CCM: I was listening to the new record, the vamp at the end of the first track, where you sing, “Mountains be moved / Chains now be loosed,” immediately caused me to think about the lyric of “Break Every Chain,” which, of course, is the song that introduced so many of us to you. Thinking about what you just said, do you really think that music has a hand in breaking our chains? In setting us free?
TCL: Absolutely, music does. The Bible says that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb in the word of our testimony. And so my testimony with “Break Every Chain” … I was in a season of great depression. It was a breaking point for me. Would I move forward or allow it to overtake me? The first time I listened to “Break Every Chain,” I couldn’t put it down. [Depression] was a stronghold that I had struggled with for many years, and that song introduced me to the next place of freedom. I am a living testimony that through the ministry of that song, the chains of depression were broken in my life. God uses music to free us from some of the things that may have had us bound for many years.

CCM: Anyone who is in tune with their spirituality can attest to the power of music in our spiritual lives. What is it about music that has that ability to move our spirits so powerfully?
TCL: When you think about the soul of a man, it’s the place of your emotion, your passion. And that is where music is birthed from. It’s a gift that God has given some of us to reach [others] in a “soul-ish” realm.

When you think about sound scientifically, there are sounds that could shatter glass. If I have my TV too loud the vibration from the sound will cause things to move in my home. Just as it is physically and scientifically, I believe it’s the same way in the spirit. [Music] is a gift that God has given us that spiritually shatters things and puts things in order. It moves things around for us. I’m getting chills. It literally shakes things and breaks things. But also in the spiritual realm. And that’s just the way God ordained it to be.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, CCM Magazine - image
CCM: You lead an every-other-year conference called iLead Escape that provides workshops and mentorship from and for worship leaders all over the world. Do you feel inspiring other music leaders is a part of your calling?
TCL: I am big on mentorship. There are so many stories in the Bible about mentorship and how people walked with people and carried another man’s vision. I have mentors in my life who help me navigate through life, and so I started [iLead Escape] because so many people were asking me, “Could you be my mentor?” I took that very seriously. And so I share the tools that I’ve used through the years to help me become greater at my craft—at being a worship pastor or a worship leader to different people.

CLICK “3” TO ADVANCE

Leave a Reply