God of Death to Life

I wrote this song a number of years ago after hearing a sermon delivered by my dear friend Taylor. In his message, Taylor told the incredible story of his youth minister, Dave.

Ministry had never been on Dave’s radar. The guy had been star quarterback, married the head cheerleader, life was nothing but sunny days for his first 20+ years of life. Then came the diagnosis, which was followed by the amputation of his leg, which was followed by the news that the amputation was not enough, that the cancer had spread and was now terminal. In a state of deep depression, Dave reached out to a local minister named Todd, who happens to also be Taylor’s dad. Todd’s response to Dave? “Well, our church needs a youth minister. Want to spend your remaining years of life serving the youth of this area?”

Hiring a youth minister with terminal cancer meant that the youth group immediately started praying and—as Taylor remembers—praying specifically for healing. But despite their earnest and many prayers, the cancer continued to spread and eventually took Dave’s life. As young teenagers, Taylor said they couldn’t help but wonder why their prayers didn’t work. They wrestled for the first time with questions of their own mortality and why such bad things happen in the first place. Where was God? Why didn’t He heal Dave?

In the midst of their questioning, God did something remarkable. As Dave’s funeral began, the church noticed far more than its own members filling the pews. Students and old high school friends and people Dave had been spending time with outside of church showed up in droves. Turns out, Dave was so inspired by his opportunity to serve God that he went far beyond his efforts at church and was building relationships throughout the city. The service that night ended with dozens of people giving their life to Christ for the first time. The church showed up for a funeral and experienced a revival, one that spread through the city and reverberates to this very day.

In the aftermath of Dave’s untimely death, scores of men and women have found new life.

Taylor said something to affect that the God we worship is a God of death-to-life. It is often in ways we are not able to anticipate and wouldn’t think to ask for, but God always brings life out of even our darkest moments and hardest experiences. As I said, it is an incredible story and I especially loved that phrase—“God of death-to-life.” I remember thinking, “Hmm. There’s a song there.”

I have attempted to record this song 3 or 4 different times through the years but have failed every time. And because of those repeated failures, honestly, I had come to accept that this song would likely remain forever on the shelf.

Thankfully, a former student of mine named Collin graciously agreed to help me dust it off and give it another go. I am a fan of Collin’s music; he is an extremely gifted producer. I called in another former student, Stephen Hester, to sing lead vocals. Stephen’s voice is one that makes me jealous. Listen to the song and you’ll understand why! His tone, his control, it’s just gorgeous. Stephen and Collin helped me capture the song better than I could have ever imagined.

The song is a prayer. And the prayer is for God to remind us that as difficult and dark as our circumstances may be that nothing is beyond Him, nothing is beyond a God capable of bringing life even out of death.

Credits

Words & Music: Bill Wolf
Produced: Collin Brummette
Vocals: Stephen Hester