Sold-out concerts. Gold records. Grammy and Dove Awards.
TobyMac knows a thing or two about success. He and the Diverse City Band serve up a unique blend of pop, rock, hip-hop and funk with powerful songs that strike a nerve in people of all ages. And their track record is impressive:
• Two million solo career units sold to date
• Three consecutive Gold records
• Multiple Grammy and Dove Awards
• A No. 6 ranking on Billboard's Top 200 with the release of "Tonight"
TobyMac launched his music career with dc Talk way back in 1988, and he went solo 13 years later. He released Momentum in 2001and then followed up with three more amazing top-sellers: Welcome to Diverse City in 2004, Portable Sounds in 2007, and his biggest seller to date--Tonight, which landed in music stores last February.
No doubt, TobyMac has established himself as one of Christian music's most innovative and influential artists. Yet even though this singer-songwriter proves that hard work, persistence and patience pay off . . . TobyMac says it's the eternal stuff that happens through his music that truly defines his success.
"I still believe that a song can penetrate a heart," he explains.
"I believe God can use lyrics to open someone's mind and heart. Other tunes can drop what I call 'the joy bomb' on somebody.
"I fight really hard to [avoid being jaded]," he continues, "to keep believing that you can actually walk into a studio and write a song that breathes life. That's the hardest fight for a guy who's been doing this for a while; it's easy to fall into the trap of just making it your job. But I still believe that songs matter."
SUSIE Magazine recently interviewed TobyMac during a break from his hectic touring schedule. He sat on a breezy patio at his Franklin, Tenn., home and soaked in some Southern rays as we fired away with questions. Somewhere during our conversation, he diverted a couple of key thoughts right back to the Sisterhood: "Do SUSIE readers know who is driving their dreams? Are they allowing God to drop the 'joy bomb' through their lives?"
And then he stressed something we've heard him say through the years: "It doesn't matter if you're a recording artist or a student, an adult or a teen, popular or shy . . . God wants to use you."
Great stuff, but exactly how do we get our spiritual lives in tune with Jesus? Glad you asked, because TobyMac has lots of answers! He insists that it all comes down to an intimate connection with God . . . which is the ultimate connection. And it involves five "Forever Truths" that have changed his life. (Maybe they can guide your walk, too.)
FOREVER TRUTH NO 1:
"We all need God . . . right now, this morning, this afternoon-TONIGHT! And we need to seek Him first."
TobyMac says he strives to connect with Christ and to "live" Him every minute of every day--not only through his art and when he performs on stage but in his private moments as well. And he works hard to make Jesus the first Person he talks to . . . not the last.
"When I first began my music career, God laid a prayer on my heart," TobyMac says. "It wasn't that I would rock the world. It wasn't that I'd win millions of people to Christ through music. It wasn't any of those things. It was this simple prayer: 'God, I know things are going to happen. I don't know what they're going to be, but I ask that You just surround me with the kind of people I need. Give me friends and family and partners who will hold me accountable; who will love me and who I can love back. Let us serve you together.' God has been so amazing. And beyond any success in my life, God has been true to that prayer."
It's TobyMac's yearning to make God the foundation of his life that's at the core of his current title cut, "Tonight." In the song, he focuses on getting close to God in the moments he is given. (Check out the lyrics at metrolyrics.com.)
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SOURCE: Susie Magazine - Michael Ross
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