Matt Redman
Date Posted: 8/1/2000
Author: Clive Price




"We hope this event goes some way to completing the integrity of our worship experience. So when we go to Manchester, yes we’ll be doing different social projects, street outreaches and preaching in the main events. But amid all that will be full on, passionate worship music. We’re praying for God to inhabit our praises."

Matt is well aware that worship music has become "in". That both excites and worries him. "It excites me because it seems to be something the Holy Spirit has been doing in the church," he said.

"I come across so many young worship leaders and songwriters, and I’m amazed the quality of material has just gone up and up. However, as the late John Wimber reminded us: the real test will not be in the writing and presenting of new and great music – it will be in the godliness of those who deliver it."

He’s concerned also that people don’t just go running after new forms of music and better sounding albums – yet lose the heart of it. "I saw a US worship album recently subtitled America’s Ten Most Powerful Worship Songs. Who told them that – God?

"It made me giggle, but it also made me concerned. That sort of marketing shows we easily lose the plot if we’re not careful. So we’ve recorded a couple of tracks on the new album with just a few people in a room pouring out their hearts to the Lord with voices and a couple of instruments.

"We wanted to present something simple and uncluttered. We’re always trying to push things on musically, but there needs to be space also to strip everything away and offer some raw, uncomplicated worship.

"The true sign of progress in this whole worship album area will be more heart in our recordings, and not necessarily better music."

It was youth specialist Mike Pilavachi, leader of the Soul Survivor youth festival, who first noticed the potential in him. Matt Redman was a promising 15-year-old worship leader. Mike gave him opportunities to minister at different churches.

"He was obviously putting his neck on the line – because I was young," said Matt, now 26. "We had a few embarrassing moments where I was obviously out of my depth! But it was good discipleship."

Nowadays Matt is on the staff of the Soul Survivor church in Watford, north of London – and one of the most popular songwriters and worship leaders of his generation.

If pinned down to one theme, Matt’s focus would be "intimacy with God". But he’s also concerned about encouraging other songwriters. That’s evident from his involvement in a project called The People’s Album (Survivor Records), which helps new writers to get their songs recorded. Two CDs have already been issued in that series. "First, it’s to resource the Church with some brand new worship songs," he said, "Then it’s to encourage the writers." So he’s now playing a part in giving other people similar opportunities to those he enjoyed as a budding young songwriter. His own compositions are played far and wide. And from the beginning his music has displayed a maturity beyond his years. But he’s not complacent."

"I want to write songs that really help people engage with God more – not just another song – but a song that will help people in terms of their life with God; where God might change them, or someone might even become a Christian through it."

Matt claims he’s had a couple of testimonies from people who’ve already come to faith in that way: "That makes it all worth it."

America has also been opening up to Matt’s music. His last album Intimacy (Survivor Records) was recently released there as The Heart of Worship. It seems each of his four studio albums so far have carried strong themes.

His brand new release The Father’s Song is no exception. The message running through this one is that worship is a two-way experience. Soul Survivor The Message 2000 is another thing at the forefront of his mind. "The dream began a few years back," said Matt. "I remember sitting at Spring Harvest with Mike Pilavachi and Andy Hawthorne. They began dreaming up a mad plan – to take thousands of young people from Soul Survivor to Manchester to be the good news of Jesus.

"At the time at Soul Survivor, God had been teaching us that worship, intercession and evangelism can’t be separated. And we were longing to take the passion which we saw displayed every year at the events – and harness it for all-out evangelism.
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