You the Man!
That's what Phil Joel's aiming for these days—becoming the man God wants him to be.
by Michael Herman | posted 10/06/2003
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With his most recent CD, Bring It On (inpop), Phil Joel says he's essentially asking God to bring it on—whatever it takes to make him God's man. One song in particular, "The Man You Want Me to Be," addresses that desire powerfully. Joel, the bass player for Newsboys with a budding solo career on the side, says fatherhood has taught him much about what it means to be a man of God. We sat down with Joel recently to talk about these things, and much more.
Your song, "The Man You Want Me to Be," is powerful. What's the story behind it?
Phil Joel: The chorus says, "Jesus, make me the man you want me to be." That was the initial prayer that kind of set things off. It really began one night on the back porch. My daughter, Phynley, was about six months old. I kind of felt like I was in over my head, like Whoa, I'm a dad and I have this awesome responsibility toward this child. I started asking myself, "What's she really going to see in me? Is she going to see a guy who is hungering and thirsting for God on a daily basis? Or is she just going to see a guy who tips God every now and then, maybe picks up the Bible occasionally?" It was kind of humbling. I began really examining my life, putting everything under the microscope, and realizing that many of the necessary things had fallen by the wayside.
Like what?
Joel:The biggest thing that slipped was a solid quiet time. I'm ashamed to say it, but my quiet times had been in tatters, just maybe giving God a little bit of time in the morning and then heading on out the door and telling God I'll see him later. So, I made a commitment: If I really am serious about God making me the man he wants me to be, I need to commit to getting up early, rising before my daughter does. Over the last two years we've just done that. My wife (Heather) and I get up an hour-and-a-half before she does and spend time in the Word and in prayer. It's just been so revolutionary. Phynley's growing up with that now. Sometimes she'll wake up in the middle of our quiet time and she'll say, "Are you still reading your Bible?" I say, "Yep." So she goes back to sleep, and we'll go back and finish our quiet time. And my daughter is beginning to see what the life of a man who is trying to pursue his God looks like.
Aside from family matters, what else does "that man" look like?
Joel:Another thing that went under the microscope was my church life. I was pretty much on the periphery, sort of hanging in the back row, with sporadic attendance because we're on the road so much. I knew that had to change. I had to be at least involved in our local church and serve. And I'm doing more of that now. I've also seen the need to meet with other guys in sort of an accountable sense. Basically, the last two years I've been allowing God to reshape the way I see all these things.
What else has God been teaching you?
Joel:I kind of liken it to being on a sports team. You get a jersey, and you're all pumped. You learn the team song, you get excited about the coach, and you're going to be the greatest team ever. But if you don't turn up to practice, you're not going to know the voice of the coach. You won't know the plays, so he won't put you in the game. You're not going to get dirty at all. You'll sit on the bench wearing the jersey, looking good singing the song. I think so many of us live like that when it comes to our faith. I can attest to that because I've lived like that. I don't think you know how sick you can become until you get healthy. The only way to get healthy is to spend time with God. And all of this stuff ended up on the record.
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