Though his album was promoted and released in the midst of the 9/11/01 terrorist attack turmoil, Steven Curtis Chapman was already wrestling with security and doubt when he wrote the songs. In this exclusive interview, read about the ideas and inspirations behind the songs of Declaration, including what it means to be dependent on God.

Steven, can you start by telling us how the terrorist attacks personally affected you and your family?

S: My wife and I were in D.C. on September 11 with our little girl Shaohannah. The initial reaction was a feeling of doom and gloom setting in … a sort of heaviness. I'm actually not particularly proud of my heart's initial reaction. There's a passage in Hebrews that tells us not to throw away our confidence. But my confidence just kind of went in the trash. I felt like man, this is evil that we've never seen in my lifetime—this kind of destruction and this many people losing their lives just a few hundred miles away. The feeling settled in like a cancer.

It took me a few days after talking with friends and family and thinking through the tragedy before God began to get my attention. I started thinking about how my kids often forget things. It's like how can they forget this over and over again? And I feel as though God gently shook me awake, and said, "You've forgotten the truth. You've forgotten that I am on the throne, and that I am in control. I'm not knocked off my throne by these things." And I went back to Psalm 46 to remind myself that God said, "Be still and know that I am God."

I found I needed to hear the gospel again, and I think that's what I've been reminding my kids of too. We know the truth, the ultimate reality, and all these things we see around us are temporary reality. The ultimate reality is that God is on his throne, that we are a part of his eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken. We and the church can reach out in times like this and serve and comfort as God's hands and feet (the body of Christ) because we know where our hope is and we have that confidence.

You said God is in control, and that ties into one of your album's lyrics — "God is God and I am not." Has that been key to wrestling with tragedy and shaken faith?

S: Yes. I think that's what was important for me. When I first came home, I felt so oppressed, so weighed down by this big dark cloud that had moved in over my heart. I had to talk with friends and process it. My friends helped remind me of the truth.

It's so easy to watch a few newscasts and get sucked back into that weighed down feeling again. But we can't lose perspective of eternal things. There's a reality that's greater and deeper than what we see here on this earth. As my pastor Scotty Smith says, I have to preach the gospel to my heart daily because I forget it so soon.

My favorite lyric from the album is from the song "Savior" - "I need more than just a little help. I need someone who will save me." We always end up looking for a little help, and then think it's sufficient. That's a common trap, isn't it?

S: Right. God gets us over the hump, and then it's like "I can take it from here!" I know as ridiculous as that sounds, that's really how I live so much of my life. It's like I have to get more and more to a place where I just say, "God, I'm really far worse off than I think. Even in my best moments I'm still in desperate need of a Savior. Help me realize that."

The song "Declaration of Dependence" seems to be appropriate to this discussion too. It really resonates with Christians, and I hope a lot of non-Christians too. Dependence is so often seen as a negative thing or a weakness. How would you explain the importance of dependence on Christ in your life to someone who doesn't understand this?

S: I was reading in the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, and I came across some great things in there. It's a book challenging men to really lead and be the men that God calls us to be, but he also mentions how we can only be in that position once we realize that we are totally dependent on God and that we are not made to do it our way.

I actually wrote "Declaration of Dependence" after running on the treadmill and watching music videos. I saw a video for a song called "It's My Life," and it's really kind of a modern day version of Sinatra's "I Did It My Way." It's sort of a declaration of independence in the sense that "this is my life and I can do whatever I want to with it." But it occurred to me that as a Christian, I really have to constantly remind my own heart that my life is not my own.

So "Declaration of Dependence" is one of those songs. It's my affirmation that all I am is dependent on who God is and what Christ did for us. Not that we should use that as an excuse for being lazy and ignoring our responsibilities. But when we try to live independently of him, we start to think "Man, I've got to be in control of this. I need to protect myself and my family. I'm the one that it all depends on." The pressure builds, the gloom and doom sets in. But when we finally recognize and realize that our lives are totally in God's hands anyway, we find a place for rest and a source for strength.

That's just one of those things that clashes with our culture. I'm a recovering control freak, so that song is really a cry of my heart. Most of the songs I write are more out of hopes and intentions - "I want this to be true of my life, God, so please make it so." They're not usually written in the past tense - "I've mastered this and I've climbed this mountain, so now I'm going to write a song about how I got to the top." It's more of a process, writing while still climbing the mountain - "Here's what it's going to be like when I get to the top, and here's what's keeping me inspired on the journey. I know it'll be awesome when I finally get there." That's really what the Christian life is.

And once you get to that point, then you can write a song like "Bring It On."

S: There you go, that's right. Come on! Bring it on!

I love the attitude of that song - "Let the trouble come / Let the hard rain fall / Let it make me strong / Bring it on." Do you really feel this way more than ever in your life?

S: Well, I do, but it comes and goes. Today I'm confident, and then tomorrow I'll be saying, "Why in the world did I ever write that song? Take it back, take it back! Can I write the sequel?" I was literally working on that song in the car, listening to the music and writing the lyrics, when my mom called me to tell me that she had just gotten some tests back and she was diagnosed with cancer. I tell you, if there was ever a reason to stop writing a song like that, this was it. I thought, "Who am I to say this? Am I really prepared for what this message is saying?" And as I talked to my mom, I really did sort of back away from it for a little while. Then I decided that this was exactly the reason why I needed to share a song like this. Either I believe it I'm really prepared to live it, or else I'm just kind of toying with it.

Ultimately, if I really believe the Gospel is true, then I've got to understand that it's in my weakness that his strength is perfected. I really am supposed to count it all joy when I'm encountering trials, because those are what are going to bring me to a deeper understanding of my need for grace. And then the end result will be that all of a sudden I'm going to understand how awesome and amazing grace really is, because I'm going to see the need of it. It's only in understanding the bad news that we can really appreciate the good news.

So yes, I think this song really does represent me right now, especially having gone through this thing with losing my voice for three months and not being able to sing for a while. I was listening to the song after I had finished recording it and I then I couldn't sing - I was thinking "God, did I just invite this on myself?" I know God doesn't work that way. It's not like he's waiting for you, and then "Oops, you said it so POOF, I'm going to give it to you." He always does what's good and what's right for us. It's just that his definition of "good" is so often very different from ours.

When we get to those places that we'd rather not be, our response really makes all the difference - we can be accepting of it or we can be bitter. What I've seen happen with my mom is that her heart is so alive to the Gospel right now and what God's doing, and it's filled her with joy. She wouldn't trade her life for where she was a year ago without the cancer. I know that's a bold statement to make, but she's the one who made it, not me. I just see it in her life and hear it in her voice and in her heart. It's the kind of stuff you can't explain. It doesn't make any sense, but God never promised to make sense to us.

Of all the songs on the album, which song speaks to you the most today?

S: I'm having a hard time getting over "God Is God." It's the song that I kind of have to keep hearing and reminding myself of - that he is God and I'm not. It's weird since it's so obvious and clear to see. It almost sounds just completely brainless to even say, "Well, I'm not God." Of course I'm not! But the way I live - the way I treat my kids, the way I want to be in control - I just constantly have to say, "God, you are the one who changes hearts. You're the one who's in control. I need to be here faithfully doing what you've called me to do."

There's such a fine line between being faithful and obedient to what God has called you to do and trying to take the initiative and take control of your own life - "I'm going to answer all of these great mysteries of why this is happening myself." It doesn't mean you don't wrestle with that stuff, but after all of the struggling and headaches … God is God. He's on the throne and I'm just a man created to enjoy Him, to know Him, to trust Him, to depend on Him - to experience Him and all that He made me for.

I think we miss that. When we're trying to be God, we miss the joy of being His created ones, watching Him work and living the adventure through Him. That's what I love about this book that I've been reading Wild at Heart. It's really about the adventure that God made us for as men and women, and to enjoy and experience Him as his creation, seeing Him at work in our lives and doing what it is He made us for. But we can't experience that when we're trying to be the ones in control and making everything happen by ourselves.

Click here to learn more about Steven Curtis Chapman at our music channel artist page for him. Also check out our music review of his latest album, Declaration. For sound clips, videos, tour dates, and more, check out this snazzy promotion for Steven via Sparrow Records. And finally, visit Musicforce.com to purchase your own copy of Declaration today!

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