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If you’d asked Israel Houghton in 2004, before his debut project Live from Another Level catapulted him into the spotlight, ‘What is your definition of success?’ it’s likely he would’ve given you the title of his August 31 release: Love God, Love People.

 

That much hasn’t changed.
What has changed is the size of Houghton’s platform. With three GRAMMYs, six Dove Awards, two Stellars and a Soul Train Award, performances on the MTV Music Awards, the GRAMMY Awards and screen time on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, BET and more, Israel Houghton is one of those rare artists who transcends cultural and musical barriers. He’s traveled the world, performed before hundreds of thousands who speak a different language, and made it his mission to do more than make music.

gmclife.com caught up with Israel just before the new album’s release to talk about what real strength looks like, what keeps him grounded and the shoulders he’s standing on to make the music he’s making today.

gmclife.com: So… the GRAMMY…Is that as good as it gets in terms of career highlights? If not, what has been the highlight of your music ministry/career thus far?

Houghton: That’s a tough one. Obviously, when you’re 16 years old and you’re practicing guitar in your room day and night, you always think ‘How cool would it be to get a Grammy?!’ Every aspiring musician dreams of that. As much as winning though, performing on the 50th GRAMMY Awards in 2008 with Aretha Franklin and BeBe Winans, and then winning a GRAMMY that year for Deeper Level, from the standpoint of accomplishment, that would have to be the highlight.
But more than winning awards, to me, longevity is the highlight. Just being around this long, still making music that connects with people. I mean, this could easily go another 20 years, and I hope it does.

gmclife.com: Does the GRAMMY add weight or release weight when preparing new material for a new record? Does it make you expect more of yourself, or is that never part of the process?

Houghton: The GRAMMY [factor] really isn’t part of the process. For Deeper Level to win in the category it won in was a total shock. That was our second one, so it brought validation to the first one. We felt this sense of, ‘Okay, so the first one wasn’t a fluke!’ We’ve been able to connect with our peers, you know.
But with Power of One, from the beginning, it felt like an epic record, big and bold, with a different approach. It was technically my first solo record, and we were just so happy to be nominated. But [winning] doesn’t play into the process at all. It never even enters the equation.

gmclife.com: What does the process look like for you…choosing songs, choosing players, where to record, etc.

Houghton: We don’t do records for awards. We do records to connect with people. I always approach it with, ‘Let’s just do the best job we can possibly do with these songs.’
As strange as it may seem, when we went to Abbey Road, we knew exactly which songs we were going to do. The 12 we came away with in our writing sessions were what we recorded. This one was pretty laser pointed in terms of what we wanted to say.

gmclife.com: This CD seems to drill down on the theme of Power of One and talk about what that power looks like: Love and the power it has to change people. You travel all over the world and are involved in CompassionArt. Why do you think such simple concepts like ‘love your neighbor’ and ‘help the poor’ and ‘walk humbly with your God’ are difficult for us humans to ‘get’?

Houghton: It’s because for over 25 years in the Western evangelical church, the emphasis has been on, ‘What’s in it for me?’ And  ‘Let’s get blessed!’ with a very small emphasis on the fact that we’re ‘blessed to be a blessing.’ Many times, the inspiration for my songs comes from sermons I’ve heard, from that buzz of ‘Hey it’s a new season, God wants to prosper you…’ But I think at some point, I started asking questions like ‘What’s all this for? What’s the end game for?’ That whole ‘we’re Christians and we’re blessed’ never sat right with me.
If the church is as blessed as we are, then our strength is for service, not status. We’re here to serve, not to be served. That’s a real mind blower. And it flies in the face of the American dream.
Romans 15, in The Message, says, “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status…
We’ve been empowered to serve others, not to be entitled. This record has returned to a simplistic message: “What’s in your hand? Use that and give it away.”