Catchin' Up With Carman

Teens Channel writer Scott Tuggle recently interviewed pop Christian singer Carman.



Scott: Why do you do what you do?

Carman: Whatever a person does is a reflection of their heart and what they believe. By doing what I do, because of my faith in Jesus Christ, I can hopefully be a light in somebody else's darkness.

Scott: Would you consider your ministry your job or your life?

Carman: First of all, I would consider it my life, because it is a life type of decision to go into the ministry. After that, there is a job that is associated with it.

Scott: You have been in the music industry for quite a while. How have you seen the music change over the course of your career?

Carman: The production, writing, artistry, and sonics have definitely improved. The distribution has also gotten much better, as far as where you can find Christian music. I can only see it moving in a positive direction.

Scott: Do you believe that it has been a good transition?

Carman: Yeah, I mean, you can get picky about anything, but whatever is in peoples hearts will come out in their art. Whatever that particular Christian artist wants to say, you can tell what is in their heart by either the songs they choose or the songs they write. So, you just have a wider array and variety of songs to pick from now.

Scott: Your new CD, The Heart of a Champion, came out not to long ago. Does this CD have a new sound?

Carman: Well, it has six new songs on it, and it has 24 greatest hits. The six new songs definitely have a new sound.



Scott: You have also stepped into a whole new genre in regard to your acting role. Tell me about that.

Carman: It is very exciting and challenging, because it is a whole new field with new artistic endeavors. It's like starting all over again, literally. A few areas of performance apply, but primarily it is a whole different art form. It is exciting to be able to take something to the silver screen that has a Christian message to it.

Scott: Is this something you have always wanted to do, or was it something that just happened?

Carman: This is something that I have always wanted to do, but I just decided that now I had the time to go out, work on it, and make it happen.

Scott: What are some of the struggles you have had in your career, and how did you overcome them?

Carman: I think the No. 1 struggle is always being misunderstood by people in the Christian music industry. Ive never really had too much trouble being understood by the body of Christ or the Church as a whole. Once they listen to a CD or go to a concert, it's a no-brainer -- they can see what I'm doing. But, when people assume what you are doing, without investigating, they come up with other opinions, and those opinions usually follow in criticism. I think it is almost always people who don't understand what is going on that criticize the most, and it is usually people who do what you do.

Scott: What is the overarching goal of "Carman Ministries" in both your music and now in your movie?

Carman: While different areas have different workings to them, the No. 1 goal is to preach the gospel to all ends of the earth in every way you can. Music is different from film, because music is, according to Scripture, an instrument of praise and worship unto God; music is never used as a tool of evangelism in the Bible. There is no such thing as musical evangelism in the Bible. Evangelists evangelize, and musicians play music that will invoke the presence of God. So, primarily through the music industry I want to make music that is pleasing to the Lord, because if it pleases the Lord it will bless the body. If it blesses the body it will reach into the nooks and crannies of our communities, and people will start bringing their friends, and that opens up the chance to evangelize. The concerts actually work very well with an altar call to salvation, much like a Billy Graham crusade. Movies are a little different; people go to movies to see a story of someone's life as opposed to going and hearing someone specifically preach a message. You have to weave into the story of someone's life the message of their life. This tends to be more of a seed-planting time, whereas the music is more of a time to water and reap.

Scott: I noticed on your Web site you have a place to send in prayer requests. Do you actually pray over all of those?

Carman: It would be impossible to pray over every single one individually; I would never be able to leave the house. But we do pass them around to everybody in the office. We have organized prayer chains, and we pray each morning. So, while we don't pray for all of them specifically, they all get prayed over.

Scott: What is the future of Carman Ministries?

Carman: The primary future is in film and secondarily in music.