Cross Rhythms Interview with Holland Davis
-- check out this interview with Holland Davis given in January 2004. good stuff! -the music racks- I. Worship and the Word Tony Cummings questions Holland Davis from Calvary Chapel about Calvary Chapel Music 28 Christian Marketplace - V3:01 - January 2004 In America there are dozens of Christian music companies whose output of albums are yet to find their way to UK retail. Of all these companies though, one stands out not only for the high quality of the contemporary worship albums it has released since October 2003 but also for the fact that its very name is synonymous with the birth of what is now known as contemporary Christian music. In the early 1970s a powerful spiritual revival exploded amongst young people living in Southern California. A key figure in this extraordinary move of God was a pastor from Costa Mesa called Chuck Smith. As his church, Calvary Chapel, exploded with hundreds of new converts, new forms of Christian music, for worship and evangelism, evolved from members of his flock. A tiny record company, Maranatha! Music, was formed and the very first recording ‘The Everlasting Jesus Music Concert’ was soon released. It was followed by groundbreaking worship songs such as “Seek Ye First” and “Lord I Lift Your Name On High”. Maranatha! Music through its groundbreaking ‘Praise’ albums in many ways was the pioneer for all subsequent modern worship. However, around 1988 Pastor Chuck decided to sell Maranatha! Music to his nephew Chuck Fromm. It was no longer a reflection of the music ministry of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and Chuck Fromm had a passion to continue making worship recordings that would resource the Body of Christ. Calvary Chapel continued to grow and is today a major stream with dozens of churches around the world. Then, in Denver, Colorado, the stream of churches which had been so instrumental in the growth of contemporary worship music found itself again recording and releasing albums. Today Calvary Chapel Music is run by a young and dynamic worship leader called Holland Davis. I spoke to Holland about his vision. TC:To be perfectly candid, there are plenty of companies today releasing worship music. What is the rationale behind Calvary Chapel Music? HD: God gave me three specific directions:- (1) To encourage the worship life of every believer - this is the reason for our Worship Life Retreats, Worship Leader’s Conferences, CDs, songbooks, devotionals, Worship Life Subscription Service, etc. Our passion is to see people ignited with love for Jesus and to see that love expressed in passionate worship. (2) To build a catalogue of songs that would be identified with Calvary Chapel and available for all churches to use. We are actively involved in planting churches and missions work. One of the primary needs we see is for songs that churches can use that are theologically sound and reflect the values of Calvary Chapel. Our primary value being a strict adherence to the Word of God as the foundation for all truth. (3) To reflect the sound that is happening in the local church. This is one of the reasons we place a lot of effort in networking with the Calvary Chapels and recording the live worship that the churches are actively involved in. One of the criticisms that I’ve heard about previous expressions of Calvary Chapel Music is that it only reflected a small portion of the Chapels. Our vision is to discover what God is doing in the Chapels and capture it. That way we become a true reflection of the diverse work that God is doing. Many will ask - who are these Calvary Chapel worship leaders? You won’t see the big name guys or superstars on our projects. You’ll see a group of worship leaders who are passionate for God and desiring to see God’s people worship. You might say that we’re the nameless, faceless worship leaders. The only name you’ll recognise is Jesus’ name! We’re also working to regionalise Calvary Chapel Music - currently we have a regional base in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Texas and developing bases in the UK and Germany. TC: Some Christians, even those involved in the retailing of recorded music, have criticised the way worship music is being marketed by large corporations. Hasn’t the whole thing become too commercially based? HD: I have never viewed worship as a commercial commodity. There are Christian artists that perform worship - and that is appropriate isn’t it? Christians should be known for worship - so it doesn’t bother me when Nashville rock bands finally discover what the Church has known all along. In fact - I rejoice! Worship always has been and will always be the music of hearts that are passionately in love with Jesus. When I speak to guys like Tim Hughes or Chris Tomlin - they’re not marketers - they are just worshippers. What the marketing community does with the products from the worshipping community has no impact on the mission of Calvary Chapel Music. We’re doing fine as a company without having to compete on an industry level - simply by resourcing the individual needs of worshippers. Our focus is ministry and we desire to keep it that way. The problem I do see is when bands begin to see the style or format as being what worship is all about and begin to elevate a personality or a particular genre over another. We look at the externals rather than the movement of the heart. I’ve seen very popular bands lead worship and it’s technically perfect and spiritually bankrupt. It does nothing to move the heart because there is no anointing. The Bible tells us that the anointing breaks the yoke - not a killer tone or amazing talent. I think that we miss the boat when we look to great marketing or top notch producers to make worship attractive to the buying masses. I have several songs that have made their way around the US with no marketing - via word of mouth - because God is working through those songs. I love to see that happen. That tells me that God is behind it. I would love to see retailers who would support ministries because they are authentically being used by God and not just because they can sell their CDs and make a lot of money. TC:Who is Holland Davis? Can you give me your biography prior to joining Calvary Chapel? HD: Prior to coming to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa I was the worship leader at Calvary Chapel Laguna Beach. Prior to that I was the marketing and A&R director for Maranatha! Music. I was responsible for putting together the WOW worship partnership between M!M and Integrity, Vineyard and Worship Together. I also started a series called the Top 25 Praise Songs - which has gone gold in the US. I also started a label called Worship Underground - most known for putting out David Crowder’s first CD with all original songs. I’m also known as a songwriter - I wrote the song entitled “Let It Rise” that has been featured on the ‘WOW Worship Blue’ CD and is sung at Billy Graham Crusades, Harvest Crusades and Promise Keepers events. In the UK - I had a radio single off a project I was involved with - the song was entitled “There Is No One Who Is Like You”. I have over 35 songs published by Vineyard, Maranatha! Music, Rolltop Records and Calvary Chapel Music. At Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa I oversee the School Of Worship, Calvary Chapel Music and the music ministries at the church as a worship leader. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do many things on the industry side of things - but my one true passion is to lead worship and to see God’s people ignited with love for him. TC: Any sign of Calvary Chapel Music albums getting retail distribution in the UK? HD: We are actively pursuing distribution in the UK. We don’t have any definitive plans at this time - we are patient but determined. For us the bigger value is that we don’t want to go ahead of God’s ministry. As God uses Calvary Chapels in the UK, then we believe that the doors for distribution will open. TC:You’ve been to the UK and ministered at Creationfest in Devon last year.What’s your perspective of the UK scene and what does Calvary Chapel hope to achieve in the UK? HD: First of all, we at Calvary Chapel Music love the English people and we love the great tradition of worship that has emerged from the UK. Worship leaders like Matt Redman and Tim Hughes - Graham Kendrick and Martin Smith all have had a tremendous impact on the worship community in America - including Calvary Chapels. I can’t speak on behalf of all Calvary Chapels - as we are a fellowship of churches and not a denomination - but I can say that Calvary Chapels are known for two primary things - teaching through the Bible verse by verse and evangelism. Statistics show that in the UK over 40% of the population do not believe in God at all. Of those that do believe in God and attend church services only around 10% read their Bibles on a daily basis. That is one of the reasons we did a series on the Bible at Creationfest. We discovered that many people question the validity of God’s Word and have serious doubts about its inerrancy and its authenticity. As teachers of the Word of God, we desire that every believer come to a greater appreciation and hunger for God’s Word. Not merely as part of the liturgy at church services, but as a daily guide for their lives. When we did our outreaches in the region surrounding Creationfest, we discovered that large groups of people had never heard the Gospel. We preached in skate parks, in pubs, in parks and saw many people make confessions of faith in Jesus for the first time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every church in the UK was packed to the brim with folks in love and sold out for Jesus. JANUARY/FEBRUARY You can order copies through STL, or contact Cross Rhythms, on 08700 118008, or e-mail: admin@crossrhythms.co.uk for more information on becoming an agent. A 40% DISCOUNT IS AVAILABLE FOR AGENTS! Cross Rhythms magazine has been established for 13 years, check out some tasters of the magazine content on our website www.crossrhythms.co.uk < a s o u n d v i s i o n f o r c h a n g i n g t i m e s > CROSS RHYTHMS M A G A Z I N E & C D A N I N D E P E N D E N T V O I C E I N C H R I S T I A N M U S I C
-- check out this interview with Holland Davis given in January 2004. good stuff! -the music racks- I. Worship and the Word Tony Cummings questions Holland Davis from Calvary Chapel about Calvary Chapel Music 28 Christian Marketplace - V3:01 - January 2004 In America there are dozens of Christian music companies whose output of albums are yet to find their way to UK retail. Of all these companies though, one stands out not only for the high quality of the contemporary worship albums it has released since October 2003 but also for the fact that its very name is synonymous with the birth of what is now known as contemporary Christian music. In the early 1970s a powerful spiritual revival exploded amongst young people living in Southern California. A key figure in this extraordinary move of God was a pastor from Costa Mesa called Chuck Smith. As his church, Calvary Chapel, exploded with hundreds of new converts, new forms of Christian music, for worship and evangelism, evolved from members of his flock. A tiny record company, Maranatha! Music, was formed and the very first recording ‘The Everlasting Jesus Music Concert’ was soon released. It was followed by groundbreaking worship songs such as “Seek Ye First” and “Lord I Lift Your Name On High”. Maranatha! Music through its groundbreaking ‘Praise’ albums in many ways was the pioneer for all subsequent modern worship. However, around 1988 Pastor Chuck decided to sell Maranatha! Music to his nephew Chuck Fromm. It was no longer a reflection of the music ministry of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and Chuck Fromm had a passion to continue making worship recordings that would resource the Body of Christ. Calvary Chapel continued to grow and is today a major stream with dozens of churches around the world. Then, in Denver, Colorado, the stream of churches which had been so instrumental in the growth of contemporary worship music found itself again recording and releasing albums. Today Calvary Chapel Music is run by a young and dynamic worship leader called Holland Davis. I spoke to Holland about his vision. TC:To be perfectly candid, there are plenty of companies today releasing worship music. What is the rationale behind Calvary Chapel Music? HD: God gave me three specific directions:- (1) To encourage the worship life of every believer - this is the reason for our Worship Life Retreats, Worship Leader’s Conferences, CDs, songbooks, devotionals, Worship Life Subscription Service, etc. Our passion is to see people ignited with love for Jesus and to see that love expressed in passionate worship. (2) To build a catalogue of songs that would be identified with Calvary Chapel and available for all churches to use. We are actively involved in planting churches and missions work. One of the primary needs we see is for songs that churches can use that are theologically sound and reflect the values of Calvary Chapel. Our primary value being a strict adherence to the Word of God as the foundation for all truth. (3) To reflect the sound that is happening in the local church. This is one of the reasons we place a lot of effort in networking with the Calvary Chapels and recording the live worship that the churches are actively involved in. One of the criticisms that I’ve heard about previous expressions of Calvary Chapel Music is that it only reflected a small portion of the Chapels. Our vision is to discover what God is doing in the Chapels and capture it. That way we become a true reflection of the diverse work that God is doing. Many will ask - who are these Calvary Chapel worship leaders? You won’t see the big name guys or superstars on our projects. You’ll see a group of worship leaders who are passionate for God and desiring to see God’s people worship. You might say that we’re the nameless, faceless worship leaders. The only name you’ll recognise is Jesus’ name! We’re also working to regionalise Calvary Chapel Music - currently we have a regional base in the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Texas and developing bases in the UK and Germany. TC: Some Christians, even those involved in the retailing of recorded music, have criticised the way worship music is being marketed by large corporations. Hasn’t the whole thing become too commercially based? HD: I have never viewed worship as a commercial commodity. There are Christian artists that perform worship - and that is appropriate isn’t it? Christians should be known for worship - so it doesn’t bother me when Nashville rock bands finally discover what the Church has known all along. In fact - I rejoice! Worship always has been and will always be the music of hearts that are passionately in love with Jesus. When I speak to guys like Tim Hughes or Chris Tomlin - they’re not marketers - they are just worshippers. What the marketing community does with the products from the worshipping community has no impact on the mission of Calvary Chapel Music. We’re doing fine as a company without having to compete on an industry level - simply by resourcing the individual needs of worshippers. Our focus is ministry and we desire to keep it that way. The problem I do see is when bands begin to see the style or format as being what worship is all about and begin to elevate a personality or a particular genre over another. We look at the externals rather than the movement of the heart. I’ve seen very popular bands lead worship and it’s technically perfect and spiritually bankrupt. It does nothing to move the heart because there is no anointing. The Bible tells us that the anointing breaks the yoke - not a killer tone or amazing talent. I think that we miss the boat when we look to great marketing or top notch producers to make worship attractive to the buying masses. I have several songs that have made their way around the US with no marketing - via word of mouth - because God is working through those songs. I love to see that happen. That tells me that God is behind it. I would love to see retailers who would support ministries because they are authentically being used by God and not just because they can sell their CDs and make a lot of money. TC:Who is Holland Davis? Can you give me your biography prior to joining Calvary Chapel? HD: Prior to coming to Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa I was the worship leader at Calvary Chapel Laguna Beach. Prior to that I was the marketing and A&R director for Maranatha! Music. I was responsible for putting together the WOW worship partnership between M!M and Integrity, Vineyard and Worship Together. I also started a series called the Top 25 Praise Songs - which has gone gold in the US. I also started a label called Worship Underground - most known for putting out David Crowder’s first CD with all original songs. I’m also known as a songwriter - I wrote the song entitled “Let It Rise” that has been featured on the ‘WOW Worship Blue’ CD and is sung at Billy Graham Crusades, Harvest Crusades and Promise Keepers events. In the UK - I had a radio single off a project I was involved with - the song was entitled “There Is No One Who Is Like You”. I have over 35 songs published by Vineyard, Maranatha! Music, Rolltop Records and Calvary Chapel Music. At Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa I oversee the School Of Worship, Calvary Chapel Music and the music ministries at the church as a worship leader. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do many things on the industry side of things - but my one true passion is to lead worship and to see God’s people ignited with love for him. TC: Any sign of Calvary Chapel Music albums getting retail distribution in the UK? HD: We are actively pursuing distribution in the UK. We don’t have any definitive plans at this time - we are patient but determined. For us the bigger value is that we don’t want to go ahead of God’s ministry. As God uses Calvary Chapels in the UK, then we believe that the doors for distribution will open. TC:You’ve been to the UK and ministered at Creationfest in Devon last year.What’s your perspective of the UK scene and what does Calvary Chapel hope to achieve in the UK? HD: First of all, we at Calvary Chapel Music love the English people and we love the great tradition of worship that has emerged from the UK. Worship leaders like Matt Redman and Tim Hughes - Graham Kendrick and Martin Smith all have had a tremendous impact on the worship community in America - including Calvary Chapels. I can’t speak on behalf of all Calvary Chapels - as we are a fellowship of churches and not a denomination - but I can say that Calvary Chapels are known for two primary things - teaching through the Bible verse by verse and evangelism. Statistics show that in the UK over 40% of the population do not believe in God at all. Of those that do believe in God and attend church services only around 10% read their Bibles on a daily basis. That is one of the reasons we did a series on the Bible at Creationfest. We discovered that many people question the validity of God’s Word and have serious doubts about its inerrancy and its authenticity. As teachers of the Word of God, we desire that every believer come to a greater appreciation and hunger for God’s Word. Not merely as part of the liturgy at church services, but as a daily guide for their lives. When we did our outreaches in the region surrounding Creationfest, we discovered that large groups of people had never heard the Gospel. We preached in skate parks, in pubs, in parks and saw many people make confessions of faith in Jesus for the first time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every church in the UK was packed to the brim with folks in love and sold out for Jesus. JANUARY/FEBRUARY You can order copies through STL, or contact Cross Rhythms, on 08700 118008, or e-mail: admin@crossrhythms.co.uk for more information on becoming an agent. A 40% DISCOUNT IS AVAILABLE FOR AGENTS! Cross Rhythms magazine has been established for 13 years, check out some tasters of the magazine content on our website www.crossrhythms.co.uk < a s o u n d v i s i o n f o r c h a n g i n g t i m e s > CROSS RHYTHMS M A G A Z I N E & C D A N I N D E P E N D E N T V O I C E I N C H R I S T I A N M U S I C