After 10 years of being part of the eminent Caedmon's Call, Derek Webb is now embarking on his own musical endeavours, starting with the release of his debut solo album She Must And Shall Go Free - a much anticipated album with a strong, and in some eyes, controversial theme: the church.
I had the chance to speak with Webb about this new release and the thoughts behind it, and was able to learn more about his significant perspectives about the church, and his passion to share more about it - no matter what the questionable results may be.
He delves right in, giving an in-depth explanation and reason for the theme and creation of the album, saying that after being in Caedmon's Call, playing in churches, being in the industry and seeing what's going on behind the scenes - and also acknowledging his own condition of his heart and the way he admittedly makes idols for himself (quoting John Calvin, "the human heart is like an idol factory") - he "started to see a real need, specifically in our churches, for encouragement, and maybe a little bit of challenge, that we might rely completely upon Jesus to have our needs met."
He continues, "We're starting to look like a people who find our needs met everywhere else and are running around restlessly to have our needs met everywhere, when we have and possess what we need completely in Jesus."
He goes on, noting that he also sees a need for people to "begin to see the importance of the role of the church in our lives, and our role, and the use of our gifts of service in the church."
"I started to see a lot of people who were starting to lose their faith in the church a little bit, as far as the vehicle for sanctification that it is to be in our lives, and the way it's been set up that way in scripture. People start to say, 'well, I'm not really getting my needs met and I don't really like what's going on in church so I'm just going to go to my little local Bible study that's not affiliated with the church, and that's just going to be my church.' But we're not at the liberty to do that because we are promised that she will be victorious and that Christ is returning for her in the process of making her lovely. And that's what we need to be a part of… what we need to be about."
So, with that vision and message waiting to be shared, Webb started writing the album; a process that he really took his time on - a few years to be exact. He says he wanted to take the time that was necessary to study and meditate on the idea of the church, the role, the culture, and also our own personal roles in it.
"I didn't want these to just be subjective opinions about the church," he says, "I wanted to take the time to really meditate on scripture and what it had to say about the church, and say that, because that has infinitely more value than any opinion I might have about it."
Although the words he wrote and expressed through the album are strictly scriptural, Webb has still been given a taste of controversy from various areas of the media due to some 'questionable/blunt' lyrics. Several retailers will not distribute the CD, and various radio stations refuse to play certain songs, even after he went back in the studio at the "very last minute" to change those lyrics. He comments about this situation first sharing that, as a person seeking to write a record about the church and considering what scripture has to say about the church (both good and bad), and therefore being faithful to communicating the whole council of scripture (not just what will make people feel good) was a challenge. He admits he knew it would be a challenge and might cause some controversy; but stresses that he wasn't after that, and still is not after that because his "goal is to preach the gospel to the church and to remind the church of who she is… so it's not going to help me to have controversy."
"I would not try to convince anyone that there are not things about my record that are going to be challenging and could result in controversy of some kind. But I would say that the words of this record - not to ever elevate it to a status or try to make it nearly as important or influential as scripture; but as far as it reflects what I see in scripture about the church - will be as provocative as scripture is. And that is, and will continue to be, the challenge… the fact that scripture is really provocative when it comes to talking about the church and what it has to say about who we are as people. It is both really hopeful, really encouraging, and really edifying; but at the same time, really challenging and really provocative."
He expands, rightly concluding: "I don't say this to be biting or sarcastic at all, I'm completely honest - retailers who would not carry the record because of explicit language about the church… I wonder how it is that they also carry Bibles. Because I would say that if I played some of the most provocative material on my record in front of a group of people who might shop in that particular store, it's true there might be some blushing or that people might squirm a little bit. On the other hand, if I was to get up and read the passages in Hosea, Ezekiel 16 or in Galatians that deal with the church and idolatry, out loud to those people, they would probably get up and walk out."
He earnestly concludes, "That's kind of been my main concern - is just to be sure that we're all on the same page as far as what it is our hope is in, and where our standard is. Is it scripture or is it something else?"
Webb also justifies, in regards to the language, that strong language like that "has a context and it has a purpose; and there is a time for language like that."
He says, "That is not an idea that I came up with. That is an idea that is scriptural, because just as Paul himself showed us by his example (using some of the strongest language in the New Testament), there is a time to use strong language to break through the hardness of the hearts of those in the church who really need Jesus so desperately. He is not willing to pull back any punches; he is willing to use whatever it takes to stir them in their slumber so they might believe on Jesus."
So, with this strong and much needed message Webb has brought forth into the industry, what does he hope to accomplish through the album, even amidst these various reactions?
"I hope that people are rightly challenged and maybe rightly offended; rightly offended in the same way that I am rightly offended by my own idolatry and sins in the face of a sacrifice like Jesus. I hope that people are not flattered, but see themselves in their hearts for what they truly are and at that same moment they see Jesus as beautiful and believable, and they see Him as their sufficiency."
He beautifully and encouragingly concludes: "I think we need to learn to be honest about who we are, and the fact that we don't have anything if we don't have Jesus. He is all that we have; He is all that we need, and that no one can sell us any needs that He does not fulfill. So I just hope that people are liberated - I hope that they feel both the weight of their sin and that weight lifted by Jesus, and Him alone."
That is a message that we all need to hear; and it should be our hope that the few strong words Webb communicated don't blind people - but that they see the overall message that he so passionately wants to share.
You can find out more about Derek Webb @ DerekWebb.com. Derek's album "She Must & Shall Go Free" is in stores now! Check it our now @ HearItFirst.ca or pick it up at your your local Christian retailer.
