Grammy-Award winning CCM artist Chris Tomlin recently explained that while many singers are forced to constantly reinvent their music in order to stay relevant with the changing culture, his songs will always include simple messages taken directly from the pages of Scripture.
"I'm not trying to be stagnant or boring, but I never try to reinvent myself or so 'oh this is different' or 'I'm trying to change my music up,'" Tomlin said in a recent interview. "I'm trying to do the same thing, but hopefully it sounds better every time with simple songs that cause people to sing and worship God."
The "How Great Is Our God" singer said his goal when writing a worship song has remained the same since he entered the music scene back in 1995.
"It's about simple, accessible songs that can and need to sing to God," he said. "To try to come in and say 'OK, here's a new style' would be doing a disservice to churches who are looking for new songs. I always push the lines a little bit as far as what I can sing to the church. I always want to come back to the core, and that's songs that are beautiful to sing and that are inspired by God's words."
He added, "I want to point people to the greatness of God and the grace of God, to find the right songs to point to the fact that God is great and God knows your name - how powerful those things are," he says. "I want to give people a voice to worship God."
In addition to a Grammy and two Billboard Music Awards, Tomlin has won 21 Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association, and has multiple chart-topping hits, including "Holy Is The Lord," "We Fall Down," and "Indescribable," written by Laura Story. The singer released his 10th studio album, "Love Ran Red," last fall. The album's title comes from the chorus of the song "At the Cross," which describes the blood of Christ on the cross: "Where your love ran red and my sin washed white."
"I think that song is the centerpiece of the album," Tomlin told the Daily Press. "It's a foundational song, and my favorite song I've been a part of for a while. Making an album is about the grace of God and the greatness of God - both of those things. Writing songs pointing to his greatness and how he's beyond us, and about his grace, which is how he draws us close."
Currently, Tomlin headlining the "Love Ran Red" tour, and will be joined in shows across the United States with Christian groups Tenth Avenue North and Rend Collective.
"It's not like it's these opening bands and then me," he says. "It's just a really powerful night of music from people who are not there to just put on a show. People who come hear the music know it's a special night of singing to God and worshiping God," Tomlin explained.
