Michael and Steven, welcome. How are you guys doing?
Michael: Jim, thank you. And it’s good to be here with the one and only, Steven Curtis Chapman.
Steven: And of course to be here with Michael W. Smith is — well, words really can’t express. I’m Speechless.
Hey. Wait. No pun intended.
[Laughter]
Well, this is going be good.
[Laughter]
Michael, let’s start with you. How are you doing?
Michael: A New Hallelujah came out in October. I’m pretty excited about that record we did in Lakewood. The DVD comes out very, very soon. Pretty excited about that as well.
Any time you do a live event and that recording comes to life, you’re pretty happy about that. It’s not always a guarantee.
It’s hard to believe I’m still doing it and loving it and having a great time. I’m feeling rejuvenated and probably more positive and more optimistic about life in the days ahead than I ever have felt.
And family?
The joy of my life; my five children are not little kids anymore. Much like Steven. Whoa. You know kids getting married it’s like, Wow.
Steven: Yeah, what’s up with that?
Michael: You know, going to the weddings and it’s like, Goodnight, what happened?
Michael: And then I have two grandchildren, which is another level of joy that you’ve heard about all your life but you never know until they start coming along. Audrey is 22 months old and Whitaker is a little over four months old.
Deb is amazing. She’s a rock. We’ve been married 27 years
I’m excited about the (Spring 2009) United Tour. We had a great fall and here we go into the Spring tour.
And, Steven, what’s new in your life?
Steven: First of all, let me take this opportunity to say again, thank you to those who have lifted us up, walked with us, loved on us from very close in and from very great distances. All over the world people have carried us and prayed for us and loved us. So thank you so much for that. It’s meant so much to hear stories of people saying, Man, I heard the news on radio and pulled my car over, prayed for you that night, and have ever since.
I know all of that is part of why I’m sitting here doing this interview today…. My family and I are healing in amazing ways. God is faithful. There’s so much I could say. All the stuff Michael and I have been singing about all these years, it’s all true. It’s all real.
Steven, it’s good to hear how you and your family are healing. I know I speak for a long list of concerned family and friends who’ve been praying for you as I have and my wife and ministry have. It’s great to get an update.
Steven: Thank you.
Alright, well, let’s go to the main reason that we’re here and that’s to talk about your upcoming United Tour: Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman team up again for the Spring leg of the United Tour kicking off March 28th. You’ll hit 24 cities. This is a follow-up to your sold out fall tour in 2008. How did this tour come about?
Michael: We got tired of talking about it.
[LAUGHS]Steven: [LAUGHS] Come on. We gonna do this thing or what?
Michael: I think it’s the whole line up of the planets and it has to be the right time and whose record comes out. There’s so many facets of trying to pull something off like It was the right time. Ultimately, this was God’s timing.
So what can we expect from you guys? Any surprises?
Michael: Well, wow, obviously you want a lot to be a surprise. I think people are intrigued that we’re doing something together, first and foremost. I think the fun part will be when we get to sing each other’s songs.
This is very unifying on stage. You know this is not about somebody opening and somebody closing. It really does feel like we’re working together. I know my heart and I know Steven feels this way too, that there’s something real pure about what’s going on up there. I don’t even think we have to say a thing. I think people will see that and I think that speaks loud.
Well, guys, again I really appreciate you taking time out today.
Michael: Thank you.
Steven: Thank you.
Michael: Thank you everybody. Can’t wait.
Steven: We’re very excited. Thank you.
Michael: We appreciate your support. We’re all in this thing together. One day on the other side we’ll see the lives changed — all because they heard a song on the radio — because you guys played it.
Guys, thanks again.
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Jim Mueller
Jim is the founder, with wife, Sheri, of Growthtrac Ministries as well as Program Director of GrowthtracRadio and the architect behind marriagetrac.com. Jim holds a B.S. in business management and is a facilitator for PREPARE/ENRICH, the most widely used customized couple assessment tool. He has authored numerous articles, interviewed leading relationship experts, and Christian artists, and has contributed to Dr. Les Parrott’s book, The Complete Guide to Marriage Mentoring. Jim has worked for more than 15 years to help premarital couples and married couples build and maintain healthy relationships.
