Pat Barrett: The "Good, Good Father" man now recording for Chris Tomlin's label

Wednesday 8th August 2018

Jonathan Bellamy spoke to worship leader PAT BARRETT about his life in music



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Pat: Yeah, it really is like hey, we have a plan here but we're not sticking to it as much as it's kind of a good starting place. There have been times where someone else in the room had a message. They felt like God had given them a message so they would just call it out. There have been times when we've lingered in moments and someone had a song. When you gather together everyone brings a word, a hymn, an exhortation. That part of it is really important. It also gets a little crazy at times. If you are there just to watch and see something impressive you'll be really disappointed. But if you're there to participate in the type of communion that God showed us was possible with him and with each other I think it does something to your soul.

Jonathan: You've been doing Housefires for how many years?

Pat: It's been going on for about five or six years and it's still going on and there's a solo record that's happening as well.

Jonathan: Were you expecting "Good, Good Father" to take off like it did?

Pat: I was not. No. There was never even a thought to that degree. That anyone heard it outside of our own community to me is just shocking, and humbling. Even now, to hear stories of how far the song has been able to reach, it just never gets old to me. I'm amazed at how something that started so personal could impact so many people outside of yourself. That just blows my mind.

Jonathan: How did it happen? How did Chris Tomlin get to hear it? Because he picked it up, didn't he?

Pat: Yeah, he did. His wife heard it, somewhere someone was leading it at a conference and she sent it to Chris and said hey, I think you need to listen to this song, I think you'd like it. So after Chris heard it he reached out to me and said hey, man, I've heard the song, would you be open to me recording it? For me, Chris has been a hugely influential voice as far as a worship leader and a songwriter. He's got plenty of songs but to hear him say I'd really love to do this song, would you be willing to come into the studio and be a part of it. He was really gracious and being inclusive with us about how the song was going to be recorded which was awesome.

Jonathan: Tell us a bit about how you see God taking yours and Chris' relation forward. We see different people seem to connect for quite a while, people like Matt Redman, Chris Stanfield, the Passion guys, and stuff like that. They seem to go on a worship journey for quite a period of time. You seem to have connected with Chris a bit through that song; now you're on his label and you're releasing your solo album. Is there a sense that God's connecting the two of you together for a season?

Pat: Yeah, there's definitely that sense. What's amazing to me is I never even had a thought in my mind when "Good, Good Father" was happening that I'd do a solo record. It was not in my five-year plan; it was not some calculated decision by any means. It was my wife who suggested the idea and at first I was reluctant, and I didn't have any desire in my heart to do that. Eventually God used that seed that she'd planted and it really grew in my heart and I thought wow, I think I'm supposed to do this. It's amazing what God does as you step out in faith: the provision. And I don't mean just financial. I mean relational. He gives you what you need. I think that's what I felt. When I knew it was time to do the solo record, I had no idea how I was going to do it and God continued to bring the relationships into my life that felt like the ones that were going to help with the next step. With Chris, the mentorship and the friendship, I really look forward to the way God's not just going to use that for music but to even shape my life personally. I want to grow in the way I minister to people and I hope that years from now I'm a better father and better husband since the fork in the road that's happened and the path that I've taken.

Jonathan: On the EP I love the song "Build My Life", which you've had for a little while. That's become a very popular song too, hasn't it? Tell me about that song.

Pat: I think I love that song because it forces me to look down. That's kind of funny when you think about worship music, you always sing about lifting your eyes and looking up. But I love songs that challenge us to look at what our feet are standing on. I hope that our worship songs impact our real normal, practical lives; it's not just us staring into the sky. I hope our worship affects the way we trust God with our money, affects the way we love our spouses. So I love that song because it's always a reminder to check your feet. What am I putting my trust in? What am I standing on? For me, it's been one of those songs that have helped reset my posture at times. I love that it was on the Housefires record and I love that it's on the solo record as well because I so connect to that song. I think I'm going to be singing it for a long time, just because I need it for myself.

Jonathan: How good do you think you are at losing your life in order to allow God to build it?

Pat: Oh, on my best days I'm not that great at it. But I also feel simultaneously, again, growing up in the church, you can often use all the Bible verses you've heard, it's just clichés or just little lines of encouragement that don't have a real life impact. Now I'm finding those verses to be more true and more relevant in my life than ever before. It's one thing to believe Jesus is the way, the truth and the life when you don't have a mortgage and you're not married and you don't have kids. To believe that at a different time in life where there's more on the line, there's more pressure, more demanded of you, it's amazing how some of those things you overlook become more important. I've found that faith is as much walking through the next door as it is letting go of the last thing. Change is one of the things that for me is really tough. I have a song on the record called "Into Faith I Go"; the chorus is "To the ups and downs, the highs and lows/The taking in, the letting go." I think the letting go is often really difficult for me. But that's part of the journey as well, you know.

Jonathan: Let me just ask you a final question. There's that Scripture where Paul says I've learnt the secret of being content whether I'm abased or I'm abounding. In many ways, with "Good, Good Father" you've really abounded. What are the pressures connected to abounding, in terms of you going forward with that huge success already there?

Pat: I've thought about that a lot. I don't even know why I did this but early on I made the decision that I wasn't going to put pressure on myself to worry or be anxious about things that I couldn't control. What I mean by that is with any song that you write you can't control whether someone likes it or wants to share it or it connects with them. Those are the things that are outside of your own grasp and worrying and being concerned about those things don't bear good fruit. I become a more anxious person; you tend to get a little more insecure when that's the reality you're most focussed on. So I decided to put pressure on different places. I put a healthy pressure on myself to be present with my wife and my kids. I put healthy pressure on myself to continue to write and put out songs that stir vulnerability and transparency but also songs that I had personally connected with and had brought me faith and hope in life. So I put the pressure there and outside of that I've decided that the pressure to succeed in things I can't control is something I wasn't ever intended to carry in the first place. I just kind of leave that where it is. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Jonathan Bellamy
Jonathan BellamyJonathan Bellamy is the CEO of Cross Rhythms. He presents the daily City Drive radio programme and is married to Heather.


 
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Reader Comments

Posted by Lorraine in Scotland @ 05:23 on Oct 26 2018

Good father what an amazing song, breaks me every time, I know Father God loves me but to proclaim that, I suppose I don't really feel worthy of His love and I know when I can sing it out joyfully instead of being broken that I will have matured in Christ another bit. Love this song so much that we played it at our wedding, so thank you so very much for stepping out and sharing this awesome song 😍



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