What Matt Redman Believes About the Future of Worship Music
By Movieguide® Contributor
Matt Redman discussed how he has seen worship music change over the years and where he hopes to steward the genre moving forward.
“I would write a song on Wednesday, sing it on Sunday, probably write another one next week, maybe sing it, and then some would live, some would die, and that was that,” Redman told Rita Springer’s “Worship Is My Weapon” podcast about his old songwriting process. “But it’s so fascinating now, you can write a song and maybe I won’t get to end up getting really to lead that for a few months, it goes through a process.”
“I mean I think I led nearly every song I wrote back then, and these days, I probably would lead like one in 20 of what I write,” Redman continued. “So part of me thinks, oh, that must be better, like we’re putting it through a filter, and part of me misses that old, like, here’s me with my heart, here’s the people of God, we’re just going to sing what came. There’s something beautiful about both, I guess.”
While the old approach certainly had its perks, now with the luxury of being able to filter his songs, collaborate with others and go at an overall slower pace, Redman is focusing on creating holistic songs that hit on every aspect of God’s character.
“It’s pretty amazing, really, isn’t it that we’re given this songbook in the middle of the Bible, these 150 songs would have been the hymn book of Jesus, you know. There’s not a whole lot of sugar coating going on, that he — the psalmist is saying. The psalmist is saying it’s amazing to think how we get to be that honest before the throne of God and be that roar,” Redman said.
“I love how so many of the psalms, they’ve got this sense of reverence about them too, like, okay, I am pouring out my complaint and I’m going to tell you it just how it is. I’m not going to hold anything back, but I know who I’m coming before, like, I know who it is I’m standing before here,” he continued.
“And I think sometimes some of our songs could do with a bit more of that too, not just me pouring out my heart but me following that up with why I’m pouring out my heart to you: because you are this and you are that and you’re the only one who can rescue me,” Redman added.
To infuse his songs with this type of purpose and meaning, Redman has found it most helpful to get help from others. Rather than relying on himself to reach this holistic view, he collaborates with others to find a more comprehensive description of the Lord. Moving forward, Redman encourages other artists to do the same to create better worship music.
“My big message is don’t try and do this on your own,” Redman said. “If there’s a pastor you have a great relationship with or if there’s a pastor you have a great relationship with or if there’s somebody who’s further along than you are in terms of being a wordsmith or a theological thinker of some kind, then try and team up.”
He spoke more about this in a recent Instagram post, saying that because most worship leaders didn’t attend seminary and need help from those who have deeply studied God’s word.
“We humbly recognise we cannot do this on our own. We need help from thinkers, theologians, and pastors. We need to be sharpened by fellow songwriters and worship leaders too,” he wrote. “My prayer is we will continually grow in this area—singing ever deeper and truer songs—and leading worship services that help us to behold Jesus like never before.”
Redman recently released Coming Back To The Heart, a “re-imagining” of some of his biggest hits.
“Often, he combines similarly themed tracks as medleys. He even includes a new track, “Let Me See Jesus.” On top of all these, Redman invited a small group of worship leaders and fans to record these 11 tracks live at the Beverly Theater in Las Vegas earlier this year,” Jubilee Cast reported.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Singer and songwriter Matt Redman recently shared what he thinks modern worship does well and what it lacks compared to older music.
“I think that I’ve seen so much progress in the music community” as far as “production levels, commitment to the craft of songwriting, and the increasing culture of co-writing,” the writer of “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord)” said. “We’re always better together, and most things in the kingdom of God we’re going to be doing together, not on our own.”
Redman is a multi-Grammy award-winning artist. His “best songs include The Heart of Worship, Blessed Be Your Name, Our God – and the double-Grammy winning 10,000 Reasons,” his bio reads. “More recent co-writes include Do It Again and Build my Life. Beyond music, he is an author and also launched a successful podcast in 2021, ‘Redman & Riddle’, which he co-hosts with worship artist Jeremy Riddle. He recently announced his fourteenth full-length album, set to release in mid-2023, which is introduced by debut single ‘Son of Suffering’.”
Redman told Relevant Magazine, “The one thing I will say is the area that we still need the growth in is really the content of the songs. The lyrical weightiness of the songs…Sometimes people say ‘Oh, hymns are better are than the new songs’ you know, and that’s not actually…a fair comparison.”