Bethel Music's 'We Must Respond' Live Worship Album a Clarion Call to Glorify God
To be lost in the heart of worship is something that all Christians aspire to do. To be moved by God’s presence due to His goodness, love, and mercy, is something so strong and profound that it can’t easily be put into words.
Bethel Music’s Jenn Johnson agrees.
For the last 25 years, Johnson and Bethel Music have sought to bring music to the masses that invites listeners to take hold of their true identity and pursue intimacy with God above everything else.
Fresh from winning two Dove Awards, including one for “Song of the Year”, Bethel Music has recently released a live praise and worship album called We Must Respond. Recorded late last year at the Cascade Theater in Redding, California, its 17 songs feature the Bethel Music Collective as well as guest vocalists Brooke Ligertwood, Abbie Gamboa, and Aodhan King.
I recently sat down with the Bethel Music co-founder to discuss the new album, how its title is a declaration of sorts, and why she considers each song to be a ‘holy exchange’ for listeners.
For any musical artist, there always seems to be a trigger or a moment where you say to yourself, “We have to make this record!” For We Must Respond, what was that moment for you?
My husband Brian (Johnson) and I have been married for 25 years and also doing music together for 25 years. We have just really made it a mandate in our life to write songs and to lead a collective of people who carry the same values for the presence of God, the Word of God, and the voice of God. As we have given our lives to this, we have really just leaned in to give our time to songwriting, to craft these songs that we really feel magnify God, bring us closer to him, and really help people on their faith journeys. And so, it's been really wonderful these past 25 years to see what God's done with us and our team.
It's humbling, amazing, and the honor of our life to do it, honestly. And so, with this collection of songs, there's 17 new songs, all brand new, and we really pushed our team to get these songs to a place of being great. Not just good songs, but really leaning into the lyrics and crafting them, and honing them to be great songs, that they would carry the same weight and excellency as they do in the spirit of the song, as well in the heart, or the testimony behind the song. And so, the album is just really special. We brought in our friends Brooke Ligertwood. Abby Gamboa, Aodhan King, and our whole collective is represented on this album. So it really has such a sense of family to it as well. And you hear people's testimonies.
What is the significance of the album’s title, We Must Respond? Seems assertive yet a bit mysterious.
Absolutely. We like to keep people guessing. The heart of the album – it's actually very funny. I don't know how common it is, but the lyrics we must respond are not anywhere in a song title or any song lyrics on the album. It actually came from a phrase my father-in-law (Pastor Bill Johnson) said. And it comes from the heart of, in everything that God has done for us and everything that He's done, both past, present, and will do for who He is, for everything that He's created, for dying on the Cross, for being gracious, loving and wonderful, how could we not respond? And that's the heart cry. And having it be such a bold statement like that, what I love about it is oftentimes, I don't know about you, but for me, a whole day can go by, sometimes (multiple) days can go by without me just simply turning my affection toward the Lord.
To just say who He is and, and just to worship Him. Oftentimes, a week can go by and you just find yourself in church. You're like, ‘Wow, I don't know if I've actually worshiped or praised God this whole week.’ And so, what this is, is a constant reminder to us as believers that daily, we bring a sacrifice of praise to Him, to honor Him, and to not let even one day go by without that heart posture.
We Must Respond is a live album as many of your releases have been. What is the advantage of a live recording as compared to a studio release? It seems you can control the variables a bit more with a studio release.
We have a value for both. I think beautiful things come in a studio when you can really craft and sing something very simply. Often, it is helpful for the corporate congregation to hear a song in a simplified way that's easy for them to play as well. So we do all kinds of stuff. We've got kids records, and instrumental records. We have peaceful worship, corporate worship, live albums, and studio albums. We kind of do everything, not just to do it, but really to follow what we feel the Lord's leading us to capture through the music and the songs in a certain way. I think we are our truest selves in the live worship context because we are such believers, our team of strong songs that carry anthems of faith and also leaving room in that live setting for the Holy Spirit to just come like a wave and speak what He's speaking in that moment through His people.
We really try to dance that dance of the strong song and also follow the wind of the spirit. And so these live recordings for us is when we get to do that the most beautifully and to really steward the presence of God in the room, the hour in which we're recording it live, even what's happening on the earth.
You have been quoted as saying that this album is designed to take listeners on a journey of surrender and worship, with each song inviting them into what you call, “a holy exchange”. What do you mean by that?
Ultimately, God is a father. And He really just likes hanging out with us and being with us. He's not this egotistical God that needs anything from us, but He just really loves to be with us. And He knows that when we worship Him, we become like Him, our true selves. And so, I think that anytime that you're in the Word of God, and anytime that you're in worship, that brings you to speak about who God is and His nature. Those moments with Him are so profound and powerful, that it's an exchange. It's not just what we're getting from God, but also what we're giving to Him in this love exchange. It's a relationship and it does go both ways. God enjoys being with us. You go for a walk and you just invite God to join you. He's with us always, but I believe that when we invite Him, that the nearness of His presence becomes more clear. I just think it really comes from that heart of that relationship and that back and forth holy connection that we have with the Lord.
We are living in what seems like desperate times with political strife, natural disasters, and many other pressing matters. How does your music help listeners go beyond their current struggles and emotions, urging them to focus on magnifying God and trusting Him more?
My father-in-law says that if he has five minutes to pray, he'll spend three of those in worship and then pray for the last two minutes. I think for me, in my life, sometimes if I just go into prayer automatically, it's not as clear as it could be if I spent my first few minutes just centering on who God is and getting above this world that we live in and our true home, which is heaven. To connect with that and to stay in His Word, we let our minds be washed by the renewal of His Word daily. And then to pray from that place of connection with God and the Word of God through worship and reading, oftentimes that completely redirects what we would pray. The Lord has given us the most beautiful gift of speaking in our heavenly prayer language. That's such a gift. You really can pray what He is praying. That's a gift of interaction that is highly valued as well.
If you don’t mind, let's dig into a couple of these songs and let you explain the inspiration for the song and how it came to be. Let’s start with the first single off the new album, “Even Though I Walk”, featuring Hannah McClure. What can you tell me about that one?
“Even Though I Walk” is such a special song. Hannah almost died from having a blood transfusion during a miscarriage. It was one of the most broken times of her life. And the spirit of that song came from a time of walking through the valley of the shadow of doubt. So, when she sings that you really feel it out of that encounter and out of that anchor, what that verse means to her. I I think that it prophesies and speaks to people where they're at in their situation, to draw them to that hope and the faith to lift their eyes to Jesus.
And by the way, the songs I'm asking you about are the most downloaded songs so far since the album’s release according to iTunes. The next song I would like to ask you about is ‘Holy Song’. What can you tell me about that one?
I love this song. This might be one of my favorites. I don't know. It’s hard to choose. It's kind of like your favorite kid. It's impossible. You love them all differently, but ‘Holy Song’ is so beautiful. Obviously, our friend Brooke (Ligertwood) is just wonderful in every way. And honestly, she is someone who's given her life to holiness. And so you hear that again in people who sing songs, when their real life backs up the music. Obviously no one is perfect, but when a person has dedicated their entire life to live before the Lord, as someone like Brian (Johnson) and Brooke have, you hear that and you feel that when they sing this song. It translates differently, I believe. And so, truly all of them aside, this song is that eternal song. And my favorite songs are the ones that are, could be, and hopefully are sung around the throne of heaven right now. These are songs of who God is in His holiness, His wonder, and his marvelousness. And so those are the songs that definitely are my favorite to lead and just to be a part of, because they just have no humanity and only the divine that we are magnifying. It's beautiful.
Changing gears, you formed Bethel Music nearly 25 years ago with your husband Brian. Fans of yours have had a front row seat to many years of musical blessings all fueled by your desire to serve our savior Jesus well. I’m hesitant to ask what the next 25 years of Bethel Music might look like, so let's dial it back and ask what do you see over the next 5 years?
Wow! I'm excited! It was funny because as we do in the music world, once we're putting out something, we're already working on the next project. So, we actually had our release party in January when the album came out. And then those next few days following, we went into a songwriting retreat with our entire Bethel music team. And then, a bunch of our friends flew in as well to join us for this retreat. It was just a beautiful time in the presence of God and writing and creating what we feel like He's saying for the next five years. And I think over 50 songs were started and or finished during that process. You could just tell that God was with us in a profound way. We're so excited for what we feel God is saying, and how those are going to be released on these different songs, projects, and ministries in these next few years.
But I think it's a new era for the Church. And I know that's been said before, but I think that there's a song on We Must Respond called “The Church”. And it came from these different movements in the Church – Passion City Church out of Atlanta, Upper Room Church out of Dallas, and Bethel. We just all got in a room together and wrote a song about the beauty of the Church, the global Church, and the body of Christ with Jesus as the head. And how we need to have that celebration of each other and to learn from each other, carry that humility, work together, and glean from each other as the body of Christ. Our joke at home is that Bethel is probably the armpit of the body of Christ.
Definitely nothing crazy, but we're happy to be a part. I just think that the beauty of that is that's something that God's doing on the Earth. That song was one of the songs I was born and put on this planet to write. I just want to be a part of it, just a celebration of the body of Christ. I'm excited to have that.
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