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Existentialism

Steven Curtis Chapman talks to himself, to God (or listens to His words in his heart), to his family, to neighbors; he also reads – for inspiration, for insights into what is begging to be sung about. When he lost his voice once, lasting 3 months, he took time to read more books and they influenced his thinking, two in particular: 'Rumors Of Another World: What On Earth Are We Missing?' by Philip Yancey (Zondervan Sept 2003) and 'Don’t Waste Your Life' by John Piper (Crossway Books May 2003). He lost his voice and found other voices.

Steven must have learned from Yancey that some people seek to take apart while others seek to connect and put together. Reading on Yancey and his ideas on the Internet, I myself have come to realize that much of American life today is rooted in EXISTENTIALISM. The existentialist philosophy 'places emphasis on individual existence, freedom, and choice' – I quote from MLCE (no date, FortuneCity.com/). In contrast, I can say that what Steven has been doing is seeing the whole, sensing the parts as they relate to the whole, stating the message, especially the relating – a revolution in songwriting by itself. I shall call it here ESSENTIALISM.
With Piper's book, Steven says: 'I grabbed it on my way to Seattle, read it on the plane and before the trip was over, had written about 8 songs' (Sparrow Records, Biography). You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.

Excerpt from American Chronicle 'The Gospel Whisperer' by Frank A Hilario

25 April 2006