ATLANTA, Ga.—Growing up attending Main Street Baptist Church in Grand Saline, future songwriter Chris Tomlin never anticipated the accolades that would come his way and all he would achieve.
During his teenage years, Tomlin intensely desired to be used for God and voiced a humble prayer.
“I remember praying, ‘God, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it,’” Tomlin said. “I didn’t pray to be a songwriter or worship leader, anything like that. I just wanted to be God’s man and be available to go wherever God would lead me.”
By the time he was a junior at Texas A&M University, Tomlin felt a calling to lead others in worship.
Today, Tomlin is considered the most-sung artist in the world, and his newest album, Burning Lights, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Through the years, Tomlin has garnered numerous honors, including 18 Dove Awards, two Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award. In spite of his success and popularity, Tomlin remains focused on keeping the spotlight on God.
As the writer of praise songs such as “How Great is Our God” and “Holy is the Lord,” Tomlin’s work has become a staple of contemporary worship.
“I feel a responsibility to use the talent and gift that God’s given me to connect people with him and give them a voice to worship him,” Tomlin said.
“When I think about songwriting, I think about: ‘What can people sing? What do they want to sing?’ I’m really keeping that in mind and thinking how I can craft these songs in a way that can grab hold of people and draw them closer to God.
“I try to open up worship to everything it can be, not just my personal preference, but what can it be for the person sitting in an office, or a mom driving her kids to school, or a teenager in high school? How can I bridge all those generations and try to grab something that can help them worship and communicate with God?”
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Rather than seeing himself as a performer, Tomlin views his role as a worship leader—a position he fills regularly at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Ga.
“You don’t want people following you,” Tomlin noted. “You want people following God. I think you see that in a great example from King David. He had a very humble heart before God and really sought after God. Whether we ever sell another record or anything, I know we’d still be doing this. … If he never gave us another stage, I know that we would still play music, sing to him and worship him.
“I just want to be a reflection of God’s light—a burning light for Jesus. Through this music, we’re trying to help people realize that Jesus is more beautiful, more famous and more amazing than anything else.”
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