Looking for songs that speak the truth in striking ways

Interview with Rev. Kevin Twit, the founder of Indelible Grace Music

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Kevin Twit, RUF campus minister at Belmont University in Nashville, is the founder of Indelible Grace Music, a vital and inspiring project in the new hymns movement. Along with a group of young Nashville musicians and students he released four CDs of old hymns set to new tunes and modern folk-rock sounds: Indelible Grace, Pilgrim Days, For All the Saints, and recently Beams of Heaven. CCM-Rezis asked Kevin Twit to tell more about this hymns project ...

Monica Seidler: Kevin Twit, could you please give us an idea of the history and vision/mission of Indelible Grace Music?

Kevin Twit: It grew out of my love of old books and music and my work as a pastor with college students. People like James Ward and Scott Roley had given me the idea (both had done hymn re-writes), along with a few other folks in RUF [Reformed University Fellowship, note by the editor] circles who had done some hymn re-writes. I heard an RUF group from Auburn do a cd of some of the hymns we were doing in RUF circles and felt with my background as a recording engineer and the talented students we had in our group at the time (Sandra McCracken, Brian Moss, Matthew Smith, Katy Bowser etc) as well as other non-students folks hanging out with us (Matthew Jones, the Jars guys) that we could do a cd that would give people a good taste of what this music could be. As far as the "why" we are doing what we are doing I think the blurb I wrote on the 1st IG cd says it well.

Monica: Why the name "indelible grace"?

Kevin: It comes from a line from "A Debtor To Mercy Alone", a hymn by Toplady from our 1st cd: »My name from the palms of His hands / Eternity will not erase / Impressed on His heart it remains / In marks of indelible grace.«

Monica: Sandra McCracken mentioned in our interview lately that you (among others) introduced her to the truth and worth of old hymns. Did you always love hymns as you do now?

Kevin: No. I grew up in an Episcopal church singing hymns, and then was in different churches during my college years, some sang hymns and some didn't. My love for hymns grew during the 90s when through my collecting of old books I came upon a couple old hymnals, a 19th century Southern Presbyterian one and John Rippon's Collection (a famous early 19th century English Baptist collection.) I happened to read through these and in Rippon's collection found some amazing words attributed to Anne Steele, like "Dear Refuge" and wanted to sing those with my students. The hymnals had no music and so I needed to come up with some tunes to sing them.

Monica: Where do you look for those hymns and lyrics? I guess there are other criteria than just "old" ...

Kevin: I have hundreds of books on hymns and hymn collections now and am constantly on the lookout for good texts. Yes I look for ones that speak the truth in striking ways.

Monica: I'm amazed by the wide range of emotions and themes covered by these songs. They clearly speak of Jesus' blood, Satan, temptation, despair and sin and so ponder the cost of salvation, our righteousness in Christ, God's grace and love. They are not just happy-clappy praise choruses as often heard today. How do your students react to this? Are these hymns still near to their experience and belief?

Kevin: My students have really grown to love them because they are looking for songs that help them express the full range of emotions that come with the Christian life. They don't like watered-down songs in general.

»... I found myself falling in love with the old hymns and the idea of putting new (and very beautiful) music to them. The words are so profound and full of truth one can’t help but be broken. Singing hymns has seriously changed my life and freed me from feeling frustrated by surface lyrics that focus on how I feel about God, which is always changing. Hymns have allowed me to center my worship on the Gospel, which in turn compels me to love the God I am prone to hate and wander from.« (feedback of an RUF student, November 2002)

Monica: Do you meet reservations about your transforming beloved hymns into modern folk and rock sound?

Kevin: Some have objected that the musical style we use is not appropriate for public worship, but I think they are wrong and have a little paper about thoughts on musical style on our website to address these concerns.

Monica: How do you perform this songs? I read about a touring band ...

Kevin: We use these songs in our RUF meetings with pretty sparse instrumentation, usually just a couple guitars and maybe some hand percussion. I lead worship at churches occasionally and will use a few more instruments. Matthew Smith leads a regular touring band as well as doing solo house shows.

Monica: Is there a favorite song of yours in this project?

Kevin: I still love "Dear Refuge Of My Weary Soul." It's my favorite text, and I love the performance Sandra did on our first cd. I really love the performance Matthew Jones gave on "Thou Lovely Source", and I love the recording of "Lo, He Comes" on the 3rd cd. There are too many to list really. I listen to these cds all the time still, I really enjoy them all and they are all special because it is all my friends and current or former students taking part in them.

Monica: Kevin Twit, thank you so much for doing this interview with us!

For more information about Indelible Grace Music please visit www.igracemusic.com