Grammy-winning artist Mac Powell is known for creative lyrics with catchy titles, but he says his newest album strips things down to a simpler message, reflecting where he stands in the third decade of his singing career. The singer, who gained popularity in the band Third Day with such songs as Soul on Fire and Cry Out to Jesus, has a new solo album titled simply I Love Jesus and a new single, Good News. It is Powell's second solo project, following 2021's New Creation.
"I've been doing this for a long time. And through the years, as a creative person, you try to come up with new, clever ways to say things and present our faith in a way that you try to put in a package that people find acceptable and hopefully beautiful," Powell told Crosswalk Headlines. "But at the same time, sometimes we get caught so much up in trying to do those things and be creative that we lose the power of the simplicity of the message. For me, it's just really coming back to that. What do I want to say from the very beginning? And it's 'I Love Jesus.' There's a great Scripture that says, 'We love Him because He first loved us.'"
Powell co-founded the group that became Third Day in the 1990s and watched it rise to the top of the CCM genre, selling more than 10 million albums as it won four Grammys and 24 Dove Awards. After Third Day said goodbye to fans with its 2018 farewell tour, Powell launched a solo career with such radio hits as New Creation and River of Life.
Thanks to his longevity in the industry, fans of multiple generations travel to his shows.
"You've got grandparents and parents and kids," said Powell, who is currently on tour. "... It's amazing to me how parents will bring their kids to the shows now -- and the kids know me from New Creation and my first solo album. They have no idea what Third Day is."
Meanwhile, Powell is an artist in residency at the Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Ga., where Michael Youssef pastors. His position allows him to help lead worship when he's not traveling.
"It's the first time in my career that I've been able to really connect with a church and not just show up on a Sunday," he said. "And I love the people there. It's an amazing place."
Powell said he hopes his music helps Christians grow in their faith.
"In John 10, Jesus said, 'I've come to this world to give you life and to give it to you abundantly.' And I think too often we as people of faith miss out on 'more' because we're selfish and we try to hold on to our own dreams and our own goals," he said. "And I did that for a long time. And in that, you really miss out on what real life is. And that's for me, as a believer, that's who He is, and that's what He offers us. And so a lot of times, even in Christian music, people say, 'Well, you're just preaching to the choir.' Well, I was in the choir, and I needed preaching to. And so I think it's good to encourage one another.
"Eternity doesn't start when our bodies die. It starts right here, right now. And so I just don't want people to miss out on it like I did for so long -- the abundance of life and love and hope and all the great things that Jesus has for us."
WATCH: Mac Powell - Good News (Official Visualizer Video) | Mac Powell
Photo Credit: ©Instagram/macpowell
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.