Saddleback Worship
A passage of Scripture that is the bedrock of this album in many ways is found in Romans 8:11:
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you.
These songs are anthems, declarations, and reminders. They are pages added to the storybook of God’s faithfulness throughout the years. God is not finished with His bride, and He is reviving His Church as she leans into faith and wonder.
Y’all have seen a lot of growth over the past 10 years. What’s been exciting/inspiring about this growth and what’s been challenging about it?
We have always just tried to stay diligent to what we feel God has called us to. Saddleback Worship rests on the shoulders of some great leaders over the years, but we also know we do everything under the banner of Jesus. With growth comes the responsibility to steward. We find it an honor to serve in the house of the Lord both in music and in all of the expressions of worship!
So you guys really ramped up your songwriting during the pandemic. Did you find writing during that time to be a solace from all of the hurt our country and world was experiencing? Would you say that writing was maybe even the solution to isolation?
I think we approached the isolation as an opportunity to get back to the basics of worship. When it's all stripped away, what do you have left? While we are in those moments of communion with the Lord, what is He saying? What is He whispering to us?
We were eager to hear from the Lord for the current season of darkness, but also for the season to come. Though we were isolated and writing over Zoom with each other, we knew the Spirit was in our homes, guiding our pens and melodies.
You all said that during that time, you felt like God was calling Saddleback Worship to sing about “the invitation for the wanderer to come home.” How is this invitation made palpable throughout this new record?
There are several songs, Lead Us Home, Back to Your Light, I'm Coming Alive, and others, where there is a through line of safety and security in the name of Jesus. Finding a "home" is not by way of physical building but by the Spirit within us. Additionally, there are several songs that talk about Jesus as a safe haven, a place we can run to in times of trouble. I think during the pandemic, we longed for that. Though we knew what we had in Jesus, it helped to keep singing about the safety that is ours in Jesus.
What piece of scripture would you say was the bedrock of inspiration for these new songs?
I think the bedrock of this project is found in Romans 8:11 - "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
The promise of His Spirit is something that can never be taken away. There was immense change and loss during the dark days of COVID-19, but His Spirit was constantly at work within us and was taking us into the new -- into the next season He had for us.
What do you hope for most when you think about churches adding these songs to their Sunday setlists? How have these songs already changed the culture within your church?
Our hope for these songs is that it would lead to an honest expression of who God is in every season. When we find ourselves in trouble, we remind ourselves of His character. When we are in moments of celebration, we pour out our thanks.
When leading songs like "Alive & Well" and "Be Magnified" in our house, it has been a joy to see spirits lifted when we join in as one voice declaring our God is greater than our current circumstance. God is going before us and He is making a way where there seems to be no way.
Saddleback Worship | Alive & Well
Lead Alive & Well with your congregation. Resources available at MultiTracks.com.