A few months ago, while doing a cover story for the Christian Voice Magazine on the Compassionart project headed by Delirious frontman Martin Smith, I had a chance to chat with worship leader Paul Baloche, who took part in the retreat in Scotland where a dozen artists gathered to write songs to benefit the needy.
The discussion this week about worship and commerce and the church reminded me that Paul had some great insight into the topic. He's perhaps one of the most humble artists I've ever talked to, and yet you sing some of his songs every week in your church.
Here are some excerpts from my interview; the words in italics and brackets are my summary of the questions I asked or clarifications of his answers (since this is just an excerpt of a very long interview). The rest are his words.