to be drawn in to God, to ascend to the Lord." That's an amazing privilege. This isn't a football match. This is a divine encounter. Are we really revering Him in the way that we should? I struggle with how to say it, but I guess that's what I'm trying to do in worship and in songs. I just want to give some sort of a backdrop, reflecting the trembling, the reverence, the awe, the majesty, the hope, the wonder, the mystery of God. And onto that project Christ - the friendship, the kindness and the mercy. When we do that, I think that makes a very powerful worship time.
S4W.com: What does 'worship lifestyle' mean to you?
Redman: I think it's important to keep in mind that's what worship is - pouring out our heart of adoration to God. Worship music should be in every genre, from classical to rave, just like worship should be a part of our thoughts and our life, in everything we do. We've got to keep checking our hearts and our motives, but hopefully at the end of the day, we are about His kingdom and not about ourselves.
S4W.com: How would you like to be able to encourage other worship leaders?
Redman: I'm encouraged when I look around now. There's a new wave of songs and sounds with guys like Chris Tomlin, Charley Hall and David Crowder. They've all got distinct sounds and distinct songs. They all have a great biblical base to them, but they're fresh and they're accessible. You can't conjure up that stuff - it's a God thing. It's the Holy Spirit. It's not just those guys, either. It's a new time, and it feels like it's pure and true, which really excites me. I'd really love to get into some kind of worship training, this whole thing of encouraging and equipping others. I'd like to pursue with them the idea of, "Let's worship, but let's really get what's going on. Let's get rooted in scripture, and let's make it as deep as we can. What does real, true, holy worship really mean? Will this help my congregation? Does it all make sense, is it all truthful?
Debra Akins is a freelance writer who lives in Franklin, Tenn.
Used with permission from Songs4Worship.com
