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| Brandon Heath : Not Who He Was |
By Kiri Lanice [BREATHEcast Reporter]
Mon, Apr 28, 2008 @ 08:19 AM PST |
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Interview photo
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Brandon Heath - New Artist of the Year
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Interview photo
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His album pretty much says it all, “Don’t Get Comfortable.” He’s comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Brandon Heath, 2008 Dove Award winner for New Artist of the Year, said he had never been “supercomfortable” with the idea behind the Dove Awards, but he is honored to be recognized among his peers for doing good work.
People definitely recognized his song, “I’m Not Who I Was” as good work and embraced it, sending it to #1 in Christian radio. Heath has a mellow voice with powerful lyrics that hit home with almost any listener. Originally, the song was a little more country, which is not surprising since Heath’s hero, after Superman, is Garth Brooks.
It’s a song that touches everyone because the theme is forgiveness and everyone can relate to having to forgive. For Heath, it’s the person in that old photograph, whom he hadn’t seen in over 20 years. It’s the person who made him feel like he’d never amount to much. Yeah, it was nominated for Song of the Year.
It’s the title track that can be a new song for listeners’ lives and definitely can be Heath’s own theme song. Getting a new song means having to change. “And change is never comfortable,” he said.
Moving from Green Hills, an upscale side of Nashville, Tenn., to one where poverty is at every turn, was how he stepped out of his comfort zone. In 2003, he and a couple of friends moved to East Nashville, where shootings were nothing out of the ordinary.
At first, living there made him feel “selfish and embarrassed” that he’d never known the city he’d lived in all his life. However, Heath thrives in situations where he is forced to face new challenges head on and renew himself. So, he and his friends got involved in their new community and were transformed by the people there.
His first real renewal was at 15 when he gave his life to Christ at a Young Life summer camp called Malibu Club, where he volunteers still in the summers.
Besides moving to a different side of town, Heath has visited places like Ecuador and India, and has a real yearning to bring awareness to issues affecting people. Earlier this year, he returned to his hometown to organize a show benefiting the Tennessee tornado victims. The show brought in almost $20,000.
Now, he wants to expose the injustices of the world with Sara Groves, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken and Charlie Peacock. Their “Add to the Justice” tour starts this fall to shed light on the slavery and trafficking happening all over the world. It’s not simple. It’s not something that can be done while sitting on your couch with your feet up, which might be part of the appeal for Heath.
He tells those yearning to do and be more than comfy, cozy and content. “Don’t let your faith be your culture. Don’t let it define who you hang out with and limit you from seeing all the things that are in the world, all the needs that there are. There are a lot of needs outside the realm of the church. I think the worst thing is to allow your faith to be your culture.” |
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| Mon, Apr 28, 2008 @ 08:19 AM |
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Photo News |
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