Matt Maher Talks Faith, Music, Movies and THE CHOSEN: ‘Film and Music Is Such A Powerful Combination’
By Movieguide® Staff
Worship artist Matt Maher recently released his new song, The In Between, which he wrote about one of the first episodes of THE CHOSEN.
Now, with the launch of Season 3 of THE CHOSEN, Maher’s song appears in the show, created by Dallas Jenkins.
“In the process of connecting with Dallas, I basically shared with him a song I had recently written with another artist in town that was inspired by a scene in the second episode of the first season of the show,” Maher told Movieguide®’s Cheryl Crisp in a recent interview. “I sent the song to Dallas and didn’t realize that it was actually the first scene that they ever wrote for the show. So the song meant a lot to him. It connected a ton with the staff, and the production team, other members of the creative team with the show, and we just sort of kept dialoguing about it.”
“[Dallas] really felt passionately that we should shoot a music video for it,” he continued. “What we did was we went to all the sets and basically filmed me in these places where characters in the show had their in between moments or encounters with Jesus.”
The particular scene that inspired Maher to write the song came after Mary Magdalene talks with Nicodemus in the show.
“It’s inspired by this conversation that Mary Magdalene has with Nicodemus, and she says, ‘All I know is that I was one way, and now I’m completely different and the thing that happened in between was him.’ So we filmed all these moments of me and the places where these characters were when they had their moments with Jesus,” Maher said.
“That just sort of sums up everyone’s encounter with the gospel,” Maher added. “As we were writing the song, it was just thinking about the transformation of what happens in the heart of somebody who’s encountered the love of God.”
Maher also teamed up with THE CHOSEN team for their 2021 Christmas special. For Maher, he believes the show’s success is due to its relatability to audiences.
“I think the thing I love about it is the humanity of it,” he said. “I think that we’ve kind of moved from being a culture that tells stories by listening, an auditory-based culture, to a visual-based culture. So now we tell stories with images.”
“Scripture stands at an interesting point with that because the Bible is something you read,” he explained. “But what this show is doing is it’s helping, really for the first time in 2000 years, it’s giving people a visual representation of the life of Jesus. And it’s inviting them, in some ways, to step into the story on a very human level.”
The veteran musician said that he loves the intersection of movies, music and other forms of art and how they reflect our Creator.
“I think cinema has a long standing history of showing the power of when you take all these forms of art, and fuse them together,” he said. “You’ve got acting, you’ve got imagery, you’ve got set design, you’ve got costumes, you’ve got lighting, and you’ve got sound effects. And then you’ve got special effects now, and you’ve got music, and you put it all together, and it makes for compelling stories.”
“I think when people who believe in the redemptive value of art, to do that, to remind us of the things that are really important, and to help us get in touch with our deepest longings, and sometimes our deepest fears, sometimes our deepest desires, it’s powerful truth telling,” he said. “I’m still a firm believer in artists, that beauty, it’s considered one of the three transcendentals, it’s one of the ways in which we can actually come to see glimpses of God.
“Film and music working together is such a powerful combination,” he continued. “I wanted to do film scoring when I was a kid. This was like my very small, little, taste of it, which was great. I wasn’t prepared for the part about me being on the screen, but I’m getting used to it.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
