Winner Olmann in a recording session for “Go Tell It”
Going into our creative retreat, we knew that we were going to recreate popular Christmas tunes, giving them the musical variety that would illustrate the diversity of our church. We didn’t know however, that any original music would come out of it.
After a couple days of extreme productivity we decided to try our hand at making a completely original song. Being the musicians that we are, we started off with the groove, and boy, it was groovin’.
Ok, so now we had a great groove. There’s only one problem: no lyrics. So from there we began a long process of trying to write lyrics for the catchy instrumental. The reality, however is that none of us specializes in writing Christmas tunes. So after about 30 minutes or so, we had absolutely nothing and were probably on the verge of giving up on it.
As the team worked on some of the other songs, I decided to go into the lobby to see if there was a chance to save the idea. After about another 30 minutes of listening to the recorded groove on repeat, I had nothing. When I realized how much time was being wasted, I turned to my greatest source of inspiration.
Believers have the greatest tool ever given to mankind: The Bible. In it we find countless stories of hope. One of these great stories is found in the book of Isaiah, particularly in the 9th chapter. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9.2 ESV). This is the story that Family Church wants to tell: people moving from darkness into light; passing from death to life; recovering and pursuing God’s design. Another passage of scripture that is heard around our church a lot is from 2 Corinthians 5: “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” I figured, “what could we say that’s better than this?” So I allowed these passages to be the foundation of the song and suddenly lyrics and melodies began to flow.
This is the reality: God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Whether you’re a pastor, plumber, painter or pilot, He’s entrusted you with this ministry and there are ways to use your occupation or life stage to “Tell the Story”. We could have just decided to make a catchy Christmas tune, but we chose to write a song commissioning others to “Go Tell It” to your neighbors, from the rooftops, on the mountain or wherever else you may be in the world.
“Go Tell It” Sample:
Winner Olmann is the Worship Pastor at Family Church Sherbrooke