Brandon Heath, Jason Gray, Ashley Cleveland – Sharing Our Scars

AC: I remember I played up in Michigan once, and this guy that promoted the show said, “You don’t remember me, but you all played here when you were out with Rich Mullins.” He said, “I used to host a really big contemporary Christian radio show, and we would have the artists come in on a regular basis. Once I had Rich come on the show and at the time he had a number one hit.” The guy welcomes him on and says, “Oh and by the way, congratulations!” And Rich said, “What for?” The guy says, “Well, you have a number one song. It’s huge! Coast to coast!” And Rich goes, “Really? I hate that song.” And he, of course, had written it, so… [Laughs]

I think he naturally wrote of his encounters with God in a way that a large group of people could get ahold of it—and that was part of his gift. He lived out this intimacy with God that, for me, I wasn’t quite there yet when I met him. I had little tastes of it, or little glimmers that it could be, but I really got that from him. And also, he was kind of a mess, so that gave me so much hope—because I’m a mess.

CCM: What have you experienced—it could be through art, through a song, another medium, or through personal relationships you’ve had with people—what have you discovered about God through sharing in brokenness?
BH: Jesus’s life was always about humility, about servanthood, which never was convenient. It required giving of something, so losing something. So as a “wounded healer,” obviously Jesus, knowing his fate, that He would be broken, there is something to be said for the touch of a healer that can identify with you.

Brandon Heath

There is a struggle with us as Christians, as people of faith … we know our salvation is secure but we also know our daily struggle with sin. So we’re literally facing life and death all the time. So I think it’s healthy to engage both—certainly not to fall deeper into sin just for the sake of engaging, but not being afraid to say, “I’m imperfect. I sin. And hopefully it tells the bigger story about who we all are.”

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