Myron Butler
Known for his cutting edge sound, worship leader and gospel artist Myron Butler is once again ready to shake up his audience, but this time with something that he's never done before.
Returning with his fourth album, Worship, Butler is doing just that. Prompted by strong conviction, this album reveals a different side of the artist. Along with a new sound, the also album involved a stretch of his faith.
In this exclusive interview, Myron Butler talks about the record, helping up-and-coming artists, breaks down worship and its expression in the believer's day-to-day life.
Like us on Facebook
BC: Worship your new album, is different from your previous works. What influenced you to do a purely worship album this time around?
Butler: Its something that God had instructed me to do some time ago but to be completely honest, I was a little apprehensive about it. You know, I was like 'God, what You have had us already do with Set Me Free and Stronger revealed those that are kind of cutting edge and high energy and all that.' So, to go to the opposite end of the spectrum and do a worship project, you know, I was like ' Ok God. I'm just going to be obedient.' So for me, that's really where the [songs] came from.
We know that you're a worship leader at The Potter's House. With so many riffs and runs in gospel at times, do you ever find it difficult to find singable songs for your congregation and did that kind of play into the decision for this album?
Butler: Yes and completely yes. You know, a lot of times, I explain that in our worship services, more times than not, the music is so intricate, and you know, musically and vocally that the congregation, all they can do is spectate. They really can't participate in the worship service. In worship, God is the only spectator so the music shouldn't be so unreachable that all the audience can do is watch and admire.
So for me, it was doing music that we can do on Sunday mornings and you can sing in your personal time of meditation but music that's still interesting. I don't think that singable music isn't interesting but I think, you know, what's paramount is that the worship service is something that's collective between those in the platform and those in the audience.
One song that many love is 'Bless the Lord' and we understand that you reached out to an up-and-coming writer for this song, Fred Cleveland, out of Washington, DC. What made you decide to give this new writer a chance for your project?
Butler: Well that's also something that I – that's a promise or a vow that I made to God when I first started because I started out as a song writer. And I understand that as a new song writer, what you have a lot of is songs. What you don't have a lot of is opportunities or outlets to share those songs. So I said God, I don't know how large or how small the platform is that you'll going to ultimately give me but that platform I want to use to help up-and-coming, those along side of me, those that are coming behind me and Fred is actually a part of a group called Brandon Camphor and One Way.
And maybe about 5 or 6 years ago, I was on a panel for GMA and basically it was a panel where the registrants would bring their songs and we would kind of critique the songs and give them constructive criticism. Brandon was a part of that. So Brandon and his group, they do a worship series every month up in the DC, Maryland area and I was looking at it on Youtube and at the end of the service, they started playing this 'Bless The Lord' song and it captivated me just because of the simplicity, the heart of the song, and ultimately, its singing the scriptures. And so that, a combination of both of those things, I had to do the song.
So I reached out to him and said, 'Hey Fred, I would love to do the song,' and the rest is history.
'Blessed The Lord' has received so much positive feedback but what song on the album would you say resonates with you the most? The song that you keep on replay?
Butler: The whole album (he laughs). I would say, probably, one song that we decided to include from the previous record Revealed would be 'Speak Into The Atmosphere.' Just that song is another powerful song that wherever I go and minister the song, I see the effects of the lyrical content of the song on people's lives, as well as my own. I think that just as a body of believers, more times than not we don't speak the thing that God has told us to or things that God has spoken to our spirits, we don't resound those things on the earth.
So for me, its all about opening up my mouth and declaring what God has said.
At BC, we always like to take it back so that viewers and listeners can get a fuller spectrum of your ministry. We see you as an awesome worship leader but we always like to ask, what's your conversion story? How and when did you come to Christ?
Butler: My conversion started very young. I was saved or dedicated my life to the Lord at a very young age. I want to say at about 7 cause I was in church, active in church, playing for the Sunday school, directing the Sunshine choir and all of that but I think it was around college. At the end of high school, the beginning of college that I really came into the understanding of what relationship is, what a relationship with the Lord looks like and is. So I think that for me, that was the time when I really came into the knowledge of, hey, I need to have an active relationship with the Lord on a daily basis, on a consistent basis.
When you're in college, you're trying to find yourself, you're trying to, you know, make your mark on the world and all of that but it was really around that time, when I was in Atlanta, at Morehouse that I really understood and came to embrace and actively pursue my relationship with the Lord. But conversion, dedicated my life to the Lord, it came at a very young age.
What are you hoping that listeners will ultimately take away from Worship?
Butler: What I really want listeners to take away from this worship record is that worship is not just confined to church. Worship is not just confined to a song. A lot of people believe that worship is a slow song but worship is an active part of you declaring – I tell people, not to give a bible study, but worship comes from the greek word that deals with worth, you know, the value and we should throughout our lives and every aspect of our lives express what God is worth to us, how much do we value him.
So I want people – I want this project to really provoke people to just engage in worship in every aspect of their lives, not just when their listening to the record, not just when their playing their favorite song but that it would prompt them, whenever they're at work or at school, or wherever to really engage in an active relationship with the Lord.
Lastly, what is your favorite scripture?
Butler: Psalm 91. 'He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.'
