{"id":554,"date":"2017-06-21T00:19:42","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T00:19:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/Fruits\/?page_id=554"},"modified":"2020-11-10T04:39:24","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T04:39:24","slug":"matthew-west","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/matthew-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew West: Stories Help with True Identities"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Diane Howard, Ph.D.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Matthew West<\/strong> is a four-time GRAMMY\u00ae nominee, a\u00a0multiple-ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter\/Artist of the Year<\/em> winner and Dove Award<\/em> recipient. He was awarded an American Music Award<\/em> (2013), a Billboard Music Award<\/em> (Top Christian Artist, 2014), a K-LOVE Fan Award<\/em> (2016), and named Billboard\u2019s Hot Christian Songwriter of the Year<\/em> (2016).\u00a0Further, he received a Primetime Emmy\u00ae Award<\/em> nomination for original music and lyrics for \u201cThe Heart of Christmas\u201d for the film of the same name. \u00a0He grapples with significant issues in his work.<\/p>\n

In addition to his own recording career, he has co-hosted the K-LOVE Fan Awards<\/em> twice. Further, he has more than 130 songwriting credits to his name, including cuts by Rascal Flatts, Scotty McCreery, Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, and Mandisa, among others.\u00a0Selling more than 1.6 million albums to date (TEA), West\u2019s\u00a0discography includes acclaimed releases such as the following: \u201cLive Forever\u201d <\/em>(2015), GRAMMY-nominated\u00a0Into The Light<\/em>\u00a0(2012),\u00a0\u201cThe Story of Your Life<\/em>\u00a0(2010),\u201d\u00a0\u201cSomething to Say\u00a0<\/em>(2008),\u201d\u00a0\u201c<\/em>History<\/em>\u00a0(2005)\u201d and\u00a0\u201cHappy<\/em>\u00a0(2003).\u201d He will\u00a0release a\u00a0holiday album this season, titled\u00a0\u201cUnto Us: A\u00a0Christmas Collection<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the road year-round, he has headlined many of his own tours, for example the Live Forever Tour which ran through Fall 2015. First joining WinterJam tours in 2013, he also co-headlined the 2016 WinterJam Tour\u00a0Spectacular<\/em>, which was the No. 1 tour in the world. He then joined the tour again this past November as he headlined WinterJam West Coast<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Matthew West is well known for communicating stories through song. Having received thousands of stories from around the world, his\u00a0latest studio album,\u00a0Live Forever<\/em>,\u00a0continues that storytelling theme and\u00a0debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Sales Chart. He has had numerous No. 1 singles, most recently with \u201cGrace Wins.\u201d He has had a record-setting No. 1 for 17 straight weeks at radio with \u201cHello, My Name Is\u201d<\/em> and \u201cThe Motions\u201d<\/em> for 15 weeks. Furthermore, West has written four books to date:\u00a0\u201cGive This Christmas Away,\u201d\u00a0\u201cThe Story Of Your Life,\u201d \u201cForgiveness<\/em>,\u201d and\u00a0\u201cToday Is Day One.\u201d <\/em>His latest book, \u201cHello My Name Is,\u201d\u00a0<\/em>has recently been released. <\/em>Matthew is passionate about providing hope and healing through the power of prayer and story. With his father, Pastor Joe West, he founded popwe, a non-profit ministry to help others craft, share, and live more meaningful lives. In his music and books, Matthew West addresses important issues of our time.<\/p>\n

\n

Here’s my exclusive interview with Matthew:<\/em><\/p>\n

DH: Why have you been fascinated with stories?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW:\u00a0 <\/strong>As a kid I was fascinated with stories. I used to hear people in my dad\u2019s recovery group in his church tell their real, honest stories, as they \u201cboasted in their weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n

DH: Why do you think stories matter?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW:\u00a0 <\/strong>People\u2019s stories matter, because they help and empower others who receive them.<\/p>\n

DH: Why do you think our Lord Jesus Christ told stories?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>Our Lord told stories that every man and women could relate to. He met them where they were and they asked them to come and follow Him.<\/p>\n

DH: What do you think makes an engaging story?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>People want to put out a \u201chighlight reel\u201d of their lives and hide the rest; but stories that are real, honest, authentic and not pretentious are the most powerful for others to receive.<\/p>\n

DH: Why do you think people struggle to find their identity?<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>We are all living different lives, but we are all engaged in finding our true identities. It is very easy to believe lies about ourselves rather than the truth.<\/p>\n

DH: How can we all find our true identities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>Just as it is important to strengthen our core in our bodies, it is important to strengthen our spiritual core. We do that by spending time with God and in His scripture. It we don\u2019t do that, it is very easy to be knocked over.<\/p>\n

DH: How would you describe your own personal identity?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>Finding my true identity is an ongoing journey. I have learned that God loves me regardless of how I perform. His love doesn’t change.<\/p>\n

DH: What is the importance of prayer in finding our true identities?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>Prayer is important. To strengthen our spiritual core, we need to take time to listen to God and to hear Him speak. Through prayer and His Word, we need to\u00a0 look into His mirror to understand what He thinks of us, to allow Him to search our hearts, and to hear what He says needs changing.<\/p>\n

DH: What is the danger of having a false identity?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: \u00a0<\/strong>We live misguided lives, going in the wrong direction towards the wrong finish line.<\/p>\n

DH: Where are ideas of false identity coming from?<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

MW:\u00a0 <\/strong>They are coming from all over: damaging words; voices of the past; mistakes; the world\u2019s pressures and more. This is why we need to strengthen our inner spiritual core daily.<\/p>\n

DH: What do you hope readers will gain from this book?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MW: <\/strong>\u00a0My goal is to encourage others to think about their name tags. What I think my name tag is affects the direction of my life. Having a true name tag and identity is a game changer that affects my motivations.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a>After collecting so many stories from so many different people, Matthew learned an important truth\u2014every person has a difficult journey to discover their true, God-given identity. He says to his audiences that even if they are not sure who they are or who they will become, he wants to help them discover their true identities and how to best fit into this world and also to understand that they are not alone. \u00a0Throughout his travels, Matthew has collected thousands of stories from around the world from people dealing with this very issue. Well known for communicating these stories through song, he continues his storytelling theme in his new book,\u201cHello, My Name Is.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Throughout the book, Matthew takes the stories he has collected over the years to inspire readers to reconnect with their own best selves. His hope is that they will understand their identity isn\u2019t found within, but through the Savior, Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

As Matthew explains, \u201cThe Bible describes Satan as the \u2018father of lies.\u2019 And the father of lies would love for nothing more than to get you to believe a lie about yourself. He knows that if you take ownership of a false identity, before long, that false identity will own you<\/em>. And the more time you spend being owned by a false identity, the further away you fall from discovering the power and the freedom and the hope that is waiting to be tapped into when you take hold of the truth of who God says you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day is coming when all of the name tags we\u2019ve accumulated, all the false identities we\u2019ve owned, all the lies of the enemy we\u2019ve had a hard time shaking\u2014will fall to the ground once and for all as we stand before the Lord,\u201d says Matthew. \u201cNone of it will matter anymore, because our true names will be known by Him and spoken by Him.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Diane Howard, Ph.D. Matthew West is a four-time GRAMMY\u00ae nominee, a\u00a0multiple-ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter\/Artist of the Year winner and Dove Award recipient. He was awarded an American Music Award (2013), a Billboard Music Award (Top Christian Artist, 2014), a K-LOVE Fan Award (2016), and named Billboard\u2019s Hot Christian Songwriter of the Year (2016).\u00a0Further, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-554","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":568,"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/554\/revisions\/568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fruitinthedesert.com\/NewFruits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}