Called to worship

During the Assemblies of God’s 50th General Council — held in Washington, D.C., last summer — Michael W. Smith led worship at the Turn America Sunday special gathering on the Mall on August 3. Smith has been at the forefront of contemporary Christian music for more than two decades and has promoted worship concerts across America in recent years. He talked with Ken Horn, managing editor.

PE: Tell us about your spiritual walk and what’s been happening in your life.

SMITH: I’m learning new stuff every day. It was really a new thing for me to actually do a worship record on a CD. I’ve been doing worship for years. But I’ve never really done a whole worship record on CD. We did that first worship album in Lakeland, Fla., and it took on a life of its own. It was one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever been a part of. I think there is just something that, even if you listen to it today, it’s power-punched. I try to explain it, but at the end of the day God showed up big time and people had an encounter with God and you get to experience it when you hear the CD.

PE: In light of the theme Turn America Sunday, how do you think America needs to be turned?

SMITH: I came back from a festival last night up in New Hampshire put on by Dan Russell. He has such a passion to get people out of our subculture and to challenge the church to be what the church is really supposed to be. I think we kind of get caught up in our little country club a little bit and so many of us don’t even know who our neighbors are. What about the orphans and what about the widows? What about the people that are incarcerated? We don’t seem to have time for those kinds of things. I feel like I’m supposed to be a part of not only challenging myself but challenging the church to wake up. We have got to get proactive and start living the life. It really is time for a spiritual revolution among the church.

PE: How do you hope to affect people with your music?

SMITH: I have a heart to lead people into a real intimate encounter with God and I think it can happen through worship. Worship is more than just what happens on Sunday mornings. Worship is 24/7. It’s a lifestyle. At the same time, I really have a heart for the lost and I think I still have some sort of platform to be able to reach out to a mainstream audience and hopefully to share the gospel with them.

PE: In your travels, do you see any encouraging signs of spiritual revival in today’s culture?

SMITH: I just got back from Europe. I spent three weeks there and it’s just refreshing that there are people who really have a heart for God. There’s this whole passion thing that’s happening. That’s what I’m encouraged about — seeing people getting their passion. It’s contagious, an intense seeking after God. I didn’t see that 10 years ago. I’m seeing it now. You look out and see an 8-year-old kid, hands raised in the air, weeping and crying and it’s not just emotionalism. That’s a refreshing thing to see.