The Blessing
by Kelly Sheads

“The desire is there because God put it there, but God has to carry out those desires the way He wants to. It’s always better… it’s always exceedingly and abundantly better than what we could come up with on our own. We usually try to fill in the blanks for God and that always gets us in trouble.” – John Waller, worship leader/songwriter

Sometimes things happen in our lives that may not seem like blessings, but later we realize how important they were in getting us where we need to be. John Waller has experienced this firsthand.

As a young man, Waller was lead singer and primary songwriter for the Christian band According To John. After seven years of following his heart for music and coming close to finally having that “big break,” the group disbanded after their record label went under. Seeing this lifelong dream crumble before his eyes, Waller decided it was time to move on, and stopped writing songs altogether. For some, this would be the end of the story, but actually it was only the beginning. God had bigger plans.

“That’s when I got a call from my friend, Pastor Mark Davenport, who started SouthLink Free Methodist Church in Colorado,” says Waller backstage, as he prepares for an evening concert. “He heard I was no longer with According To John, so he asked if I’d be willing to sign on as his worship pastor and plant a church with him; so I did.” Leaving his roots in Georgia, Waller was ready for fresh scenery. “It was awesome because it really gave my family a new start. The first year, we hardly knew anybody as we were planting the church and growing. My wife and I grew closer than we’ve ever been.”

As things started to take off at SouthLink, Waller began writing songs again for the church. “We were doing these songs every week. Then [the church] started asking for these songs and really wanted me to record them,” he explains. “They insisted on it being a church project.” As a result, the people of SouthLink raised more than $50,000 in just four weeks, allowing Waller to record a CD they could then give to visitors. Seeing how much people not only enjoyed his music, but believed in its message enough to see it reach others, Waller sensed God calling him once again to share his songs with a wider audience.

One particular song on the CD Waller had recorded for SouthLink has had a special impact on getting him where he is today. A friend of Waller’s knew Mark Hall (lead singer for Casting Crowns) and asked if he would sing on a song called “The Blessing.” “[Mark] really liked According To John back in the day, so he agreed to do it,” says Waller. After the project was finished, Hall sent it on to the head of Beach Street Records, which led to Waller’s eventual signing with the record label.

Reflecting on his journey as an artist, Waller says, “God had given me a desire and a gift, but I was trying to build something my own way — through trying to manipulate circumstances to see the outcome that I wanted to have happen. I’ve learned that you just have to let God do His thing. You have to follow Him or else you’re just going to be miserable.”

Waller is currently touring with Casting Crowns and Leeland, reaching thousands of people a night with His music’s message. His first single, “The Blessing” is still hitting the airwaves and continues to be the theme song for Waller’s ministry as an artist. “I wrote ‘The Blessing’ because I think we have a real plague of people speaking negative words over their children, ourselves — speaking things that are contrary to the Word of God and believing them. The Bible says, ‘You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free’ (John 8:32), but if what you know is a lie, you won’t be free. You’ll be in bondage. I just felt that there needed to be a song declaring that I choose to speak blessing and to be a blessing and declare blessing the same way the fathers, the Jewish patriarchs, did in the Bible.”

This conviction to speak blessings over people stems from Waller’s personal experience. When he was 12 years old, his mother told him he had bipolar disorder, a condition that has plagued their family for generations. “I just believed it and that became my reality,” admits Waller. “God really completely freed me from that about four years ago. Four years … completely free from medication and mood swings,” he says. “It’s been good.” Knowing that the spoken word can greatly impact a person, Waller is determined to bring God’s truth to life through song. “My mission is, through my songs, to put the Word of God in people’s mouths so that what they’re declaring and singing is the truth and that truth becomes a reality, period.”

John Waller’s story is proof that the most challenging times in our lives may in fact have the greatest impact on bringing us to where we need to be. “Being a part of the SouthLink Free Methodist Church, Rocky Mountain Conference, was one of the best times of my life. I learned more and grew more being a part of that group of people than I ever have. I know that I am who I am because of that season of my life.” Looking back, Waller can now see how God used his circumstances to bring glory and honor to His name.

John Waller may consider himself blessed to know that God would use him to reach so many people with the message of truth and hope. However, if you are one of those people whose life has been changed by his story — and as a result have come to know the freedom truth can bring — that’s the true blessing.

To learn more about John Waller’s ministry and to purchase his debut CD, “The Blessing,” visit www.johnwallermusic.com.

*Special thanks to John Waller for taking time to share his story and heart for God’s people to know His truth.

To read even more of Light & Life’s exclusive interview with John Waller, click on the question/question sets below. Each question set has multiple corresponding follow up questions.

Editor’s Note: Here’s a partial transcript of Light & Life’s exclusive interview with John Waller, conducted by Kelly Sheads in late 2007 when The Altar and the Door tour came to Ft. Wayne, IN.

Question set 1: How has the tour been going so far; when did it start?

Question set 2: Can you give a background of how you came from According To John to where you are now?

Question set 3: I’ve read the story about how the church, SouthLink, funded your record. Can you talk a little about that?

Question set 4: Can you talk about your first single “The Blessing” and just describe what it’s about, why you wrote it?

Question set 5: When you look back on this journey that God’s taken you through from According To John to where you are now, what stands out to you? What lessons have you learned?

Question 6: You’re now a worship leader in Georgia. What church is it?

Question 7: You have another tour going on in the spring. After that, anything else coming up?

Question 8: Anything else you might want to add?