Behind the Songs: More Than Broken

One of the reoccurring themes throughout Snapshots of the Shattered Soul is the theme of brokenness. My goal was to write lyrics that met people where they were. I didn’t want to write songs about the way things should be. Instead, I set out to write about real life – songs that could reach into the lives of both Christians and non-Christians alike.

We are all imperfect and broken people. There is something wrong with every one of us. To begin, we are all sinners and blemished before a perfect and holy God. In addition, we all have issues that hinder us in one way or another. Some of us are defeated by the destructive voices inside our own heads. Some of us are losing a fight with addiction. Some of us are crying out for love, yet are looking in all the wrong places. For some of us, pride is killing our relationship with God and with others. Some of us secretly despise our own looks or personality.

Lost In The Wreckage
Throughout the years, I’ve questioned the idea that God personally cares about me. Even though the Bible resounds with evidence of God’s love, I’ve at times believed that God has abandoned or forgotten me. An example of this was in 2011 when I lost my job as worship pastor and was without full time work for over five months. As a guy, this was extremely frustrating and humbling. The longing to provide for my family ran deep within my veins, yet that desire remained unfulfilled. My pregnant (and incredibly supportive) wife was working part time while I was desperately searching for work. Audio-for-video production jobs were scarce in Columbus, OH. Most jobs in this field were concentrated in Los Angeles or New York. However, we preferred not move too far away from our family with a little baby on the way (but we knew we might have to). On the flip side, it was tough to get an “average” job because I was over qualified. As an example, I had no retail experience and very little warehouse experience. Even though I could easily be trained for some of these jobs, I’ve had no experience so that made me a lesser candidate. At times, I was able to make some extra money through freelance staging work or live sound work. However, freelance jobs tended to be few and far between in the wintertime.

My two years of experience working as a worship pastor brought many challenges, and after losing my job, I wondered whether I could ever bring myself to work in a church again (unless God somehow changed my heart)....

Read more in Marc's book Snapshots of the Shattered Soul: The Stories Behind the Songs. Click here for more info.