Shane Barnard and Shane Everett surmised early in their music ministry as Shane & Shane that God had better words than they themselves.
“We didn’t really know what to sing, what to do, when we started, so much so that we were like, hey, I guess we’ll just sing the Bible,” Barnard said in advance of their latest release, “Worship in the Word.”
“Over the years we’ve just realized, man, I just don’t have a ton to say. He’s got a ton. I mean I can say things, but they’re not active and living. But I know something that is,” Barnard said, “and He’s proven that over and over again in our own lives, just by singing the Scripture.”
The new album, a collaboration of 10 new songs inspired by Scripture and produced by Barnard, released Jan. 28 and is accompanied by a streaming series that launched Jan. 25 on RightNow Media. Each RightNow Media episode features a song from the new release, related teaching, corporate worship and a question-and-answer session with children.
After two decades of ministry, “Worship in the Word” is considered the debut release of Shane & Shane’s Kingdom Kids initiative to provide resources for children and families. With seven daughters between them and no sons, women are the majority in each of their homes. They consider themselves in full-time women’s ministry.
“I have three daughters,” Everett said, “and he has four, and wives, so we just have a bunch of women in our lives.”
They consider their daughters, ages 5 to 13, to be at ages when not many ministry resources are designed for them. “There’s a handful of them that have given their lives to Christ, and it was a fun outlet for them to be a part of. They could minister with us.”
Scripture with humility
Barnard combines Scripture with humility in the duo’s “women’s ministry,” evangelizing by allowing his daughters and wife to see God’s grace, discipline and discipleship in his own life.
“I think He’s used my sin more than my awesomeness, because when God gives me the humility to go to them and go, ‘Daddy needs Jesus. I am so sorry. Will you forgive me for this or that?’ It just, I think over time, shows them that God is real,” Barnard said. “That I need Him. I haven’t graduated from the Gospel. It’s still my daily bread. It’s still the way that I move forward every day. God’s been kind enough to discipline me like a good father does, through that and His just abiding Holy Spirit.”
“Worship in the Word” is an extension of humility mixed with Scripture, seen in songs on the release including “Come and See,” taken from Psalm 66; “Your Ways,” taken from Isaiah 55; and “Yes and Amen,” from Ephesians 1.
Everett hopes children and adults learn and grow from the Kingdom Kids initiative.
“We’re all His kids, and so, I think we can all enjoy these songs,” Everett said. “As people watch and as parents and children are learning the truth of God’s Scripture, (I hope) that it would do what it has always done, and that is transform hearts by the Holy Spirit and His Word.
“Because we believe the word of God is powerful, active and doing stuff that we could never do. That’s our prayer for this project and in this record” Everett said. “Hopefully people will be reminded of all these great promises and truths from God’s word that He has for us as kids.”
Shane & Shane met while attending Texas A&M University. Together, they’ve released 40 scripturally rich albums and garnered more than 613 million streams, over 100 million YouTube views, and 2 million combined monthly listeners on Spotify and Apple Music.
They consider Colossians 3:16 their directive, as exemplified in last year’s release, “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Vol. 1,” which The Gospel Coalition named among the Best Christian Music of 2021.
Reprinted from Baptist Press (www.baptistpress.com), news service of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Share with others: