A walk through… ALL ARE WELCOME HERE

1. I Believe

Music is a powerful way to engage our hearts and minds to declare what we believe. There is something very beautiful in simply stating, “I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit…” It is very powerful on its own. These are the truths we can always fall back on, as I have learned throughout my life. Faith is ever present but you particularly draw on it in times of great sadness and times of great joy; in those times you realize the gift you have in your faith.

2. Now Go

This song is based on the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 – “Go and make disciples of all nations…” Over my life I’ve learned how important it is to listen to God’s voice, and how to respond and GO! This song was written with my producer Stephen Leiweke. When I first brought this song to his studio in Nashville, the chorus was not quite right – it lacked energy and flow… together we were able to come up with a high energy chorus carrying a strong, vibrant and powerful message. It was a lot of fun to see it come to life!

3. All Are Welcome

At a time when some want to complicate God’s message of love this song aims to get back to the foundations of our Faith.  Simply, our God loves each and every one of us, and we are all welcome in God’s house. “All are welcome here in the house of the Lord…”

4. Lord Bless Me on this Day

This was written in 2018 on a plane somewhere between Sydney and London (a 22-hour flight). With the crazy life I live traveling, my only real down time is while singing and making music, or while traveling on a plane. It’s always a creative and reflective time when I’m on an aircraft – especially on a long-haul flight! I was sitting on the plane and I was just thinking how blessed I was to have the opportunity to travel and do music in my faith, but at the same time thinking of all of the events I had coming up – so my mind started to race. Then, the song started to take shape… itbegan as a prayer to calm and still my mind and be present. I took it to Nashville and Stephen had some really great input which rounded out the song into what you hear today.

5. Firm in the Faith

I was asked to write a series of songs to assist students in preparing and celebrating World Youth Day in Madrid.  This was one of the songs written for that event, and it stuck with me so I had to put it on this album! This was my first collaboration with Australian artist/songwriter Gary Pinto.The song was written very quickly in a few hours in a session where we also wrote another two songs.

6. Holy Lord is Your Name

The essence of why we gather as Christians is to praise God together. We all have our own struggles, and I wanted this song to be a bridge to bring people together in worship. I wanted it to be relatable to people to sing as a prayer, yet also have a connection to sing all together. We proclaim together, “Holy, Lord is Your name…” The simplicity is what makes this song powerful… it’s a chorus you can repeat to yourself to pray.

7. God Reigns

This one is closely based on the scriptures Luke 1:38; 26-55.  It is a proclamation of faith, to declare that “God Reigns!”, as well as identifies the incredible faith of Mary the Mother of God in accepting God’s call. Mary is a model and an example for each of us today in our own lives. The chorus of “I place my trust in You, O God…” serves as a reminder to us all to continue to trust God, no matter what comes our way!

8. Love Came to Earth

This was written while waiting for the check in counter to open at LAX, of all places! My wife’s going, “What are you doing?” and I replied, “Oh, just writing this song!” I’m singing away and humming and writing the words in my iPhone! It ended up being one of the first songs written for this album.

It has a deep theological and Scriptural foundation, but at the same time also a link to our own personal journey that we struggle with each day.“I stumble and fall on my way to you Lord…” It’s become another favourite to do live- a singable and congregational chorus allows for great audience participation, which I love!

9. We Sing for Freedom

This song was inspired by the life of Josephine Bakhita. She was an incredible woman who lived through slavery and came out of it as an incredible woman of faith. All through her journey, it was an incredible witness to faith. After finding out about her life, it deeply moved me and inspired me to write this song.I want this song to be an anthem for freedom, especially related to human trafficking and modern day slavery. It also draws on scripture, Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

10. You Are Home

A few weeks before I was due to depart on my UK tour, Rebecca, a young member of staff from the office in Sydney, tragically passed away. Rebecca’s love for God and witness to the Gospel showed through in everything she did-particularly her dealings with people.I attended Rebecca’s funeral a few days before I was to fly to the UK.  The service was beautiful and attend by many hundreds of family and friends. As I came out of the Church that day, I was standing on the steps looking down on a sea of people in front of me and around me. I could feel the raw emotion and the overpowering grief but I could also feel such a strong sense of faith and hope that through our belief Rebecca was now be home in the arms of her Father who loved her and she loved so faithfully.