CCM: You referenced “Hey Devil,” a dynamite track featuring The Clark Sisters. Lyrically, it is so bold and straightforward. Hell and the devil have become taboo subjects in my generation of Christians. Was this at all a thoughtful response to that?
CeCe: I’ve never been ashamed of who I am or what I stand for. I believe in the whole Bible, the part that talks about heaven and the part that talks about hell. We are missing the fear of God—not to be afraid of Him, but to be reverent of Him, to really understand who He is.

I remember as a kid, they taught on hell enough for me to say, “I don’t want to go there.” I got saved. It worked for me as a kid and as a teenager, but it wasn’t until later that I found out about the love of God. As I began to walk with the Lord, I understood that it’s the love of God that keeps you and it’s the fear of God that disciplines your life so you have the desire to please Him.

It’s been nine years [since my last record] and, boy, have things changed. I was excited about coming back bold. Yeah, I want to get their attention with great music, but let them continue to sing these lyrics over and over again, and understand Your power and Your love and Your grace and Your mercy and the authority that we have in You.

CeCe Winans, CCM Magazine - image
CCM: Is some of this boldness in your lyrics and message coming from the time you have spent over the past several years in ministry with your husband in your local congregation?
CeCe: It could be. I hope, the older I get, I become wiser. When we realized the Lord wanted us to start a church, we thought, “You’ve got to be kidding.” We’ve made church real complicated, and church is pretty simple—it’s loving God, loving people, and making disciples.

CLICK “4” TO ADVANCE

Leave a Reply