SONG STORIES: Now We Know You
In some ways, the story of this song begins way back in 1977, as our Dad would say ‘’just before the fossils were formed’’’.
At that point Phil, or Phozza (as we affectionately call the man God chose to be our human father) was in the process of being drawn to God by the Holy Spirit and becoming a born again, Bible believing, Church being.
God used John 8:31-36 from His awesome book to speak to ol’ Phoz - that portion reads: “31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
As the Holy Spirit does when God’s word is preached, these words lodged in Phozza’s heart and mind, playing over and over like a song you want to keep on hearing, particularly the phrase “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. The Fijian Indian minster who was preaching at the time, explained that God’s word IS truth and Jesus as the word made flesh IS the truth!
Being a person who, despite his hedonistic, sinful and irreverent lifestyle at the time, liked to check things out for himself, Phozza decided that a crucial part of his search for truth and true freedom required reading the Bible for himself.
Fast forward to 40 plus years later, our Dad Phozza is very much living in that freedom Jesus promises.
Dad is what we call the ‘’Damager’’ – yes, he’s our Dad/Manager - DAMAGER.
Following the pattern and model we find in David’s tabernacle, we are a collaborative family unit with a threefold expression of mission, ministry and master-craftsmanship. One of Phil’s roles in the band’s overall creative endeavor is lyrics, both co-writing and helping to ensure all lyrics are Biblically faithful.
Dad’s also a seasoned networker. In fact God used him to make a connection with” the man we call our “number one US FAN”: Mr David Haley. They connected here in Nashville and then David moved to Detroit, where he’s been based for the last couple of years. David’s been working away to fulfill God’s calling on his life to share the love of God with the people of Detroit, and through all of it, David has continued to let us know of his conviction that we could help to have some serious gospel impact in the city!
One of the possibilities David has raised with us, is to have us play at Spirit Plaza in the heart of downtown Detroit. This plaza features a giant statue known as “Spirit Man” with an inscription behind him which reads “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty”
The scripture this inscription is quoting is the very scripture that leads into our Church’s God given keynote scripture 2 Corinthians 3:18! As we were praying about the Spirit Plaza possibility, the Holy Spirit spoke to us about writing a song that captured the heart of the liberty these scriptures refer to! He also encouraged us to use that song as a catalyst for drawing peoples attention to our vision and mission, along with establishing a robust Detroit connection .
We did what is common in our song writing process: Phoz drafted up some lyric gist which included references to the the essence of both his conversion experience all those years ago and the Spirit plaza inscription. We took these lyrics to prayer in what we call a “Spirit of Prophecy” session. Esther Melody with the aid of the Holy Spirit created the melody and arrangement, and Mr Producer - Caleb took it to his studio and voila here it now is for your listening pleasure!