“I feel like my mission and my goal is to help people experience God’s presence,” says Putnam. “I know if I can get people in his presence, they’ll change because that’s what happens when you experience God. Lives change.”
In his 13 years as worship leader, Putnam has seen the power music has to usher people into the presence of God and he wrote the songs on his new eOne Worship album, More and More LIVE!, expressly for that purpose. Through upbeat anthems such as “Dance” along with the energetic tune “Sing A Song” and the tender, poignant title track, “More and More,” Putnam worked with co-producer and longtime friend Israel Houghton to craft a modern worship album that provides a vehicle to reach the throne room.
“Having known BJ from the inception of his career, I am delighted and amazed to see this project come to light,” said Houghton. “Since he also is one of my favorite worship leaders and song writers I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the production team for this recording. It's powerful. The more you hear it, the more you will want to listen."
Putnam’s love for music and his heart for ministry were nurtured at an early age by his mother and father. “My parents have been ministers their whole life,” he says. “My dad went to Bible college right out of school and then entered right into ministry. Both of my parents are musical. My dad plays and sings and my mom sings. I remember them most of all not for preaching---which they did---but I remember them leading worship, so that’s something that’s been instilled in me since I was little.”
Putnam was born in Washington State, but his family moved around quite a bit with his father’s ministry. They lived in Idaho, Missouri, Oklahoma and later settled in Phoenix, the city Putnam still calls home. Despite their nomadic existence during his childhood, music and faith were a constant. “I’ve always been attracted to music,” Putnam says. “I started playing drums. That was my first instrument when I was about eight-years-old. I moved to bass guitar and then acoustic guitar and then really kind of honed in on piano for a while when I was about 14. Being around music growing up, I definitely got the bug.”
For Putnam his musical gifts and love for the Lord coalesced under the tutelage of Israel Houghton. “I had the privilege of sitting under Israel’s ministry early on. He always had great musicians, so that challenged me,” says Putnam. “It was great to watch and learn during those years. I learned how he connected songs together, how he engaged and interacted with the people, the whole art of leading worship.”
In 1999, Putnam’s father-in-law enlisted him to lead worship at his church in Phoenix. At the church, he saw his gift for writing songs that transcend mere entertainment to usher people into the presence of God serve as the catalyst to move people closer to their heavenly father. Putnam serves as the creative worship and arts pastor at the Church for the Nations in Phoenix, his home church of 13 years.
In writing songs for the new album, Putnam’s approach was simple. “It was to write what’s in my heart, keeping the church and corporate worship in mind,” he says of the album, which was recorded live at Church for the Nations in Phoenix. “I’m a part of a multi-cultural church. Many thousands of people meet every week in all of our campuses from all walks of life, all different age groups. There are 50 or 60 different nations represented in our church. So this album is guitar driven, but it’s still multi-cultural in its sound. As far as themes, we wanted to point people to God. Lyrically we wanted every song to be something vertical.”
On More and More LIVE!, Putnam fulfills the promise of his auspicious debut with a collection of powerful songs. “This album is a little more guitar driven with a bit of gospel flavor here and there, which is different for me. I guess that’s how it’s supposed to happen. You’re supposed to grow and mature with every record,” he says with a grin.
The album opens with “Dance,” a vibrant worship anthem with a potent lyric and a commanding groove. “That song started with a guitar riff that I had,” Putnam says of the song, which actually bookends the album, closing with a “Dance” remix by his DJ friend Kingston. “We wanted something kind of rockin’ to open up the record and it’s an invitation. Let’s get this thing going. It’s a good opener for any worship set. The verses talk about the good news that God loves us. He has a plan and a purpose. It says, ‘Everybody dance the dance of freedom. Shout the shout of joy. Come on and praise him. Get up and make some noise!’”
In addition to enlisting his old friend Israel Houghton to co-produce the project, much of the album was penned with Putnam’s longtime collaborator Doug Engquist and he also co-wrote with other well-known writers such as Jenny Lee Riddle. Among the many highlights on the project is “Beautiful Love” “The song is pointing to Jesus and talks about how he’s everything, the one who carried the cross and carries me,” Putnam says. “It’s kind of a nice picture of how Jesus carried everything on the cross for us and he also cares about every aspect and detail of our lives.”
Putnam is the first to admit his life is busy and blessed. He and his wife, Melody, have two young sons and are firmly rooted in their home church. He’s appreciative of God’s hand in his life and where he’s been planted. “God is looking for people to be faithful and help grow the Kingdom,” he says. “My biggest accomplishment is being rooted in my local church and helping to grow the body of Christ. I feel God’s stamp of approval like God is smiling on this season of my life.”
Beautiful Love
BJ Putnam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When my broken heart was healed
In the palm of your hand
And you swallowed death
Overwhelmed me with life
You made your blood
And my pain collide
You are the one, my everything
Now I run to you
Cause you are all I need
Beautiful love
You stretched out your arms and you broke
My fall
On that day when your love
Took my place on the cross
And you swallowed death
Overwhelmed me with life
Jesus you made your blood
And my pain collide
Beautiful love, you are my king
You are the one, my everything
Now I run to you
Cause you are all I need
Beautiful love
You're everything, you're all I need
The one who carried the cross
Carries me
You're everything oh, you're all I need
The one who carried the cross
Carries me, yeah, yeah
Beautiful love, you are my king
You are the one, my everything
Now I run to you
Cause you are all I need
Beautiful love.
The lyrics of BJ Putnam's song "Beautiful Love" depict a powerful message of faith and love. The song is a tribute to God's love and sacrifice for humanity. The following is an interpretation of the lyrics.
The first verse talks about how the singer's past was silenced at God's command, and his broken heart was healed in the palm of His hand. This refers to how God has the power to forgive and heal us. God is portrayed as someone who has swallowed death and overwhelmed the singer with life, referring to how Jesus died for our sins, and His resurrection gives us eternal life. The lyric "You made your blood and my pain collide" indicates that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was the turning point in the singer's life. It signifies that the pain of the past collided with the love of Christ, leading to a renewal of hope and healing.
The chorus describes God's love as beautiful and declares that He is the king and the one who is everything for the singer. The singer declares that he will run to God because He is all he needs. This is a testimony to God’s significance in the singer’s life. The second verse talks about how God stretched out His arms and broke our fall on the day when His love took our place on the cross. The lyric "the one who carried the cross, carries me" represents how the love that Jesus showed on the cross carries us throughout our lives, and it is a reminder that we have hope because of Christ's sacrifice.
Line by Line Meaning
My past was silenced, at your command
When I surrendered to you, you silenced my past and gave me a new beginning
When my broken heart was healed
You healed my broken heart and gave me hope
In the palm of your hand
You hold me close and protect me
And you swallowed death
You overcame death and defeated the enemy
Overwhelmed me with life
You gave me abundant life and joy
You made your blood
You sacrificed yourself for my salvation
And my pain collide
You took my pain and turned it into something beautiful
Beautiful love, you are my king
You are the ruler of my heart and my life
You are the one, my everything
You are the center of my world and my salvation
Now I run to you
I seek you above all else
Cause you are all I need
You satisfy my every need and desire
You stretched out your arms and you broke
You embraced me and shattered the chains that held me captive
My fall
You caught me when I stumbled and fell
On that day when your love
When you died on the cross for me
Took my place on the cross
You bore my sins and took the punishment I deserved
You're everything, you're all I need
You are my everything and I depend on you completely
The one who carried the cross
You carried the burden of my sin and shame
Carries me
You carry me through life's trials and difficulties
Beautiful love.
Your love is beautiful and I am forever grateful.
Writer(s): RobertPutnam Jr, Jenny Lee Riddle, Jordan Jones, Phil King
Contributed by Bailey F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.