{"id":20401,"date":"2022-08-22T10:01:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T14:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=20401"},"modified":"2022-08-22T10:01:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T14:01:47","slug":"tobymac-releases-first-album-since-sons-tragic-death-god-was-good-on-his-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/08\/tobymac-releases-first-album-since-sons-tragic-death-god-was-good-on-his-word.html","title":{"rendered":"TobyMac Releases First Album Since Son’s Tragic Death: “God Was Good on His Word”"},"content":{"rendered":"

TobyMac, the Christian artist, who released his first album since the tragic 2019 death of his son, Truett McKeehan, knows the depths of human despair. He\u2019s known best for his upbeat, cheerful songs from\u00a0Move<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0The Elements<\/em>, yet after his son\u2019s death, he wasn\u2019t sure if he could write another one.<\/p>\n

Days after the tragedy, he wrote\u00a021 Years,<\/em>\u00a0a tribute to his son. Weeks later, he and his daughter Marlee wrote\u00a0Everything About You<\/em>, another song that looked back fondly on Truett\u2019s life. He wrote two more,\u00a0Faithfully<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Promised Land<\/em>, that alluded to the peace God had brought him during his mourning. None of them had the up-tempo rhythm that helped make Toby Mac famous.<\/p>\n

The singer, a fixture for decades in the Christian music world, has long inspired fans with his music, but he has been on his journey to seek peace and restoration after losing Truett, who died of an accidental overdose at the age of 21.<\/p>\n

TobyMac\u2019s new album, \u201cLife after Death,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0was released on Aug. 19. He shared a statement with CBN\u2019s Faithwire about how he navigated pain, processed loss, and emerged with a music collection that is both cathartic and sure to inspire his followers. TobyMac said, \u201cAs I started working on the songs that make up the \u2018Life after Death\u2019 project, I had no idea where this dark valley would take me. I\u2019ve always written songs from my own experiences. My life. The good, the bad, and the ugly of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TobyMac\"<\/a>
Photo: TobyMac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Losing his son was a harrowing experience, different from anything he had previously faced. Despite writing songs to honor his son and process his pain, he asked, \u201cHow will my family get through this?\u201d<\/p>\n

As the months progressed, TobyMac explained how his heart was broken and how he continued processing his pain through music. He began to wonder whether he would forever make music from his pain rather than from triumphs. At one point, TobyMac thought he would never write another upbeat song again because it wasn\u2019t in him anymore.<\/p>\n

But the singer suddenly encountered a Scripture proclaiming, \u201cGod is rolling up His sleeves.\u201d The verse, found in Psalm 98:1-2, helped transform TobyMac\u2019s perspective. It reads, \u201cSing to God a brand-new song. He\u2019s made a world of wonders! He rolled up His sleeves; He set things right. God made history with salvation; He showed the world what He could do.\u201d <\/em>After reading that verse, TobyMac said it started taking root in his soul.<\/p>\n

Then something incredible happened: he wrote the song \u201cHelp Is on the Way\u201d a few nights after finding that verse \u2014 an upbeat tune. What TobyMac thought was impossible was suddenly a reality, and he did it much quicker than usual. \u201cI looked up after the smoke cleared, and I had written an up-tempo song; it felt almost miraculous\u2026 because I did something I thought I would never do again,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t joyful. It was more brewing and intense. But it wasn\u2019t a ballad. It wasn\u2019t sad. There was hope in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That scriptural discovery, though, didn\u2019t just spark a musical breakthrough; it was also an infusion of hope.\u201cI actually began to believe that help\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0on the way. That God is rolling of His sleeves on \u2018my\u2019 behalf,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t just write a song; I actually began to believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cGod was good on His word. He came to me in the valley, and He showed me that He\u2019s good, that He\u2019s kind.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TobyMac, the Christian artist, who released his first album since the tragic 2019 death of his son, Truett McKeehan, knows the depths of human despair. He\u2019s known best for his upbeat, cheerful songs from\u00a0Move\u00a0to\u00a0The Elements, yet after his son\u2019s death, he wasn\u2019t sure if he could write another one. Days after the tragedy, he wrote\u00a021…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":20407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3383,8],"tags":[5263],"class_list":["post-20401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-celebrity","category-music","tag-tobymac"],"yoast_head":"\nTobyMac Releases First Album Since Son's Tragic Death: "God Was Good on His Word"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After losing his son in 2019, TobyMac thought he would never write an upbeat song again. 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However, he found a Bible verse that gave him hope.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/08\/tobymac-releases-first-album-since-sons-tragic-death-god-was-good-on-his-word.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Idol Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-08-22T14:01:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2022\/08\/TobyMac_.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"754\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"545\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lauren McKeithen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TobyMac Releases First Album Since Son's Tragic Death: \"God Was Good on His Word\"","description":"After losing his son in 2019, TobyMac thought he would never write an upbeat song again. 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