I can’t remember if it was for Great Adventure or Live Adventure. I just remember the black and white checked shirt he was wearing – and the enormous hair cut! It definitely wasn’t his first Dove award of the evening, probably more like his 5th. But when he came up to give his speech I just remember watching with my parents and thinking that this is a man worth emulating. Steven Curtis Chapman’s acceptance speech went something like this. ‘I know that receiving this award is a great honor. But the man that we’re being honored for singing about tonight left this world without honor… and His name is Jesus Christ’. I can’t find it on YouYube, but his thoughts and words have stayed with me for the last decade.

Steven and his wife Beth continue to be an incredible inspiration to our family – especially through these last two years. So it really was with enormous surprise and joy that we heard that the song Hosanna (praise is rising), a song I wrote with one of my best friends Paul Baloche, is up for a couple Dove Award nominations – Worship Song Of The Year and Inspirational Recorded Song Of The Year (recorded by Selah).

It almost goes without saying that regardless of whether we win or not, the point of the song, our entire careers, and really the whole Christian Music Industry is to point honor towards Jesus. That we would see Him more clearly, love Him more dearly and follow Him more nearly (thanks DC Talk). And without people like Steven and many, many others like him (Paul B included) there wouldn’t have been any kind Christian music career to aspire to. Thank you. And may our songs, and more importantly, our lives, bring honor to one who left this world without it.  b