The Catholic Ministry Team is featuring individuals and groups who are taking the lead in the “New Evangelization.” These individuals have excelled in their particular field at finding new and relevant ways to bring others closer to Christ. In this feature, the Catholic Ministry Team has the pleasure of interviewing singer and worship leader, Matt Maher, who is touring the country on the heels of his recently released album, “All the People Said Amen.” We caught up with him before he played at St. Rose of Lima in Newtown, Connecticut on December 18, 2013.
Matt Maher got his start leading worship at St. Timothy’s Parish in Mesa, Arizona. Born in Newfoundland, Canada, he moved to Arizona where he began leading worship at St. Timothy’s before releasing his first album, “The End and the Beginning,” in 2001. He then released five albums before his latest album, “All the People Said Amen,” which was released in 2013. “All the People Said Amen” was released in April of 2013 and reached fifth on the US Christian charts.
One of the keys to Matt Maher’s success has been a significant touring schedule. Over the years he has given live performances across the United States, at multiple World Youth Days, and at various locations all over the world. In doing so he’s been able to share his music with people of all ages and at all stages in the walk of faith. When asked about how he is able to handle such a schedule, Maher said that his preparation for shows and worship services starts with prayer. “Hopefully you are having a pretty consistent, normal prayer life. So I do not necessarily try and do anything different then if I am hanging out with my kids or my wife,” Maher, a two-time Grammy Nominee, commented. By incorporating his prayer life with his live performances, Maher seeks to allow God to speak through him to each particular audience. “I think I definitely try and be open after years of doing it, particularly on the speaking side of things. I try and be open, if God is giving me a sense of something different to say.” Rather than speak to audiences with the same stories and lead-ins to his songs, in concert Maher is developing, “a sense of how to listen,” which he stated, “prompts my heart to move a different way.”
Maher’s song writing has evolved with the events that have taken place in his life. “I got married and I had a kid,” Maher said. ”So I would say your vocation brings you into fulfillment of who you are as a person. So I would say those two things have had a huge impact. You know your vocation forces you to grow up in a lot of ways. And it’s the romantic notion of what it is and there is the reality of serving another person or serving a community. In that the rubber kind of hits the road. So I think I hopefully matured over the years as a person and that would get reflected in my song writing as well.”
Speaking on evangelization, Maher noted the difficulty of being a faithful Catholic in the world, and how Pope Francis is providing a vision on how to engage others. He noted, “I do think Pope Francis is setting a really great vision in terms of learning how to re-engage with people. Not falling back on the tendency to retreat. It is hard being a faithful Catholic in the world and there is a probably tendency of thinking there is strength in numbers and strength in my youth group. I feel like he is trying to encourage us to figure out a new way to re-engage people that we don’t necessarily see eye to eye with all the time.”
In 2013, Matt Maher had the opportunity to lead worship with the Pope and over three million young people at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Yet, despite the presence of millions, his focus remained on Jesus, “Well I didn’t really feel like I was playing for the pope. I felt like I was playing and the pope happened to be there. In some ways because it was adoration I was just playing for Jesus. It just happened between me and Jesus was the pope. But there is a couple million people behind you but I couldn’t see them, so the whole time I heard God saying, ‘Hey man, you have done this one hundred times before, in terms of adoration, so there is really no difference.”
Along with his job and life on the road, Maher makes time for his wife, Kristen, and his two children. He uses his time at home to spend quality time with them and tries not to be distracted by anything else. “What I would say is life isn’t about balance. It is more about seasons. So it is about learning. There are going to be seasons of life where as a family you are totally stretched beyond capacity. Then there are going to be times where you get a break. So with the touring and the family part, what I learned is what my wife and I are trying to do is when I am home being truly present. And not try and be too distracted by technology and other stuff. And really focus on being present with my family,” Maher said.
Matt Maher is an inspiration to Catholics of all walks of life. His music helps others pray in a deeper way and his example serves to show what authentic living as a faithful artist, husband, and father is.
“All the People Said Amen” can be purchased on itunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-maher/id4041264
For more information on Matt Maher, and when you can see him in concert next check out his website: http://www.mattmahermusic.com/
For more information on The Catholic Ministry Team “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catholicministryteam; follow us on Twitter at @catholicminteam; or checkout our website at www.catholicministryteam.com.
Matt Maher got his start leading worship at St. Timothy’s Parish in Mesa, Arizona. Born in Newfoundland, Canada, he moved to Arizona where he began leading worship at St. Timothy’s before releasing his first album, “The End and the Beginning,” in 2001. He then released five albums before his latest album, “All the People Said Amen,” which was released in 2013. “All the People Said Amen” was released in April of 2013 and reached fifth on the US Christian charts.
One of the keys to Matt Maher’s success has been a significant touring schedule. Over the years he has given live performances across the United States, at multiple World Youth Days, and at various locations all over the world. In doing so he’s been able to share his music with people of all ages and at all stages in the walk of faith. When asked about how he is able to handle such a schedule, Maher said that his preparation for shows and worship services starts with prayer. “Hopefully you are having a pretty consistent, normal prayer life. So I do not necessarily try and do anything different then if I am hanging out with my kids or my wife,” Maher, a two-time Grammy Nominee, commented. By incorporating his prayer life with his live performances, Maher seeks to allow God to speak through him to each particular audience. “I think I definitely try and be open after years of doing it, particularly on the speaking side of things. I try and be open, if God is giving me a sense of something different to say.” Rather than speak to audiences with the same stories and lead-ins to his songs, in concert Maher is developing, “a sense of how to listen,” which he stated, “prompts my heart to move a different way.”
Maher’s song writing has evolved with the events that have taken place in his life. “I got married and I had a kid,” Maher said. ”So I would say your vocation brings you into fulfillment of who you are as a person. So I would say those two things have had a huge impact. You know your vocation forces you to grow up in a lot of ways. And it’s the romantic notion of what it is and there is the reality of serving another person or serving a community. In that the rubber kind of hits the road. So I think I hopefully matured over the years as a person and that would get reflected in my song writing as well.”
Speaking on evangelization, Maher noted the difficulty of being a faithful Catholic in the world, and how Pope Francis is providing a vision on how to engage others. He noted, “I do think Pope Francis is setting a really great vision in terms of learning how to re-engage with people. Not falling back on the tendency to retreat. It is hard being a faithful Catholic in the world and there is a probably tendency of thinking there is strength in numbers and strength in my youth group. I feel like he is trying to encourage us to figure out a new way to re-engage people that we don’t necessarily see eye to eye with all the time.”
In 2013, Matt Maher had the opportunity to lead worship with the Pope and over three million young people at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Yet, despite the presence of millions, his focus remained on Jesus, “Well I didn’t really feel like I was playing for the pope. I felt like I was playing and the pope happened to be there. In some ways because it was adoration I was just playing for Jesus. It just happened between me and Jesus was the pope. But there is a couple million people behind you but I couldn’t see them, so the whole time I heard God saying, ‘Hey man, you have done this one hundred times before, in terms of adoration, so there is really no difference.”
Along with his job and life on the road, Maher makes time for his wife, Kristen, and his two children. He uses his time at home to spend quality time with them and tries not to be distracted by anything else. “What I would say is life isn’t about balance. It is more about seasons. So it is about learning. There are going to be seasons of life where as a family you are totally stretched beyond capacity. Then there are going to be times where you get a break. So with the touring and the family part, what I learned is what my wife and I are trying to do is when I am home being truly present. And not try and be too distracted by technology and other stuff. And really focus on being present with my family,” Maher said.
Matt Maher is an inspiration to Catholics of all walks of life. His music helps others pray in a deeper way and his example serves to show what authentic living as a faithful artist, husband, and father is.
“All the People Said Amen” can be purchased on itunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/matt-maher/id4041264
For more information on Matt Maher, and when you can see him in concert next check out his website: http://www.mattmahermusic.com/
For more information on The Catholic Ministry Team “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catholicministryteam; follow us on Twitter at @catholicminteam; or checkout our website at www.catholicministryteam.com.