Interview with Artist Sam Middlebrook
I met Sam through our blog. Someone posted a link to a message he gave on worship. And then some of you suggested we invite him to the arts conference. After that Sam & I started talking through email and by phone. Two great things have come out of that … First, I am thrilled to announce that Sam is joining our faculty at this year’s conference, Wonder. Second, I have gained a new friend. I enjoy Sam’s genuineness and his devotion to follow God. I also enjoy his sense of humor.Get to know Sam … you will be glad.
If you had to describe your artistry in one word, what would it be? Simple. I'm not flashy, I'm not into making things perfect, but I am into keeping things simple and accessible.
How did you develop a love for your craft?Songwriting became a priority for me about 12 years ago, when I started to write out of a need to feel the nearness of God in my life. Amidst a time of struggle, I couldn't find anyone out there with words or lyrics that felt as broken, busted, and worn out as my heart was. Not being able to find anything, I started to write. The more I wrote, the more I realized the need to write original worship music. I think I fell in love with songwriting for worship the first time I heard one of my songs being done in a different language by a church full of people I've never met, and yet God was connecting our common journey that was once separated by language, distance, and culture through a very simple song about God being our strength when we need it.
What inspires you? Well, there's the obvious answer that we would all give – Charlie Hall's goatee. Beyond that, though, I would say that I am inspired by seeing people in worship ministry become more of who they already are in Christ. I have a deep passion for developing worship leaders, and I am daily inspired by the community I'm a part of at DevelopingWorship.com. I'm inspired by my kids' laughter, my wife's amazing smile, by my senior pastor's sermons, and by a guy named Thomas Wilson who cleans bathrooms at my home church, but does it with the kind of joy that makes the rest of us look bad. I'm inspired by the art of others, most especially when the art is meant to evoke an act of worship from me or from the local church.
Describe your ‘creative process’. 
Well, based on my previous answer, it has to start with Charlie Hall's goatee. Seriously, though, my process is a mystery that baffles and frustrates me to no end. There are times where it feels like a song is directly downloaded to my heart, soul, mind, ears, and hands, and it comes together instantly. There are other times where (to quote Tommy Walker) songwriting is spelled W-O-R-K. Overall, I think my process is more of a collection of inspired moments than it is a sequenced, calculated formula. I use voice recorders, iSight, the back of Thai food receipts, and the palm of my hands as places to stash away lyrics when the ideas come. The harder part - the more disciplined part - is in taking those ideas and humbly asking God to help me shape those words into a song that is true, simple, and accessible. My litmus test is with my sons. They are 6 and 4, and if they can sing it back to me after the first time they hear it, then I know I'm onto a good, accessible “hook”!
What is a common mistake you notice during the creative process? I think of three things right away... First, there's the idea that “my first idea is the one God gave me, and no one can touch it, change it, or add to it”. That's just selfishness and pride masked with churchy language. The second common mistake I notice is in thinking that an idea is “garbage”. I try to keep all my ideas in a file on my laptop, because I never know when they're going to be needed. The last thing I think of is that so many ideas good are squashed because they were shared with people outside of the creative process too soon in that process. If I share a lyric-in-progress with someone who isn't a songwriter or isn't a creator of art, and I share it too soon, while I'm still attaching myself to the value and worth of it, I can be easily discouraged not only about the lyric or idea, but about my own creative value as well.
What are you learning these days? The longer I do this thing called worship ministry, the more I see the need for us as a group of artists in the church to speak the truth in love. In the last ten years or so, we've done amazingly well at the “love” side of things. I think we can do better as a community of artists at coupling that message of love with the absolute truth of Jesus. I want to sing, hear, learn, and write more songs about Jesus. I want to see more depictions of the truth of Jesus in film, paint, sculpture, media, dance, and other art. I'm learning that that world needs the truth of Jesus as much as it needs His love.
How would you encourage artists/teachers, like yourself, who serve the church? The Lord rejoices to see even the smallest of beginnings. They happen in songwriting journals, on blank canvases, in filming sessions, on dance studio floors, behind mixing desks and computer stations, in classrooms, forums, blogs, and even Twitter updates. They happen in the morning, over lunch, late at night, and sometimes even in your dreams. My encouragement to you is keep putting your art out there because the world needs it - and it starts with the beginning note, the first syllable, the first motion, and can be found in even the smallest of ideas. Whatever “your thing” is – study it, be inspired by it, and keep working at it.
What are you looking forward to at this year’s arts conference, Wonder? Besides Charlie's goatee? Getting to be in a room full of creative-minded people and praising our God together. Some of the most impacting worship moments I've had in my life have been sitting in the main auditorium during a main session and hearing the roar of God's people shouting His praise. It's the kind of excitement you can only get from a large group of church artists, who, for the first time in who knows how long, don't have to be the ones leading. I'm looking forward to meeting new artists, making new connections, and renewing some old ones. More than all of these, though, I'm most looking forward to that one thing – we all have it – that one thing we take away from a breakout, a main session, or even a hallway conversation that challenges us, inspires us, and gets us lost in the WONDER and mystery of our journey in ministry.