Michael W. Smith: Leading his Music With His Heart
Listen to a Michael W. Smith cassette on a Walkman from the mid 80s, and you’ll notice that his music style has changed dramatically compared to now, and that’s to be expected! It has, after all, been over four decades, since Michael began his career.
What hasn’t changed, is his posture. . . his posture towards God, towards his audience, and towards his music.
His newest album, Surrounded, is a very different type of record, one full of hymn-esque choruses, and repeatable mantras that ring out like melodic prayers.
What does Michael hope we get as we listen to his new album? “Authenticity,” he says with a slight smile. After all, he remarks, “people want authenticity, they just want the real thing.”
Bringing a sense of authenticity to music, however, is easier said than done. So how does he do it? Matt and Laurie spoke with Michael about it on a recent episode of Praise.
Michael does it by leading every aspect of his music with his heart. Stage performances, studio recordings, all of them begin with a sincere prayer from the heart. The productions aren’t about lights and showmanship, they’re about a heartfelt focus on God.
This means that, each concert, each performance, begins with the question “what’s my posture, what’s my motivation?” The goal is to disappear, no matter how many people are around. This posture contains echoes found in the Gospel of John (chapter 3, verse 30) intoning that God must increase and that we might decrease.
Lord, by your grace, help us to decrease as You increase, and may we constantly adopt a posture of humility towards You. Amen.
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