Keith & Kristyn Getty: Find Your Voice

Every kid is quarter of songs your kid is going to take it from Taylor Swift taken from frozen she can't take it from Katy Perry. They're going to take it from somewhere because her Nipissing so we need to be given the better songs to sing sing as well. And let's not miss this opportunity we have in our children's childhood we create your 50 hem playlist on the spot of the little relievers but let's find the songs we want them to grow old with welcome to family life the day where we want to help you.

The relationships that matter most kind and nothing in our day will soon and you can find out that family life. The.com or on our family life, family life, so I got a song lyric how menacing I will not know it is you will just tell if he can tell me the title of this song. Now you've heard it many times in church goes like this cries my hope is that he is my life, my strength, my song I've heard that many time zone. I first you get that so easily. Now I look bad.

I the middle lyric without the title letter, but I thought you can't miss this anyway. For now yeah well you know the song is a beautiful song beautiful.

We've done it I played Bayside it many times in our church, but do you know who wrote it.

Yes, that we have today while he was part of a team, we have Keith Getty and his wife Kristen today with this, but he was part of the team with Stuart Townsend who wrote it, but Keith and Kristin are prolific songwriters and we song a lot of their lyrics over the years and we are so excited talk to them about worship in the family worship in the home is going to be a great day so Keith and Kristin. Welcome to family life today. I know it's been a while since you been on but welcome back to our listeners on what God has called you to do and because you had an incredible impact on the kingdom of God in all decades of your life, especially recently, so it's also not really what God called you to to do with your life.

We started running hams in the year 2000. Gentlemen belief that today is parents easy to get nervous about all the things are going on around us. Of all the responsibilities of bringing up children in a context that is actually different to every previous generation. Every generation complete but of course with the previous generation, but the shifts against Christianity are so huge it is a daunting process for anyone listening but the fact the matter is if we took a bit of a wider problem of even social logic licks we do live in the most exciting generation in history to be Christian mother for more conversions to the Christian faith in the last century, than any in history, the Bible will be in every language for the first time in history and in the next 10 years because of modern communication. We have a chance of starting the storm of the juicy finishing up on a Wednesday or Thursday unknowing that is being song and every quantum of the world, but something that is the world that we live as a whole the opportunity and so if that's true, but the opportunity so the threats are equally there for all of us. And so one of the things we became convinced early on was that if we want to be authentic Christian believers not only survive but thrive. We need to be deep believers need to be deep in the word of conduct of the Old Testament and the New Testament and the church fathers throughout history we looked almost revivalist people to put Christianity to America to people who brought Christianity to the world through worldwide missionary movement. Part of that depth is the songs we sing are generous to study different views and it has more of an emotional release than part of how we got our faith and so we felt there needs to be for the 21st century a new generation of hymns that help build deep believers, deep families, deep churches, and so we started in the province of God.

The first song that came out of the blocks was in Christ alone and not give assertive real launching pad to what were doing and them over the past 20 years.

Kristin I and the wider team that were privileged to work with continue to write songs and record them and introduce them both to churches and English-speaking language and beyond on them three events licks and conference center tours around another partnership select overcomes from the left today been able to assure themselves. We can hear an accent, give us a little history of where you're from and even your family. How many kids you have both from Belfast, Northern Ireland and sewing that we got married and then after spending the end is consistently made America time that public pain actually in line changes. Everybody's not affordable enough to be my longest friends and a grandparents are three every dental season of my life, particularly in the night and we lived in Ohio and for the first two years and thankless and friendship in connection with Alice to bank and Parkside churches promise they are an estimate of our street, refused to stumble on we decide that the end of the trip. Technically moving meeting. Alister was baby I guess Alister was sort of a John the Baptist that he led you to Bob before we made the lens we were singing at a local text lens opening a bodybuilding and we and sang a couple of songs that night. Alister bank happened to be speaking that evening that officially crossed an offense that began over the next year. We kept bumping into him and different things to come across to Ohio will be our family here and he was a great champion of the hands and days and meant to be there for a couple of years. We stayed for 1/2 and then around the time really wanting to have a family wasn't quite happening and we neatly wanted to travel last since it seemed I could get moments in time to shift to Nashville. Lastly, when traveling is much you have a gated community of creative's that were dating in the writers new musicians to work with and if you are in the really does not, and the day after be made to Nashville. We find that we are pregnant with their first daughter and then subsequently had three more daughters so he say before he say parents of four daughters.

There not close by right nice and relatively peaceful and more close is not printing.

We are so grateful to have them in me, and I've been a national ever since and generally spend about 910 months here and then 2 to 3 months each year taking the summer months becomes that the kids can be with the grandparents and am songwriting a lot. This means that Kenny can meet up nights and wonderful ways to enjoy that with the girls. Will you be you write such beautiful songs. I remember I don't know what year you would know but I was playing bass and and our weekend service on in Christ alone and I've heard it I learned it were in rehearsal. I remember having this thought how I missed this him how I miss this.

It was so well written and sounded such like him from decades of very actually centuries ago I started to think it was said to him that would have been buried but once it was current that I often shocked to know they keep the lines that several of my thought was, is, like, how did I miss this wife is, but how did you write it.

I mean is you wrote it in much of your music has that feel that is so beautiful its current yet. It's tapping into something in our history first wall of salt was correct Mr. tartan deserves no significant plaudits for the I was. I've always thought of myself as grandpa's members the sorcerer about the same, though I think all of us are creative beings and things are put into us in life ultimately come on. So what that means in the spiritual sphere like what we're putting into our girls and I ultimately is going to affect them in their lives.

Some of the dark, so I was Irish. I grew up studying classical music. I grew up with her homework. My parents were church musicians. So you think about Irish and traditional church music and I'm singing and you think about classical music and then I was Presbyterian so we learn to think theologically and so those four things. If you put those in the juicer impress on the Rebbe comes up music think there's a philosophical belief that great art is more timeless quality is aspirational from a pastoral point of view I'm doing more for my kids are the people of my congregation if I give them a him that is been around for a long time that will be run for long time because pastorally it will continue to work on their lives with all of us as parents have to be thinking hymns that we can teach our kids are out playing on the background dollars that actually will go so deep into them that they have them for 50 years of their songs to grow their songs to travel with that. Their songs for the hard times in their songs to die to because it is such an important vital part of our faith. And if we simply treat Christianity something that we read and listen to sermons and musics just emotional expression that then were missing a whole vital aspect of what the Bible considers important Bibles this quarter, and songs.

The Bible considers important. It's so interesting. I was that a conference with Elizabeth Elliott who sees this amazing matriarch of our a lot of us think we've read her.

We know her husband died as a missionary, but we got into this debate about hands versus Marxist warship you think that you're saying it. That tends to be more emotional and it was a huge day and Elizabeth with strong.

She's very vocal and she was saying this music today if it's happy at this deep theological base singing now so you know that created this great dialogue and controversy.

Dave and I didn't grow up in the church and so we weren't around hands. We didn't understand them, educate us a little bit what is the difference he shared a little bit that go into it a little bit more what it is and what is not that she can be quite subjective. There's some people that think that is no such thing as a hand that has been written this century to go back so far and that others have different easements.

I guess the statements in its wet philosophy and in the presence that is that clear definition. I think that our three goals have been theological.biblical richness and then songs that have maladies that congregations could sing not just one particular group of people, but across generations, particularly as you said to him like amazing Grace that Katie work 390 of what grace is that what God's faithfulness is not a band to validate that lots of people can sing and I can sing it with bond and orchestra are many of these hymns can be sent without any musical accompaniment, which is the experience for a lot of if not most congregations around the world particular in the developing world and the third thing is trying to go after an artistic integrity. Something that's not just singable but is beautiful. Something that people want to sing and want to hold on to and can be markers for people's lives and keep that hymns that they can carry three life incidents of being the principles they approach that we have taken minutes come to try to write the songs and comes advocating and Mark championing and some of the hymns of goals which we have done as well so that sensitive high we've gone so as not so much and going after what signs get today. What is the signed of the moment, or even an contemporary Christian radio. What is the thing that is working at this moment but it's just the disdain that longer approach songs that feed the church over a long period of time. It's is a lofty goal and we of course don't always meet at the basilar having for the evening and how do you know a lot of our listeners are parents and their you know wrestling with how do I bring warship into my family into my home how you coach your son doing that. How do you guys do it well. One of the things is is deceased singing in the call of every believer and every part of the family. Every generation us to sing.

So rather than considering it a special subject to one side. If you get out that Terry and Juliet's reasons that the heart of the Scriptures command thing and we are created to sing and says parents want to try and pick singing, where we teach them to pray, teach them to read the Scriptures that we teach them to sing. As part of what it means to be the body of Christ, our kids have various different abilities and at different interest in it but take the approach that is this is what we day healthy for follow the Lord and we as a sign like this part of our life that we sing together so we find that when it comes this Sunday wonderful that our local church. The beginning of the service. The whole family is and so our girls are with us, not the tiny ones that the other straight. I stand beside us and we sing together as a family is first night we left that way can think of something is the face singing at the church. That's right, the way we develop the appetite for nets in just a few years ago as a him in the month I family him of the month images highlighted one thing that I have a chalkboard just at the kitchen and then we will learn as the month goes on. He sets that and inspire questions for my kids and explain what words mean and have them singing these things and before they go to sleep is not only perfectly.

Not something we do every single night, for example, last night I was not feeling well the thing last night, but there are many nights more nights than not that weekly rates in those things to help grow our kids and their understanding of the faith and connect them to the church as a whole and gives them songs are a wonderful way to remember things more than some other ways that we do that was maybe a sermon and highly remember and I can't think of skill and learning their house about their learning. The stance that learning how to spell the word.

January which is the she Allen learned to music and so I think just to harness what today sounds and entities that the teaching tail but also to help grow their appreciation appetite for it on Sunday morning when I look over at me and great is thy faithfulness's plan is only noticed one thing that really I don't want to be" and is so good is what we sing becomes the grammar of what we believe, help us understand how that works is Christmas really said singing is so important because the second most common command in Scripture, it is 20% in Scripture itself songs is profoundly important because it is not something which is for the emotional people or the people who enter convalescence with it is for everyone unsure when we sing something we remember Kristin actually what our girls were starting to go on vacation or go on the road. Christian talk to Ms. Carlos sing Rob kind of thing on her telephone numbers or girls need their mom's telephone all the member is so when were thinking about being futuristic for the next generation. I'm helping our children be relevant stronger than Mormon culture the first place. We need to go is not for the most cool music is that this really cool right now because really cool music. Right now it is actually 2025 is really on cool music.

But what we do need to know was well your traditional church charismatic church contemporary. Whatever your colors really matter. The call for us) is let's make sure my ticket type especially of 50 hymns when our kids leave our home they know backwards.

They know what is unknown, because by them. You will have given them 50 songs they sing deeply into their heart. Why they know what God they know what Scriptures they know, but his promises. And so was it goes back to the Shema.

Other people how to write write these truths in our heart course writing a letter took a day for them to do deep when you do something creative with words is hard. You know we got Gracie's good football leisure starting the process where you know allies Pelham teachers tonight shorts tomorrow night's violin without mood is time to collect another's luster pass in front of Charlotte's big test next week. Always got so many different things in a day. All of these things are good things.

All of these things are charms for us to rehearse and show the love of Jesus to the book so much more direct as those 10 minutes.

My wife actually just place twice in bed at night beside them missing at three only do the exact same him every day for a whole month and by the end of the month. They know that it is not fancy like some kind of course you have to look no hundred and 79 books take your iPhone upstairs.

Lord knows those things do enough damage to Christian family. Let's use it as well and sometimes the tour much much recently, but silently resource last year actually going to get that month. I was emotional in mind that tend to be stuck on 4/month and you'll have the lyrics – an attractive plan and a devotional and story behind the song and prayer, and the memories are seven distant voices expanded the ideal of that is to bring you comfort you. Have you ever had your kids say mom dad and we don't want to sing today tonight and never push back at night sometimes in the Church of England element fresheners hey vegetables, there's this terrifying parent is one long referee Matt know so I think he rents the line I see bubble payments created by teenager kids that a lot of people can only wear yet to be there.

One of that, things that he finds in parents giving teams can they think best of everything that very often this is stepping back a little, you keep on parent think that's what she has to day but a lot of things work themselves. I can just react. The first time. And so when I kids I want to sing like okay level type something else I will just get anywhere in the next day there definite that another sister that doesn't want to because another reason but to learn violin every day and they want to pick up trash from the floor in this is the part of it is just as what we day and some days are better than others, but over the trajectory of a lot of years.

While we have them will just keep plotting the way I recently heard a dad talking about the family devotional that he would do with his kids and he said all they would do and they would take as you said even just 10 minutes they would read Scripture they would sing a song and they would pray I take 10 minutes and he said you know with his kids. A lot of times they were groaning.

Sometimes they would complain and he had one daughter she never ever said thanks dad are. This was amazing. Never. But at her high school graduation they kids that were graduating were supposed to say something or give a thanks to their parents and what she said was dad. Thank you for doing a family devotion, and she started crying so hard. She said that that's what's changed my life so funny we get the dad said I had no idea, but I thought that was so fascinating to sometimes we don't know because kids are gonna think that was amazing tonight. They could, but generally speaking there, doing their own thing and I like what you're saying. I just because it's marking them constantly find different ways you only have one of my daughters find it hard to concentrate as much younger and some suggest the line she sat closer to her and rub her back or something just to keep her engaged in finding different ways you can always learning and there are just days yet you know what tonight I am real estate. The best thing we can take our family right night is just to set the thing the being pragmatic, you know, not thinking straight jacketed and everything finding this kid read them that she can with kids is not perfect and as they get older is different again and I think part of our agency right nice for understanding is those little years, particularly up until thereby 10 or 11 are just goals and so we continued our kids are pretty receptive, but we know we can get a little taste of it that it's not always going to be that way. Supportive is like, what can we day. Let's get the songs that rate little things you can and while there, Darren derrière building a foundation like some you said earlier about emotion because I think there's a power in emotion and worship, singing, you know it almost sounded like sometimes we sing a hymn is not as emotional as praise chorus and yet I can remember.

You know I started church 30 some years ago up in Detroit my cofounder so he said so my greatest memories were standing in church beside my dad and turning to him as we were seeing how great is a faithfulness or even amazing grace and watching him weep and I know I've wept at amazing grace at times.

You know, as simple as that song is I've wept on their forget when my youngest son came home from my Christian conference and introduced me to a current worship song that it impacted his life and it was the simple song by Chris Tomlin. How great is our God and honor, forget it was just a simple course. How great is God. I started to weep. You know, as I as I sing this lyric and again it was just a simple lyric but it reminded me in that moment, how great he is, how majestic how holy so I love to hear your thoughts because you live in this world the power and even the emotion of worship, singing Christmas think God made us to love song whenever friends are scholars call song the world and the being that I don't know the words work. Those were the promise of the new creation is God's people forever and ever singing to him. We are made of the same people as allegedly being for 630 of my house that evening when a nightmare or with my kids is actually very significant because once we're mid to sing every kid's code of songs so your kid is going to take it from Taylor Swift taken from frozen she going to take it from Katy Perry. They're going to take it from somewhere because her mid-Pacific so not for a minute kind suggesting the bond that we loved all music to be our horse Christmas discussed: frozen clerks with our girls are girls are still out as we go. We love this is not a Christian, then they've not been able to work all right okay smile because you taught them the principles they can smell something that is Christian but musical about the point is we need to be given them better songs to sing sing as well.

That's a challenge to our generation is. Let's not miss this opportunity we have our children's childhood we cripple your office to him playlist on our spot if we keep just a little years but let's start today Christian model of each month.

Whether it's just songs were about growing let's find the songs we want them to grow old with Christmas to the beautiful new version of Beazer motivation. It's on YouTube. It was very special to us because of the north coast were from Ireland and her brother who is a very famous movie director Tim directive for watching the person early in the morning because the guys needed help.

I have drove my girls to school at the thought apart my vision the Lord is my heart and noted that we want to say that one is taken to school.

All the knowledge look to him by education by the Internet by but all the different places to go. I want these girls to be thought my wisdom comes on my true word I spoke about the day that will leave us will go to call it sure will go on weekends, on the one with us. I want them to sing.

My breast sword for the fight. I will remember these words the temptation is all about their lives when they go beyond the scope blesses the most life symbol of success somewhat of less successful but no success so might've amazing success somewhat of disappointment want them all to say Rich is not Norman's empty prayers and then also for sure will one day about health.as we want them to sing high King of heaven after victory one marriage heaven Joyce Albright heaven, so that's why Christian start of this children's hymnal.

What is the most vital thing just that each of us will sing hymns were putting our kids minds and their emotions in their hearts and their memory box in their psyche and our subconscious will continue to flow out of us like stop.

That was David and Wilson talking with Keith and Kristin Getty on family life today you find the links in our show notes to their performances of be thou my vision and their new recording with Michael W Smith called Christ our hope in life and death. Again links are in the show notes or@familylifetoa.com and if you know of anyone who could benefit from today's conversation we'd love it if you share this podcast wherever you happen to get your podcast and while you're there really help us out if you'd rate and review us family life to a is a listener supported ministry and this week with your donation of any amount we love to send you a copy of the children's book, God made me in his image by Justin and Lindsay Holcomb. We had them on earlier this week. This is a great resource for parents helping children through issues of body image and the beauty of God's design is our gift to you. When you make a one time or a recurring donation@familylifetoa.com or when you pick up the phone and call us at 1-800-358-6329 that's one 800 F as in family L as in life and in the word today. Can you imagine your family singing songs of praise together at home.

If that sounds weird. Well, maybe it is but maybe that is a good thing. Keith and Kristin Getty will join David and Wilson again tomorrow to talk about singing together as a family. We hope you can join us on behalf of David and Wilson. I'm Shelby Abbott will see you back next time for another edition of family life today. Family life today is a production of Emily accrue ministry helping you pursue the relationships that matter most