Writing Songs from Heaven - Chris Blue

00:01 - Speaker 1
I think those songs come from heaven. I think those songs come from heaven. I just wrote a song. A couple weeks ago I was on a flight from New York back to Tennessee and I'm sleeping and in my dream, right, I hear this song, this worship song, and it's just like this mess. Like I saw this vision of this massive choir and they were singing the words to this song and I heard the chords in my head. I'm like, wow, this is incredible, this is amazing. And I woke up and normally I don't remember you know, my dreams that well, or that often even songs that I hear taste really good. But this one I heard and I remembered it. I was like, wow, yo, I've got to do this. So I went home, I wrote it immediately and when I got it to church it was an instant hit, instantly. The church just I mean in worship they loved it. They thought it was a song that already existed. I'm like, well, yeah, in heaven, because that's where it came from. It was literally a download, spiritual download. Hey, what's up y'all?

00:57
My name is Chris Blue. I am a native of Central Florida, polk County, florida, that is. I was brought up here for the bulk of my youth. I then moved to Tennessee with my family. I'm the youngest of seven kids. I was raised by my mother and father and they kept us in church my entire life. I was in church every single day Sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday and, of course, on Sunday they found a reason for us to be in church, and I believe that is the reason why I'm able to talk to you guys right now, because my foundation has always been faith and this is my Faithly Story.

01:37 - Speaker 2
Welcome to Faithly Stories, the podcast that brings you inspiring tales from conversations with church leaders as they navigate the peaks and valleys of their faith journeys through their ministry work and everyday life. Join us as we delve into their challenges, moments of encouragement and answered prayers. The Faithly Stories podcast is brought to you by Faithly, an online community committed to empowering church leaders, pastors, staff and volunteers. Learn more at faithlyco. Get ready to be uplifted and inspired as we unveil the heart of faith through stories from the front lines of ministry. On the Faithly Stories podcast.

02:21 - Speaker 3
Could you share how your faith journey started?

02:23 - Speaker 1
Absolutely so. My faith journey started, I believe, when I was about two years old. I was really interested in music and singing, and gospel singing in particular. I'll never forget, man, I was at my grandmother's house and every year for Christmas, me and all my cousins, my brothers, sisters, all my siblings OK, to really paint this picture, right, you have to understand, my grandmother had 14 children, right, and so imagine everybody's children and one small house playing outside having a great time. And it was just. You know, it was one of those things that I knew would be super fun for me, and so I got to hang out with my cousins every Christmas and it was always something I look forward to.

03:12
This particular Christmas, however, it was 1992. I was only two years old. It's crazy. I remember this. I was watching this gospel group on the television while all my cousins were outside playing, and I could not move. I was stuck, I was glued to the television. I'm watching them sing these songs, quartet group, gospel quartet group from Canton, mississippi. They're called the Canton Spirituals, and they're doing their thing and they're killing it, and I'm like, wow, this is a beautiful expression of not only music and talent, but of faith and of love for God and just to see the response of the people. That was something that I would say was the seed that truly, truly started my walk with Christ.

04:00 - Speaker 3
So, from there, how did you start gaining a knowledge and an understanding of Jesus?

04:06 - Speaker 1
I think that for me that happens over time, right, I think the beginning of that happened when I was around about seven or eight years old. I wanted to get baptized because at the church that we grew up in we were baptizing pretty often and at first I wanted to get baptized because I saw my friends starting to get baptized and different people getting baptized and I was like, oh, the church is applauding, they're happy, they're doing something good, and I was such a people pleaser back then. I'm not as bad as you know, I'm not as bad as I was then, but I was really bad then and I would see them applaud. I'm like yo, I want that applause. You know, I want to make everybody happy. So I'm going to get baptized. I went to my dad. I was like Dad, I want to get baptized. And he says, son, when you're old enough to understand what you're really doing, I'll allow you to get baptized. I said, ok, well, how old is that? He said I don't know, but you'll know I was around eight, nine years old when I really started to understand what it meant to be baptized in the faith, and I would say that was the beginning of my understanding of Christianity and faith in God, and I would say now, though, it's ever evolving.

05:27
I'm learning something new every single day, right? Because when you look at my background, my church background, it started as an apostolic Pentecostal. We left there, went to a non-denominational church for a few years. From there, we left and went to an AME, and from AME to Episcopalian, and from Episcopalian to Kojic and Kojic to Fire Baptized. I've been all over the place. Now I'm serving at a Presbyterian church, so it's like I've seen God in so many different facets. It's like, okay, I've seen the hellfire brimstone of God and I've been able to experience the love of God, and so now I've come to this pretty good balance of what and who God is in my life.

06:10 - Speaker 3
What are some early influences in your walk and your growing and understanding?

06:16 - Speaker 1
Honestly, man, every time I've ever opened the Word of God, I don't know. It was as if the words would jump off the page and I could understand what God was saying. You know, revelation would just come easy for me, and it's something that I often pray as well. You have to pray for the word to be revealed unto you. God is mysterious in all of his ways. So even there are certain things in the word of God that's black and white, there are certain things that are a little gray, and it takes the Holy spirit, revealing unto us what those things truly mean and what they are and how they apply to our lives, um, so that we can have an understanding of the word of God.

06:57
So every time, before I even read, I pray Lord, reveal yourself unto me through your word. These are your words. These are not my words, these are your words. Therefore, I need you to reveal what you are trying to communicate and what you are saying unto me, and I don't know that I have many people that I look up, that I grew up listening to. I can tell you there are certainly a few now that I highly respect and love and appreciate. Dr AR Bernard is one Pastor. Adam Durso is another Pastor, jamal Bernard. I really highly respect and appreciate the men of God that they are and the mind that they have as it pertains to the word of God. That they are and the mind that they have as it pertains to the word of God.

07:46 - Speaker 3
I guess what I'm trying to tease out is who have been influential in your discipleship. I'm just curious as to who's been shaping you as a disciple, but also to grow as a man.

07:57 - Speaker 1
Yeah, that's a great question. God has positioned me to have several men in my life. As a matter of fact, I'm an old soul and so I just naturally I gravitate toward. You know, older people, you know. So the men in my life that are pouring into me are not my peers. That's just how it's set up. It's the older men, and God called them because they're wise.

08:21
And so there's a man by the name of Halloran Hill that I've been walking with since I was 10. Another man, andrew Osakwe, who I've been walking with. Man, there's quite a few. I have an uncle who's a pastor, raymond Mose. He's been a great light and insight into just helping me walk through this faith and understanding scripture and understanding the word of God. My oldest brother, my oldest brother, elder Ernest Blue, who's an elder in the Church of God in Christ, he's another one that's been helping me really navigate this thing called life and manhood. My dad, my dad's been there to even help. You know, hey, son, this is what a man is, this is what a man does, this is how a man does. So I have several men, strong men, good men, in my life that have really helped shape the man of God that I am today and help continue to shape the man of God that I am.

09:23 - Speaker 3
So what do you think is it about these men that resonated with you? Because when I take a look at my life, I realize there are certain types of men or men that I look up to right and I will listen to them because I trust them right. And then when other people say the same exact thing, I'm like, nah, bro, I'm not receiving that from you. So for you, like, what is it about these men that has been most helpful to you to be like, oh, I want to listen to these people because I've been growing and changing I would say, the thing that makes me want to listen, or thing that helps me listen to them before I listen to anyone else, has been consistency.

10:03 - Speaker 1
They've been consistent, you know, not perfect, not perfect, but consistent. You know, my brother's one he'll man when it comes to the word of God and right and wrong, there is no tiptoeing on that line. He is for what the word says, he is for what is right, regardless of who you are. He's going to choose, he's going to always side with the word, says he is for what is right, regardless of who you are. Um, he's gonna choose, he's gonna always side with the word. That's just. You know how he is and that's who he is. And so, um, you know it's been consistency for him. And just being able to watch these men live their life because I hear them all the time say, hey, man, you, you know, you know you want to do this as a man, you want to do that I'm like, okay, all right, I hear you, but now I'm going to watch you. And that's one of the things that even I've learned with the world. You know we've been, we, we, we go out into the marketplace. The Bible says go out into the world. That's what Jesus told the disciples go into the world preaching and teaching the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father. We've done that for so long, and you would think, because we've done it for so long, that it would become automatic or natural for people, once they hear us, to just come into the fold.

11:20
But what I've noticed is people have stopped listening to us. They stopped listening a long time ago and now they're only watching us. They're only watching what we're, what we're doing, and not really listening or paying attention to what we're saying, because what we do carries a little bit more merit than what we say. Jesus said your lips speak of me, but your heart is far from me, right, so that heart, there is an actionable organ. Anything that derives from the heart produces an action. So that's what Jesus was trying to let them know. Like, listen, I hear what you're saying, but what you're doing is completely opposed to what you're saying. And so I think the world is doing the same to us, like they're not listening to us, they're watching us, and that's what I've done with all my mentors and coaches, life coaches and those who have discipled me and continue to disciple me. I'm watching them, and so that's been really key.

12:22 - Speaker 3
That's really fire. That's so good and so that's been really key. That's really fire.

12:34 - Speaker 1
That's so good, thank you. How does all of that now translate to you in the music industry and your pursuit of this career? I think it translates into a beautiful journey because it's foundational. So when I started this music thing man, I honestly so I was on the Voice, and, by the grace of God, I was able to win that show. That was a great experience.

12:53
What got me through it, though, were the foundational scriptures and the things that I learned as a kid. So every single morning, when we would stay with our grandmother, we would wake up me and all my cousins it was about 50 of us that were in the house with her we would have to get up and say our prayers, and we would have to recite scripture from memorization. Every single morning. Every Sunday morning, on our way to church, we would recite scripture and we would recite church. We would recite scripture, and we would recite, we would pray prayers and just different things that we would just kind of do that on a routine basis. So that was my secret sauce on the show. I just took all of that, and every single morning, I'm reciting the same scriptures. I'm reading scriptures. At night, I'm praying. I devoted myself to God.

13:44
There was a message that one of my mentors gave me before I left to go to California. He gave me two words, two words, that's it. He said go win. Now, to me, and to the average person, it's like oh, go win this show. To me, I saw winning completely different.

14:04
To me, winning was being so connected to God that, no matter what I sang, performed or produced on TV, the Holy Spirit and the anointing would project through every television screen, every tablet, every phone, and God would be glorified. And I can't tell you how many DMs, how many text messages, how many calls I received from people saying man, I know you were singing at Michael Jackson, I know you sung Bruno Mars, but I just felt the anointing, I felt the Holy Spirit and I'm like stuff does work. And so that's how I say it translates into the music industry who you are as a person, in your core, things that you stand on, the things that you say you believe, the one you say you believe in, it will show right, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. And so, whatever thoughts you have in your heart, that actionable organ, whatever you think, that's what you will be, that's what you'll become and that's how it translates into the music.

15:03
For me, it's not even about the sounds. We have talented people in the world. Everybody can sing nowadays. You know what I mean. Everybody can hold a note, can do runs, they can do all this stuff. But how many people are bringing in the presence of God?

15:18
There's only one way to do that. He must be present, and so that's what I focus on.

15:23 - Speaker 3
Yeah, more and more as I get older and something I've been learning recently it's like the kingdom's all about vibes, like, really like it's. It's this resonance that you can't explain. I guess the question I'm trying to ask is, like for a lot of people, especially in the arts and like in the non church world of music, like how are you like, what is it like, navigating through that right now for you in your career? And like what have been some distractions or what has been some wins that, like you want to like encourage other artists to be, like hey, like it's going to be hard or it's going to be difficult, or like these are the things you want to watch out for. But like this is how I've been navigating it?

16:06 - Speaker 1
Great question. The reality is, misery loves company, ok, and the music industry, just like any, any other industry, is hard, right, and you have a lot of happy people and those people who have, you know, found the true joy in music and being an artist are happy. They might not be the richest or most successful or most famous, but they're happy because they found the secret sauce. But you got a lot of people Right who probably are pretty famous and are made a pretty good living for themselves. Miserable. The majority are miserable and you know you have a lot of those numbers that aren't doing so well, they're just struggling. They're, they're striving, they're trying to you, trying to make this thing work and it's just not working. So it's hard.

17:00
Not only that, the industry is a dark place because of the fame, the lights, the cameras. I often say'm I'm in music but I'm not of music right, like I'm in the music industry but I'm not of the music industry. Because of how volatile it is, how fickle it is, um, how, how on, how an unhuman it can be or inhuman it can be, like it's. You know, it's the best way. It's just a really, really dark, dark place. You have a lot of angry people who are looking to. It's all about leverage. What have you done for me lately? You know it's, if I scratch your back, you scratch mine. You know it's very, very, very political and you wouldn't think or imagine that that would be the case, and even in the Christian music industry or the gospel music industry. But the reality is, anytime you are dealing in business, anytime business is involved, if you're not careful it's I mean, it's gonna those lines are going to get blurred, and so that's one of the things that we see and face in the music industry.

18:17
And just being honest, you know, with anyone who's striving to become an artist or make a career out of music, it is difficult. I'm not going to lie to you. It is hard. But once you realize your why and allow that to be your fuel, allow that to project you into the world, I think everything else kind of just goes away because you're zeroed in, you're locked in on why you're doing this, why you've been called. That's what I do.

18:51
I know that those bad days are going to happen. I know that those disappoint days are going to happen. I know that those disappointments are going to come. I know I just had one this morning. I just got an email this morning of something that really, really like it's kind of threw me for a loop. Just before you know, we jumped on this interview. But my why, why, why have you got? Why have you got called me into this? That, why keeps me going? And that's what I would say to anyone who's looking to be an artist and be successful Don't focus on the money, focus on why, and everything else will come.

19:24 - Speaker 3
So what is your why?

19:26 - Speaker 1
My why is very simple. My why is to be light in darkness, a glue, a conduit that brings people together. All my life I've been the one, for some reason, that my family, my friends, co-workers so have you, partners, whatever they've come to. I've just been that middle person who's been able to kind of bridge gaps and bring people together. And so that's what I believe God has called me to. He's called me to be that bridge to connect different worlds, races, beliefs, lifestyles, people through the love of God and show them the reality of God's love. And so that's been my why. That's why I keep doing this, that's why I wake up every day trying to figure out how can I get in front of people, Because I know if I get in front of people, God will do the rest. That's been my motto God, you just get me in front of them and then you'll do the rest. And so that's my why, man, I got to be light in this dark world, and it's a dark, dark world.

20:32 - Speaker 3
Were you always like this? Like if I asked your grandma like well, what was Chris like as a kid? It's like. Oh he's exactly who he is now.

20:38 - Speaker 1
Oh, absolutely. They'll tell you. I was bold. I always I was singing, I was preaching. Dude, my mom owned a hair salon. I would walk in the hair salon and steal all of her combs and use her combs as my microphone and brushes is my microphone and I'm preaching to all of her clients. You know, like everything that you're seeing now is who I was as a kid. Obviously, you know I'm probably a little bit cuter now, but you know, other than that, other than that, for the most part man I was always. I was always a servant, I was always a lover of Jesus and and God. All my friends, all my artists, friends will tell you when I was trying to do the mainstream thing, they was like Chris, you churchy, bro, you too, churchy, you need to be singing in church. You are now in your lane. You know what I mean. So, yeah, I was always like this.

21:27 - Speaker 3
As I get older too, I realize there's a core that doesn't change in me and I feel like that's the identity that God placed in all of us, that there's just this authenticity in who we are and, like, a lot of life is just figuring that out and not letting the world tell me who I am, but me discovering who God made me to be.

21:48
So, yeah, that's great. You said your grandmother had 14 kids kids, right. So my grandmother had half of that seven right. And so we would have like these like epic, like family gatherings. I mean, it wouldn't be like like big per se, like like we're spending a lot of money, but like we would gather at my grandmother's house and then everyone would bring like massive amounts of food and and it was amazing until, like you know, drama started happening in families. And then, like the pores and like and it just fractured and like I no longer have that and I miss it. I never realized, like, how good I had it, even with a dysfunctional family, as long as we were together and eating together. But for you, like, is your family still together or are they scattered? Or like, how is the family dynamic?

22:37 - Speaker 1
My mother, my mother, my mother and my father, um, their, their relationship didn't make it. They actually um separated when I was eight years old. Uh, but my, my dad, you know, is still in my life. Mom obviously still still in my life. Dad, you know, is still in my life. Mom obviously still in my life, and all my siblings and I, like everybody, we're still together.

23:02
We don't live in the same, you know, state or city, like we used to, you know, and we're like any other family, just in all transparency, man, like we're not perfect, you know, we have our dysfunctions and we have our issues, but, man, we know how to come together and that's one of the beautiful things that I appreciate about my family we will come together. So don't mess with one of us because you got six more. That's coming, I'm telling you, and they're not as friendly sometimes, but no, and I think it's something that my grandmother and grandfather and my uncles and my aunts, like they've instilled in us and and and I'm including my uncles and my and my aunts because every year for the for the past 40 years, we host an annual family reunion. Matter of fact, I just left, I just came from, when we were down in Miami, you know, at a reunion with, with you know, my family, uncles, aunts, and we not only do it for my grandmother's side of the family but we also do it for my grandfather's side of the family. So I'm getting to know both sides and it's it's it's really important, I can tell, it's very important, um to the, the, the, the um, the history of the family, and and and the legacy of the family and the legacy of the family that we know who our family is.

24:15
It's very, very important because the reunions could have died off years ago, when my grandmother passed, or when this one passed, when that one passed, but every year, for the last 40 plus years, we've met and have come together as a family, with dysfunctions, with our different issues, with how separated and how scattered we are throughout the United States or across the world. We keep certain dates blocked off, you know, every single year. So I know next year I will be in Charleston, south Carolina, around this time, you know, doing it all over again. And so I'm I'm really blessed and fortunate to have a family like that, because that's what I want to see my little girl, uh, who's three years old. That's what I want to see my little girl, um, I want to see her experience that and I want that to be instilled in her. The essence of family.

25:07 - Speaker 3
It's so beautiful. I think when I look back like yeah, I didn't really love my family and I've hated them at times, but, like you said, but you don't mess with one of us, like we can mess with each other and like talk mad smack. So to me that was always family. So like when I had fights with my friends, it's like wait, why are we not friends anymore? What?

25:32
I thought we'd fight and like wait, why are we not friends anymore? What I thought we'd fight and get over it. But I realized, oh, it's a very special family thing, that God can even create unity, even in dysfunction. And yeah, it's just commitment.

25:44 - Speaker 1
That's beautiful. God can create unity even in dysfunction. You don't get that. A lot of people don't understand that, and I think because we don't understand that, we quit, we give up on each other and we give up on relationships. I've always said, man, love is a choice, and when you say you love me, or if I say I love you, I'm choosing to love even the bad parts about you. And you're choosing to love the horrible parts about me and you're choosing to be patient, because love is patient, love is kind. You're choosing to love the horrible parts about me and you're choosing to be patient because love is patient, love is kind. You're choosing to allow me to grow into the person that God has called me to be. And so when you say you love me, man, that means you're here, you're deciding to be family. You know, and so I think that's really cool that even in dysfunction, man, god knows how to get the glory. That's really cool.

26:33 - Speaker 3
So what has been some of your influences in music? Because I realize you know, whatever industry we're in, we've always like built on top of what's come before us, right To honor the past, but also like reimagine the future. So, for you, what has been some musical influences in your life?

26:51 - Speaker 1
Man, I'm all over the place with my musical influences. I mean dead alive, mainstream, you know, gospel, whatever, I'm all over the place. But I'll go ahead and tell you, man, I grew up listening to Pastor Marvin Winans. I grew up listening to Gaither Vocal Band. I grew up listening to the Canton Spirituals. I'm trying to think who else? Michael Jackson, stevie Wonder, marvin Gaye, sam Cooke, gosh, man, the list goes on and on and on. I'm an old soul and old, classic sounding singer. Sam Cooke is probably definitely one of my top singers. Al Green, james Brown, little Prince, like I'm kind of, you know, I'm kind of all over the place when it comes to music and my musical influences, because those guys are the best man. Love listening to each and every. Like Prince's, you know his talent, pastor Marvin Winan's ability to tell a story or paint a picture with his voice. Michael Jackson's ability to, you know, entertain you and just be infectious and grippling, like, yeah, I love, I love them all.

28:03 - Speaker 3
What do you feel like, is your voice, or your sound, or the thing that like, like, oh, like it's you, and then that is what you bring out to the world.

28:12 - Speaker 1
Dude, that's a great question, Great question. I think a part of that is still somewhat being discovered. To be honest with you, I don't know that I've landed, I don't know that I can articulate that, you know, you know adequately for you. But I can give you an idea and put you in the realm. I love classic sounding songs and classic sounding voices. So if you took Sam Cooke, if Sam Cooke, pastor Marvin Wine, prince Michael Jackson and Dedrick Haddon had a child I know there's a lot of people coming together, but if you took all of those sounds and styles and put them under one umbrella, I think that would be Chris Blue under one umbrella. I think that would be chris blue. Yeah, I think that would.

28:58 - Speaker 3
That would be my sound, that would be my, my flavor and my palate so what is about that sound that resonates with you and feels like it's so you?

29:07 - Speaker 1
it's the delivery. Right, prince is groovy, right, michael groovy, you know, he's infectious, he's, he's an entertainer, which I love, I love to do Pastor Marvin Winans and Sam Cook they are crooners, they can sing the ABCs and just sing you under a table, like they're. I love that. Um, these are hatton's. He, he's, he's, he's, he's very pentecostal, right, and he's very like um, the kingdom of god suffered by, but the violent, taken by force. He's very violent in his worship, like he, like I I don't know if I can coin this, but I love, I love worship, right, um, it's just a silent, like type worship. That's just like now I'm coming to take over satan's camp and you know it's that thing, and so dj haddon has that and he's edgy and um, I think it's, I think it's a combination of not just their sounds but their deliveries, like all of those things attract me and and have been, uh, really instrumental in my palate no, I hear you um I think I'm answering your question.

30:21 - Speaker 3
I'm trying, no you definitely are you definitely are, because if you're not. I'll be asking follow-up questions okay, but like.

30:27
I love the fact that you called it warship, right? Um, because there is something like aggressive and violent with the sound and the words, but we don't get physically violent, right. It's like like we fight the darkness with the word of God, because the word alone is powerful enough, right? So I get that. And the reason why I asked the question is because I realized, like myself, the things I love in other people actually is because I love them in myself. So when I'm figuring out who I am, I actually have to look at others, right, and be like oh, I like that.

31:04
I like that, oh, I like that. And then God is like that's because that's who you are, that's who you are, right, it's speaking to who you are. Yeah, right, yeah. But that's like the personality side, right, because the character side is like oh, but that's Christ-likeness, like, like you said, there's this consistency of integrity and love that all Christians should embody. But then there's this little flavor, right, because if you're just like Christ, I mean, I'm going to be honest, it's a little bland Because Jesus is too perfect. So I like a little bit of flavor of these other styles and I think that's what it is. I think personality is just style and we can have all these different expressions of style, but how we treat each other and how we commit to each other, those are the intrinsic things in relationships that are constant and core. That is Christlikeness. Yeah, I love that. It helps me to get to know who you are better by understanding all these other people.

32:06 - Speaker 1
That's really cool that you even pointed that out. I never even thought about it like that. I never thought about seeing myself in other people and how that impacts me. Right, I've always been one to try to be original and I'm going to be different. I'm going to be different, I'm going to stand out.

32:25
But the Bible clearly said there's nothing new under this sun, right, it's just. It's a combination of different things that already exist that you're making of your own. That becomes quote, unquote your difference you it becomes you, but it's a combination of things that already exist. Difference you it becomes you, but it's a combination of things that already exist. And so I never saw it like that. I never took out the time to realize. Dude, if you really want to know who you are, if you like I now I'm gonna start really like trying to articulate my sound now, based upon the styles of individuals that I gravitate toward, because it'll it'll help me to define my sound. It'll help me to define you know. You know my thing and who I am. So that's pretty, that's pretty key. I like that.

33:11 - Speaker 3
That's clutch because if you really think about like, like, if you reduce everything, like music, it's just notes, right, it's just like, was it 12? Keys, keys.

33:21 - Speaker 1
It's 88. Yeah, 88 keys on a piano. It's 88 keys on a piano, and every Friday there's 100,000 new singles. So you tell me, none of those songs are sharing the same chord progressions. None of those songs have any melodies that. No, they all resemble. We're all taking from each other and we're building upon that. There's no way around it. There's only 88 keys.

33:52
But within those 88 keys, or 88 notes on a piano, you've got rock music, you've got jazz, you've got the blues, you've got gospel, christian, you've got pop, r&b. There's so many things that come from that, and I think that's just the beauty of our God and his mind and his creation. Because I tell you right now, if I'm stuck with 88 keys, you'll probably get 88 songs and that's it. You know what I'm saying. But god, in his sovereignty and his, his, his, his supremacy, like he, just he knows how to do it, he knows how to do everything, he makes no mistakes, he's too wise, and so he knew. He knew what he was doing from the very beginning, and I just think that's really, really cool and you'll love this.

34:41 - Speaker 3
I realized. Sound is music, but until you add words, it doesn't become a song, right, and this is why, like, we will sing new songs and new heavens, because we're not just trying to feel good, cause you can get that on drugs, Right. So, like, sometimes music is like an emotional drug, cause you're coping with like a heartbreak or whatnot, but when you listen to the word, you're like, oh, yes and amen. This is why I love this song and why people sing along to the lyrics, because they're making it their own words, right, yeah, so it's this combination of the feel, but also the intellect of like, knowing and believing and understanding, and that's this is why I love music, man. It's just so powerful and like worship music, you know. But I want to come back to this pure like.

35:26 - Speaker 1
Oh, in my dream, right, I hear this song, this worship song, and it's just like this mess, like I saw this vision of this massive choir and they were singing the words to this song and I heard the chords in my head. I'm like, wow, this is incredible, this is amazing. And I woke up and normally I don't remember, you know, my dreams that well, or that often even songs that I hear taste me. They're really good. But this one I heard and I remembered it. I was like, wow, yo, I've got to do this. So I went home, I wrote it immediately and when I got it to church it was an instant hit, instantly. The church, just I mean in worship, they loved it. They they thought it was a song that already existed. I'm like, well, yeah, in heaven, because that's where it came from. It was literally a download, spiritual download, and I wrote the song in two days and we sung it at church that Sunday.

36:37
And I'm saying that to say songs, the real songs, I believe, are downloaded spiritually. There's some pretty good songs that you know have been penned over a three month course, you know four month course, a year, you know whatever. But it's the songs that happen in like five minutes that you can't explain, five minutes that you can't explain Ten minutes. It's just like yo, the song just wrote itself. I believe that's God intervening spiritually, divinely, supernaturally intervening to give something, pour something, to download something into the earth that we need. To me, those are the songs, and I can't wait to get to heaven and hear the music that will be played up there, because I just believe I know there will be chord progressions and songs. Like God will take these same 88 keys on a piano and I'll hear. I'll hear a heavenly progression that I've not heard on earth and I can't wait to hear that. Like I'm excited for that experience.

37:40 - Speaker 3
So uh, when's your album coming out?

37:46 - Speaker 1
experience. So, uh, when's your album coming out? So my album actually came out june 7th uh 2024. June 7 2024 is when my album, uh, was released and it was an incredible debut. It debuted at number one on the gospel charts and so I was super excited about that. Did not expect or anticipate that to ever happen in my lifetime, but, but it did.

38:07
And, man, it's just it just I'm still in awe, like my heart fills with gratitude and I just think about it because I'm like God, I'm just this country. You know, little boy, you know I don't deserve this, this imperfect. I let you down every day, human being, and still you were being this good to me. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve you. I don't deserve you, but I thank you. I really do thank you. So it's been a beautiful, beautiful couple weeks. I'm getting calls and I'm going on tour this fall and this Christmas, so that's already lined up. I'm excited about that. And, yeah, man, god has been doing some great things in my life, so I'm excited about what he's doing.

38:53
What are you hoping for at Faithly Number one? I'm hoping that Faithly sticks around and doesn't go anywhere. We need this platform and it doesn't go anywhere. We need this platform, we need this opportunity to connect as spiritual leaders and something that Facebook and Instagram doesn't have control over, but you know, it's for us and our thing, so that we can continue to stay connected and stay rooted in each other. So my hope is that, first and foremost, that it stays and it doesn't go anywhere, and then, secondly, my hope is that it grows and people will start to see the benefit of this platform and how it can bless and transform all of our lives. So, because we're one body made up of many parts, but we're still just one body. So when you hurt, I hurt.

39:43 - Speaker 3
And how can we be praying for you and your family? Oh, man.

39:48 - Speaker 1
Um, how can you be praying for us? There's a few things that me and my wife we are working on. One in particular is a music and wellness retreat that we're working on for 2025 in bali, and so you could sign up and be a part of that. Just go to my Instagram or go to her Instagram. My Instagram is at Chris B live. You can find her through my Instagram Steph B underscore, underscore and we have all the information up there. And then also that that we I want me and my family to be the ultimate testimony of American society, and my prayer is the same thing I'm praying for faithfully, and I'm praying for my family, that we just stay together. That's the ultimate thing, man. When you accomplish that, you've done a great work in the earth. You've done a great work in American society. So many families are dividing and splitting apart, and I just I don't want to see that for mine. So that's how you can be brand for us.

40:52 - Speaker 3
Thanks, chris, this was great. I had a lot of fun.

40:54 - Speaker 1
Yes, sir, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much, man. I hope I didn't talk your head off.

41:00 - Speaker 3
No, you spit out fire, so I'm I'm gonna go listen to your album now, because I can't imagine your lyrics oh man, no, no, no, my album is a nice little hymn album that we did.

41:10 - Speaker 1
It was a passion project um. My next album will be more of chris, but this is chris too, just my my foundation, yes, my foundation.

41:19 - Speaker 3
So bless you, bro. That's it for the podcast guys.

41:23 - Speaker 2
Bye. Thank you for tuning in to the Faithly Stories podcast. We pray this episode gave you the encouragement you needed to continue on your journey. The Faithly Stories podcast is brought to you by Faithly, an online community committed to empowering church leaders, pastors, staff and volunteers. The Faithly digital platform offers innovative and practical tools and resources to enhance connection, foster collaboration and promote growth within the church and ministry space. Remember to subscribe, rate and review our podcast to help reach more listeners like you. Stay tuned for more uplifting tales from the front lines of ministry on the Faithly podcast. Stay bold, stay faithful and never underestimate the power of your own story.