New Creation: An interview with Mac Powell (Special Edition) - GotQuestions.org Podcast Episode 58

Scott Questions podcast. So while the show is primarily a Bible question and answer show, we occasionally like to spotlight something else that's important to us as Christians. And for many people, listening to Christian music is huge.

So today I have a special guest, Mac Powell. He's a Christian recording artist, the lead singer of Third Day, and also has released a few solo albums. So Mac Powell, welcome to the show.

Mac Powell’s New Album and Its Inspiration

Hey, thanks so much for having me. I will have to apologize in advance. I'm on tour, and it's the K-Love Christmas Tour, and there's multiple artists, Casting Crowns, Jordan St. Cyr, Dante Boe, Kane, myself, and so I'm sharing a dressing room with a bunch of people.

We're at Willow Creek Church right now, outside of Chicago. So if you hear people coming in and out of the doors, that's why.

No worries, not at all, that's fine. So let me tell you just a quick story about me. Your song on your new album, New Creation, especially 1991, I'm assuming that's your testimony. It's very similar to mine, except mine would be called 1992.

But a lot of things in there really resonate with me. So when I came to Faith in Christ in my late teens, the youth pastor who was discipling me, one of the things he first did was look at my music collection and seeing that it was all secular music, mostly hard rock, a little heavy metal.

He had me literally throw all of it away and started to help me replace it with Christian music. And the first two cassettes, I know that'll date me a bit, that he gave me were a DC Talk album, I think it was Free at Last, and a Petra album, I think it was Beyond Belief.

And needless to say

I wrote those myself.

Yeah, as much as today, I've loved even Petra, but DC Talk, Toby Mac, Tate, and so forth, those were not, at that time, adequate replacements to the music I was listening to. So I was really grateful in college when Third Day came out with their first album.

So I got introduced to the Southern rock sound that you guys had, and I've been a fan of Third Day throughout, and then I've listened to all three of your solo albums. So thank you for producing some high-quality Christian music for those of us who struggled with the transition.

I appreciate it.

Thank you so much for saying that. I appreciate that.

So first question for you, your new album that released a couple months ago, I believe,.

New Creation.

So tell us about it. What was your main inspiration for the New Creation album?

Yeah, well, it was a record I started, you had mentioned a second ago, when Third Day, when we had our farewell tour in June of 2018, I had been, even for a couple of years before that, and have since been doing independent country things.

I would, when every once in a while when Third Day had a break, I would go make some music, some country music with some friends, just stuff that we had fun making and wanted to go as a musician, just go on and take that on the road.

And I really felt this desire to go do some concerts in front of people who wouldn't normally come to a Christian concert, and play in some places that Third Day wouldn't be able to play. And so I was able to do that, and it was a lot of fun, and kind of followed a dream that I had for a long time, but I also knew I was always gonna make another Christian album.

And so I started writing some music in the beginning of 2020, in January 2020, and started, for the first time ever, driving to Nashville from Atlanta, from where I live in Atlanta, and meeting up with songwriters, professional songwriters, and working on ideas with them.

And I'd never really done that before. I'd done that with stuff with country music, but never Christian music. With Third Day, we always wrote, most, the vast majority of our songs, we wrote ourselves.

If we didn't, it was a song that we heard, that we loved, and we would redo the song. And so it was a new experience for me as a solo artist, as working with writers in Nashville. And to be honest with you, I thought it was gonna be, it was something that the management company had asked me to do, and I thought, I'm gonna do this a couple of times, I'm not gonna like it, and I'm gonna end up just doing everything myself.

And I actually loved that creative time of sitting down with two or three other people who do this for a living, and that they're constantly thinking and working on song ideas. And it just, as a creative person, to be able to hang out with other creatives in that field of songwriting was just, it was kinda eye-opening for me.

It was a fun experience, and there's some struggles in it, too. It's not always easy, but it's a fun journey. And so from that, I just started getting some new ideas for a new solo Christian album. I thought I was gonna have a record out maybe at the end of 2020, and COVID kinda threw me a curveball and everybody else.

But also there was a blessing in that, having more time to develop more songs, to come up with new ideas, to finish up the song ideas that I was already working on. And so it was a blessing in disguise to be able to have an extra year until I put out the record.

And I started working in 2020, started meeting with labels and kind of, I had no assumptions. I didn't know if anybody would care to sign me to a record deal. And met with almost all the Christian labels in Nashville and really knew a lot of people in the industry already, of course, through the years.

And so ended up being able to sign with Capitol and had just a great time making the record and now being able to put it out. And of course, the ultimate is being able to go on the road and sing those songs live.

The Sound of New Creation Compared with Third Day and the Solo Country Albums

Yeah, I love the album. I think the first two songs on the album, River of Life and New Creation are my two favorite, aside from 1991, as you mentioned, because that resonates with me. But how would you describe the overall sound of New Creationists in comparison to say Third Day and even your country solo albums?

Yeah, that's a great question. Before the record came out, I had close friends would ask me, so what's it like? And I said, well, I think if you're a Third Day fan, you'll like it because it's my voice and a lot of my song ideas.

And so it's not that different, but it does have kind of a new, fresh sound because I had several different producers working on the record, lots of different writers. It was a bit more, it's a little less of the Southern rock sound, even though there's elements of that in there, a little bit more pop to certain songs, a lot of testimony throughout the record.

So I don't know if it's a lot different from a Third Day thing, but I think it's hopefully a little bit more fresh. It was fresh for me, new musical approach, than ever before. So I'm excited for people to hear and get their own opinions, but I think it's a little bit of both worlds.

You know, there's something familiar to it for Third Day fans, but it's a little, it pushes the genre a little bit for me and what I'm used to doing. And I'm excited to present that to everyone.

For sure.

So out of curiosity, because again, I love the album. Do you think you're going to do another solo album after this one?

Continuing to Make Music and Touring Through COVID

Yeah, I mean, I hope so. I want to continue to make music. I say all the time, as long as people will listen, I'm going to make it. And so I'm really in a season right now, which I've always been a thankful person, but especially right now, in being able to have another chance at making music and going out on the road.

I mean, I've been on the road, even though, you know, we're still sort of in COVID times, we're not completely out of that tunnel yet.

Yeah.

I've been actually touring for about a year now. In the fall of last year, in the spring of this year, I was doing drive-in theater tours, which that was the only thing we could do, you know, was to be able to have people where we could be outside and people couldn't social distance between their cars for drive-in theaters.

That wasn't the, those were fun tours, but they were definitely not normal tours. And so in the fall of this year, I got to go out with my good friend, Steven Chris Chapman and play some churches and some theaters and get back a little bit back to normal.

And then right now I'm on the Caleb Christmas tour, as I mentioned earlier, with a lot of great artists and it's a fun show. So it's a,.

We're,.

I feel like in life we're taking with COVID, we're taking two steps forward and then a step back and the two steps forward and a step back. So, but we're not quite completely there, but we're getting there,.

I'm hoping.

All right.

Growth, Family, and a Deeper Prayer Life

So you've been a contemporary Christian recording artist for a long time. How have you changed over the years and what are some of the big lessons you've learned?

Yeah.

Well, I think the main thing is just being a family man. I mean, I've, when I first started out, when we put out our first record, none of us in the band were married and then we all quickly got married and we were kind of in our early to mid twenties.

And so everyone started getting married around that time. And fast forward to now I have five kids and I think from when I first came out as right out of college, young man to married now for 25 years with five kids, with three kids in college, there's a lot about me that hasn't changed.

And of course, hopefully I'm a little bit more mature. I think the main thing that's changed for me in the past probably year or two is prayer. I'm really a much deeper in my prayer life than I've ever been before.

It's something that actually that I think COVID helped bring about that time of desperation and need and really needing to call out to God more, going through times of fear and times of doubts and times of just not knowing what life is gonna be about.

And that I've always been a person of prayer, but that it really, I think COVID kind of brought that about even more. And so I'm excited moving forward as some of that kind of came through in the record of new creation, but I think it will even more so in my music and in the future.

So I'm thankful for that gift. I really think even though COVID has been a hard time and a struggle for most people, and there's been a lot of loss, whether that's through people losing close ones, people that they love or people losing their jobs and going through financial strains, whatever the case may be, we've all dealt with it in some way or another.

And for me, the Lord's blessed me and able to bring me to a place of a lot more prayer in my life.

So you mentioned maturity earlier. I do see quite a bit more maturity in your beard these days, but I'm right there. I'm not quite there, but I'm headed that direction.

Yeah, I'm not trying to hide it, man. There's no use in trying to hide it. I always said, hey, it works for Kenny Rogers. It should work for me, so.

Yes.

They bring on the gray.

Yeah.

It's wisdom, right? It's a crown of splendor.

Yeah, I don't know that I've ever put Mac Powell and Kenny Rogers in the same sentence, but I'll have to think about that one a little bit more.

I'm honored to be in the same sentence with Kenny Rogers.

Christian Community, Accountability, and the Church as the Body of Christ

Something I've always wondered. So as a Christian artist, community is vitally important in the Christian life. You've got to have people around you that you can be vulnerable with, you can be real with, but just seeing, I've been to several third day concerts back in the day, other concerts, just seeing even Christians can definitely fall into the fanboy, fangirl type of thing.

So do you struggle with finding that close-knit Christian community where you can be vulnerable and real with, or how do you accomplish that aspect of the Christian life? A lot of people, when they meet you, they're just honestly really excited to meet Mac Powell.

No, it's a great question. I think for me, I've been very fortunate with my career. With Third Day, I was in a band and we were truly a band of brothers and we had those times of sharing and those times of prayer.

And we even would, for the most part, not every show, but we had a road pastor that would come on the road with us and share with us. And even now when I go out, I think with a band and sometimes those members that, it's different people at different times, to be able to surround yourself with guys who are like-minded and kind of know what you're going through, know what your life is like, to see who you really are behind, off stage, behind stage, not just on stage, is a good thing.

And we had a great time last night on the bus of just encouraging one another, just saying something nice about each other. And those, yeah, I'm able to, not only on the road have that, but at home, I lead worship now at a church called Church of the Apostles in Atlanta with Dr. Michael Yusuf as our pastor.

And so to be able to get together with him sometimes and with the worship team and sit down and talk through some of those struggles and those things that, the questions that we have in life, I mean, you know, like got questions, it's like, it's always good to be able to, I used to get mad at myself when I had those questions, whether you're reading the Bible and you have a question about scripture or not knowing the answer or, you know, just in life in general, but through the years, and you asked me earlier, you know, how have you changed?

Through the years I've learned, I've come to learn to love those questions, to not, that God is not challenged by our questions. Our questions are what draw us to him because we're looking for the answers.

And ultimately he's the one who has the answers, but we can find that sometimes through our friends and through our family, through the word, through the spirit of God. And so, so yeah, it's important for all of us.

I mean, that's one of the things that scares me with COVID times is so many people, I think are getting in the habit of just streaming church online. And even though I'm thankful for that technology, that's not what real church is.

And it's okay to do that every once in a while to be able to keep in contact, but the church is the body of Christ. The church is God's people, our brothers and sisters. And if we're not, you know, if we don't have a daily relationship and a daily conversation with like-minded believers, it's gonna affect our lives.

I've come to this place, so I have like kind of this thing that I call the three witnesses. So daily in my life, there's this medication that I have to take and it's the word of God, it's the spirit of God and it's the church, the people of God.

I have to, for me personally, and I think this is true for everybody, but I'm not going to tell everybody that this is for them. I know it's for me. I have to be in the word. Even if it's just a few verses a day, just to receive that word of God, the Bible.

I have to seek God in prayer and receive his Holy Spirit daily to lead me and to guide me. And the third thing is God's people. He can speak to us through his people. And not only that, but as believers, Jesus set up the example of we're supposed to disciple, to be discipled and to disciple.

So to receive some people and to pour that into other people as well. And so you can't do that without community and surrounding yourself with people.

Yeah.

Balancing Christian Ministry and Musical Entertainment

So last question for you today. One thing I've always enjoyed about the third day concerts was how clearly you would present the gospel when you'd have a break between aspects of the concert and probably more so than any Christian artist that I've ever been to a concert, you presented it very, very clearly.

I always love that about both you and third day as a ministry, but in Christian music, there's a ministry aspect to it. And you want to create music that actually will encourage people, build them up in the faith.

There's also an entertainment thing. And I don't, and in no sense, do I believe it's wrong for Christians to entertain.

Right.

How do you find the right balance in that between trying to produce music that will build people in their faith, point people to Christ, but also sometimes just being an entertainer?

How do you find that balance?

Well, I think I realized years ago, I would go to these events when we first started out with third day and I would see people go up on stage and say, we're not here to entertain you. We're here to tell you about Jesus and people cheer and it's great.

And I appreciate that sentiment, but if you're a musician and you're there, if you're not entertaining people, then nobody wants to hear what you have to say. So you have to have as a creative and ultimately we get that from the Lord.

He's the one who created us. He's the one that's given life. So therefore we are like our father in a way, he's given us those giftings. And so as a creative, you want to make it beautiful. You want to make it something that's intriguing, something that draws people in.

Because if you don't, nobody wants to hear what, either nobody wants to hear your message or you should just preach and not make music.

You know?

So I think there's a balance. I think most of it needs to come from our own heart. You know, a lot of these songs, they come from these ideas and these thoughts, whether I've heard a sermon or something I've read and a lot of scripture, you know, that's where I get a lot of ideas and thoughts and just life in general.

And so to be able to, sometimes as an artist, you're just making that for yourself because that's some, you're creative and you want to get that, you know, out of your mind and your heart and just inform it and make it what it should be.

And if that affects somebody else in a positive way, that's just icing on the cake. And then there's sometimes you approach it not so much as an artist, but as an evangelist or, you know, just a person of faith and you want to share that message, but you want to try to do it in the best way that you can and present it.

So I feel like there's definitely a balance in it, but there's a place for everything, you know? There's a place to be able to just have fun and have a cool pop song. And there's a place to really dig deep into a certain message that you want to encourage people with and when those two kind of come and meet together, it's a beautiful thing.

Yeah, absolutely. So Mac, thank you for being on the Got Questions podcast. Again, this is a different episode. I figured Mac probably didn't want me to ask him about Calvinism versus Arminianism or end times prophecy.

I could bait you on that all day.

Although he might actually be interested in some of these things, I don't know. Maybe that's a future interview, I don't know.

We'll see.

But new album, new creation, great. I love it. One of my favorite albums I've listened to this year. So I highly recommended you check it out. If you like the sound of Third Day and even like the sound of Mac's previous, definitely more country albums, you will like this one as well because it's got his distinctive voice.

So please check it out. So Mac, thank you again for coming on the show.

What an honor. Thanks so much for having me.

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