So this has been the most intense, hectic, exhausting, rewarding and uplifting time of my entire life. I went from going straight home after school to sit in my room and play my guitar all by myself and write songs I wasn’t sure anyone would ever hear; to writing and producing my first album in the matter of one year. Things are going great and I still find myself stopping and really thinking about how I have always dreamed of doing this and never knew how it was going to happen. It’s funny though, when you know God has called you to something and has continued to prove himself in his word, it’s hard to have any doubt if you are moving in that direction. After submitting an application to work alongside Christ for the Nations in their first venture into supporting a mainstream artist, I was chosen. Undeserving in every way I was humbled to step out onto this new path that God had lain in front of me.
2 years ago I was recording an album and traveling in a band called Della Rosa out of my home area in Nashville and the surrounding areas. It was my first taste as a real musician and really opened my eyes up to what this business really is and how much work it takes to make it on your own. We really worked hard at putting out good music and promoting ourselves to the local venues, connecting with people in the area, talking with labels and playing as much as possible. Through it all I was still missing something in it. Though we put out music that blatantly glorified God and all that He was doing for us I still knew that my calling was in something else. After talking with them about it and seeing their support even after all we had put into the band, I knew God was behind me as well as them. I hit the road in my beat up 1996 Saturn Le that I had bought for 500 dollars. Not knowing if I would make it to Dallas alive, I never felt more alive. Since then I haven’t looked back. I have been writing and serving everywhere I could just to chase this dream I have had in my heart so long. Through all the painful sacrifice and lots of frustration I am starting to see Gods hand on my path. I heard someone say “Anointing doesn’t rest on a PERSON but rather that persons CALLING. “ As soon as you step out of the calling God has placed on you than you step out of your anointing. I have seen this play out from both perspectives in my own life and I am here to tell you first hand that following God’s plan for your life is the only thing to consider.
Recently I have been working non-stop in the studio, setting up meetings for art design work, submitting lyrics to all the songs, figuring out web-design ideas and making contacts for booking after this whole CD pans out. Last year at Christ for the Nations annual worship conference “Responding”, one of the guest speakers (Roland Worton) gave me a word that he felt the Lord give him. He said this “In the near future God is going to be using you with worship throughout South America”. This is great but if you had known that I was burdened with Brazil and had been praying that God would use me there for that entire year you might feel differently about it. Last week, only 9 months from the word spoken over me I began setting up a 2 week tour across several very influential cities in Brazil. This fell in my lap. I didn’t go chasing it I only held onto the word God gave me this past year and continued to pray that God would make the way. I started attending the weekly Brazilian Prayer meetings on Monday nights here on campus and continued to hang out with all my Brazilian friends so I could start picking up on Portuguese (Still working on that….eeek). So in all of this I can only see Gods hand on this album and I know he is going to use it to touch many people, that hopefully being you and your friends and family, but also these Brazilian people God is sending me to! Did I mention the Album comes out the day before I fly out to Brazil? Yeah, tell me that’s not God!
I hope that you get a chance to get your hands on a copy of my FIRST album but please just know that through this whole process my desire is not to “have a CD” or to “Be the next big thing” I just want to use what God has anointed me to do, to impact my world. My urge for you is to listen to that voice in your heart that is God’s calling on your life and to abandon all to chase after it with all you have.
Jesus Bless You,
Chris Martin
Here is an acoustic version of my single "Until the Day" that you can check out before you pick up the album on December 7th 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG8cwbZ2co4
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