An Interview with Derek Webb

Derek Webb has long been a fixture in Christian music circles. In 2002 Derek Webb broke away as frontman for Caedmon’s Call and began a solo project. On October 17 Derek Webb gave a message at Central Bible Church. Before the message began I sat down with Derek Webb.

You are working on a new album, correct?

Derek: Yes, the album comes out in December, it’s called Mocking Bird.

Jonathan: Will it be as “well received” as your last two albums?

Derek: (laughter), well this next one is fairly political in nature. I am not sure it will be received any better. I have really been influenced.

Jonathan: The joining of Politics and the Church seems to be on your heart. What are your thoughts about church and politics?

Derek: “The Church, at least for the last four or five decades, has prepackaged, doctrine, theology, politics, sexuality, everything that a Christian is supposed to believe into a gift basket. And when you accept Christ and get baptized, you get handed this basket and told, here you go, we have already figured this out, just believe all these things and you will be fine.

Jonathan: Has the church been closely tied to politics?

Derek: The church has been married to a political party and has made it damn near impossible to follow Jesus.

Jonathan: Then how can the Church do politics?

Derek: With our two party system we are always having to choose one party or the other, whereas our politics should follow our morality and Jesus. If a Christian today wants to follow Jesus’ teachings in our political system, they will look like a river—running left, then right, then down the middle. A river runs all over the place. Christians vote all the time based on “Human Rights,” abortion and gay marriage. Yet if we are really going to believe in human rights that we also have to vote a particular way on the death penalty, the poor, the oppressed, the needy, the hungry, the elderly. Yet we seem to completely look the other direction when in comes to those other areas of human rights.

Jonathan: With all this talk about human rights, I feel as though consumerism ahs really hurt the contemporary Church. How do you be a musician and a Christian today and not feel guilty about have your ministry and your living funded by going out and performing concerts and selling CD’s?

Derek: That’s tough. It is just part of the society we live, and somethings I cannot help, but we are pretty careful to be part of record labels that are honoring and not involved in shenanigans or trying to make us sell out. We work really hard to allow our evangelism and our ministry to fall out of our worldview.

Jonathan: What are your thoughts about art in the church?

Derek: I think we have to be brutally honest that art in the church is horrible.

Jonathan: Why is that?

Derek: To be honest we have been told for years that unless there is a scripture or imagry of the cross, Jesus, Holy Spirit, or God that it is not Christian. But the real truth is that God created everything in this world, the earth, the sky, all creatures, plants, people, sex—he created them and therefore I can write a lyric or melody about all these things, and it can impact his church. You wanna see the heart of any movement or people, or group through history, look at their art.

Jonathan: Do you ever look in the mirror and feel you might be wrong or a heretic?

Derek: No, but that is because I am open to rebuke, if I am wrong then I want people to step forward and call that out. And with my music, somethings have offended people but they have not rebuked me.

Jonathan: Your thoughts on Politics and Art seem to resonate a lot of with the emergent people?

Derek: What is emergent?

Jonathan: The postmodern movement within the church. Grenz, Webber, Mclaren, those guys.

Derek: Oh yeah. I am always nervous of movements. I don’t know what I think about them yet. I have to appreciate the real freshness they bring, but I am always suspicious of movements. We will see where they go. Part of their charm right now is that they do not want to have a doctrinal statement and nail down beliefs. But these things sometimes turn into movements. We will just say that I am waiting to see what it turns into once these postmodern guys stop reacting to what they came out of and start being proactive to something new.

Jonathan: What is the book you are reading right now?

Derek: "Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community," by Wendell Berry

Jonathan: Where is your home?

Derek: Urban Nashville, Tennesee.

Jonathan: Who was integral in your faith?

Derek: These will sound cliché but probably Martin Luther King, Steve Earl, and Stan Hauerwas.

Jonathan: If you could leave a legacy what would it be?

Derek: I don’t know. Rich Mullens said something to this effect. The person who tries to leave a legacy leaves a legacy of ambition. So I don’t know.

Jonathan: What is your heart for the church?

Derek: I wish the church would not be afraid to be proactive instead of reactive. The church lives in such fear politically, culturally, and morally.