Something from Nothing
Abandoned by his parents as a child, Shawn McDonald went through some rough times while growing up. But once he found faith, he's just wanted to sing God's praises.
by Andree Farias | posted 9/20/2004
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Simply Nothing (Sparrow) is the title of Shawn McDonald's national debut, and it expresses what life would be like for him if God's love weren't the center of it all. In a way, however, it could also be an allegory for how life was for McDonald before he met the Lord, at a time when drug abuse and disconnection from his biological parents were consuming him. In an open and honest conversation with Christian Music Today, McDonald talked about his past struggles, his road to recovery and conversion, and the ongoing journey of finding hope and healing.
What about you caught Sparrow's attention?
Shawn McDonald When I started writing music, it was never my desire to be doing what I'm doing now. I just found this extreme peace in worshipping God. I had a rough past, so when I found the Lord, I just wanted to sing to him. I had this old, beat-up guitar, and I'd get the chord sheets for the worship songs in my church, and I'd take them home and sing them over and over. I loved singing these worship songs, but I wanted to sing my own. I started doing the coffeehouse thing, and little by little I started to gain a following.
You say you had a rough past and then you found God. How did you find Him?
McDonald I had gotten in trouble with the law when I was younger, and I kinda wanted to escape me. So my grandparents sent me away to college, and got me into an apartment. The kid that led me to Christ lived in that apartment. He started inviting me to church all the time, and that's how things started.
Were you still having problems with the law?
McDonald I was in and out of jail. I was busted for growing and manufacturing marijuana. I was a heavy, heavy partier, using a lot of drugs. And selling drugs.
So you saw what this new friend was offering to you as a way out of problems?
McDonald No, it didn't really happen like that. When I got to college, I even got worse. I started selling lots of drugs again, and I basically dropped out of college. I got into a very deep hole. I started using all sorts of drugs, like heroine, crack, marijuana, mushroom—a lot of stuff. I ended up getting busted again, and it was really heavy this time. At that moment, I sat back and figured something was really wrong with me. At that point the questioning really started.
And your roommate was still bugging you.
McDonald Yeah, my friend was always inviting me to church, telling me about the peace that he had found. I'd listen to him, but I really wouldn't. I thought it was really boring. Spiritual things were always attractive to me, but at the moment I was actually looking into Rastafarianism, Hinduism, meditation, stuff like that. Bob Marley was a huge idol of mine.
I'm sure it wasn't because of his music!
McDonald Well, I loved both, actually. He was this spiritual man who talked about God, but he smoked weed. That was attractive to me because I could follow God and still do my drug habit. It was a very twisted view.
Did your roommate know about your lifestyle?
McDonald He was very aware of what I was doing. I would smoke weed the whole day, and I'm sure smoke would just roll out of my room. I had crazy kids over at my house all the time. It was obvious what I was doing. Two of his best friends had moved into the quad as well, and they didn't know Christ. So I guess his whole mission was lead those two guys to Christ. But I ended up selling drugs to both of them, so I think he was angry at God: "Who is this kid? Why did you put him in here to screw everything up?"
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