When Christopher Lewis describes his music, he doesn't bother with stylistic adjectives like R&B, pop, gospel or the like. He uses verbs.
"My music is real," says Christopher. "It is candid, honest. It speaks to everyday people about everyday situations."
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And such is LIFE, the debut release by Christopher Lewis on Light Records.
Christopher grew up in a musical household in North Carolina. "Making music was the thing to do at our house," he says. "It was like cutting grass." His father, a deacon in their local church, still sings with a local quartet called the Twilight Gospel Singers. Christopher references his father's group in a tribute to the Dixie Hummingbirds on his rendition of "Christian Automobile."
But little Christopher's musical tastes were diverse, ranging from Mahalia Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Donnie Hathaway. At age 8, Christopher composed his first song. I wrote the song "Sing Praises to Thee in the 10th grade. That song was recorded twelve years later by Judith Christie-McAllister in 2000."
But it has been the last two years that Christopher has seen his music grow by leaps and bounds. He was given first place honors at BMI's New Music Nights Showcase this year and was named Georgia's Music Industry Songwriter of the Year. In 2000, BMI recognized him as the top undiscovered talent. His song, "Delivered," now featured on LIFE, was selected as the best composition from among over 350 entries of songs from every musical genre. Christopher has also received acclaim as a nominee for Atlanta's Gospel Choice Awards for the past two years in the Best New Artist category.
Songwriting for Christopher is anything but a chore, however it does require special effort. "Writing a song comes easy to me when I'm in right standing. I fall short everyday, but when I go to Him and repent, it puts me in line to hear His voice."
And sometimes, tragedy inspires. Christopher wrote the song "She" for his daughter Lauren as she lay in a surgery room fighting for her life. "The only thought I had was longing to hold her and hear her say that she loved me," recalls Christopher. Even though its been more than two years since Lauren had her third open heart surgery, Christopher still remembers how helpless she looked, a spidery network of tubes connected to her small body. She had undergone her first surgery at just three days old. "I just remember thinking, how much more can she bear? Christopher says. "But out of that experience I learned to say, Lord, let me trust you more."
Currently Christopher, along with his wife, Leslie, heads the Worship And Arts department for Voices Of Faith Ministries in Stone Mountain, Georgia. "I want to bring a new expression of worship, in which our church may not have experienced in the past," says Christopher. "People are hungry today for a true experience with God. You know, everything can praise God. The Bible says let anything that has breath praise the Lord. But not everyone can worship Him. When we worship God, we have to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Spirit and truth draws a line in the sand for us. You know if you've entered into true worship or not, and God knows it too. True worship provokes people to change. That's what I want to see happen." When asked about the diverse musical offerings on LIFE, Christopher offers an introspective explanation. "I can't reach my kids with the same stuff that my momma used to reach me. I am preaching the same God, the same Jesus, but using different bait to catch the fish."
"If there is one thing I want my music to do," Christopher concludes, "it is to speak life not just to the lost, but also to the church body. Some people think there is no life outside the church, and that is so wrong. We all have to live practical, everyday lives, taking care of our responsibilities, loving our spouses, nurturing our children, being men and women of God outside the church doors."
"We are supposed to be living life to the fullest. Jesus told us He came to give us life, and that more abundantly. That's why I wrote ‘You Were There.’ God is with us second by second, even when we mess up, even when we don't deserve His presence. He is with me from the moment I get up to the moment I go to bed at night. He lives this life with me. And that is an awesome thought." |
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