Join Chrysandra Brunson and Mac Powell as they unravel the mesmerizing journey of faith and dreams. Mac Powell, the illustrious lead singer of Third Day, shares how following his God-given dreams has shaped his career and life. With a humble heart and unwavering faith, Mac recounts the blessings and challenges faced along the way, serving as an inspiration to dreamers everywhere.
Welcome, everyone, to The Calling’s radio show to all the dreamers. I’m your host, Chrysandra Brunson, founder and CEO of The Calling. It is such an honor to be with all of you today. You know, The Calling is a nonprofit headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with an international reach that understands people are abandoning their dreams because they are afraid to fail. And that’s just plain wrong, because God has given each one of us a dream, and if we’re not living it out daily, We are wasting it. So the calling loves to inspire, empower, and equip people of all ages to live out their God-given dreams through lots of custom programs, but especially through this radio program with the one and only Mac Powell. We’re so excited to have you, Mac.
MAC POWELL :
Thanks so much for having me. I love that that intro because I am a dreamer and I try to encourage people to dream and to follow their dreams. And so, yeah, thanks for what you’re doing.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, well, I’m so glad that you identify with that right away. Because a lot of people, you know, they hear that name. And I think it’s because you almost have to have that child likeness to really understand it. But Jesus wants us to be able to be his dreamers and to really harness every moment of every day and to make the most out of it. And you are a perfect example of one living out their calling and God’s dreamer. And Matt, I think everyone would probably know, but just in case they may not, you are number one, God’s child and an amazing husband and father, as well as the lead singer of Third Day. And now have your own band of just that. pal. And that is just so exciting. What would you add to that?
MAC POWELL :
No, well, yeah, yeah. Author, producer, director. No.
CHRYSANDRA :
Hey, I can see it coming.
MAC POWELL :
Yeah. When you say, say, uh, of all those things that you listed, you know, father and husband, uh, that’s really the most important titles for me. Uh, I’ve been married. Amy and I just celebrated, uh, last month we celebrated 26 years of marriage. I’m very, very, congratulations yeah thanks very thankful for her patience and her love and grace and we have five beautiful children ranging in age from 23 years old down to 12 years old and yeah i’m a blessed man i really am i’ve been able to follow my dreams for almost 30 years now of making music and being able to record that music and tour and have it on the radio and streaming and all that good stuff. And it’s a dream that I had hoped would last about four or five years at least. I said often in interviews that we in Third Day, we thought, man, if we get to cross the country like twice, going back and forth, playing shows in a matter of three or four years, that’d be awesome. And it’s going to weigh on that. So I’m still to this day, one of those dreamers and still following my dreams.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, Meg, that’s amazing. I love that. Like we think of maybe it’s a big dream in our heart. And then the Lord, oftentimes when we’re following him fearlessly and have that pureness of heart to just honor him, he does exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine. Yeah.
MAC POWELL :
Seemingly abundantly more.
CHRYSANDRA :
Yes. Yes. Well, you’ve been such a pure hearted vessel, Mac, just from, I know that we we’ve known each other. When did we first meet? Years and years ago, but just to know ever since then, just your humility and your, Yeah. I just think of pureness. Like God is like, he’s a, you are his pure vessel to be able to shine his glory so vividly. And it’s been so neat to be able to see the journey and know your heart behind all of it too. So when you were little Matt, can you just take us back to when you were a little and like how you can see God dropping these vessels that this is what he had destined you to be and become and do.
MAC POWELL :
Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been asked many times, when did you start singing? And for me, I feel like as soon as I could speak, I was singing. In fact, I was probably singing before I could speak. I was around music my whole life. Both my parents play acoustic guitar and sing, and they had a great record collection. And I went to church growing up singing in choir and sang in school. And so I was always around music. and always wanted to be in a band, and I never was. The only band I was in was the marching band. But finally, my junior year, I started playing in some rock bands. That was a dream. That’s something I wanted to do. My dad had done that when he was younger, high school, college age. And I thought, man, that’d be so great to be in a band, but never really had the chance until my junior year. And then I started hanging out with some guys, being in two or three different bands. The Lord really got hold of my life when I was a senior in high school, about a month before I graduated. I was worried to death about life, just not knowing what was gonna happen. I didn’t really make good grades. I wasn’t a great student. We didn’t have a lot of money for college. My dad had been in the military and I just didn’t think I was cut out for the military. So I didn’t have any real skills to get a real job. So I just didn’t know what I was going to do. And so that brought me back to the Lord. I gave my life to the Lord when I was real young, made a confession of faith, believed in my heart that Jesus saved me from my sins. And the only way to heaven was through Jesus and what he had done, not anything I could do. So I believed that at an early age, gave my life to Jesus, but just remained a baby Christian for a long time. Didn’t grow in my faith. And that moment on the end of my bed, when I was a senior, I just started praying and asking God to guide me and to help me to know what the future was gonna bring. And I remember someone at church had said, you should read the book of Romans. And I was like, I don’t even know, is that Old Testament, New Testament? And so and I grew up in church. I just never read the Bible. I read stuff, you know, verses that they gave me in Sunday school and that was it. And so I started reading the book of Romans and God’s Holy Spirit opened up my heart and it helped me to realize what I was missing out on. Reminded me of that confession of faith that I’d made when I was a kid and and reminded me that I wasn’t keeping up with my end of the bargain. Not that I could do much with it. You know, it’s God’s grace. But at the same time, missing out on the abundant life. I think that’s the thing. There’s so many believers miss out. So many people are saved and yet they miss out on so much more. They miss out on those dreams that God forms in our hearts, form in our mind because we, you know, try to do things ourselves. And Jesus said, I’ve come to this world to give you life and to give it to you abundantly. And I realized I was missing out on that life. And so I totally surrendered to him sitting on the edge of my bed, reading the book of Romans. And this thing I always wanted, this thing, this dream that I had for so many years to be in a band. God said, hey, Mac, I want you to give that up. I want you to not do that. That dream that you have. I don’t want you to do that. And I went, are you kidding? Like I give you my life because, because you tell me that you want to give me more an abundant life. And here I am and surrendering to you. And now you’re going to take away from me this thing I’ve always wanted. And he said, trust me. And so I went to Mark Lee, who was a friend of mine that we were in a little garage band together. And I said, I’m going to quit the band that we’re in. I’m going to quit that. And he said, why? And I said, well, I’m hanging out in places I don’t need to be hanging out. I’m singing about stuff I don’t want to be singing about anymore. I want to give my life to Jesus and I want to just sing for him. And he said, well, let’s start a Christian band. And I said, great. What’s that? I had no idea. I didn’t know what Christian music was. I thought Christian music was hymns that you sing in church, you know, the old ladies. And so, uh, so we started, there was a, in a Christian bookstore, there was a magazine called CCM magazine and I was thumbed through that. And there was a band called white heart. And I went, that sounds cool. And those guys have a long hair, but that’s cool. So we went, I remember clear as day, Mark and I got in his Supra, his 84 Supra and drove to, uh, uh, uh, they used to have music stores for you kids out there who are listening places where you go and buy music and went to a music store and um they didn’t have yeah they didn’t have white heart that we were looking for but they had white cross and i said oh that sounds like a christian band so we got bought it we put the tape we got in his little 84 supra and put it in and cranked it and it just blew us away And we went, wow, we didn’t know people did this, that, you know, the people made like modern music with lyrics about their faith. And so that’s what started Third Day.
CHRYSANDRA :
Oh, my gosh, Mac. That is so incredible. And when was that? So.
MAC POWELL :
Oh gosh. So many years ago. Let’s see. I graduated way back in 1991.
CHRYSANDRA :
You were too kind.
MAC POWELL :
You were being kind.
MAC POWELL :
Yeah. In fact, there’s a song on my new album called 1991 and it’s kind of a, a little bit autobiographical. I changed some of the, the, the names and the places to protect the innocent, but it’s a, it’s a song that there’s a lot of truth in that song about me giving my life back to Jesus.
CHRYSANDRA :
Wow. So that was the very beginning of third day. And I love that you pointed out, Max, that a lot of times in following our callings, I think most of the time, if not every time, Jesus wants to make sure that our hearts are right. And so he’ll give us a dream. And it’s almost like the Abraham and Isaac scenario where he’s like, well, are you going to trust me even if you have to give up this promise? And that was exactly, it sounds just like your story that you trusted him and then he gave it back and he gave it better. And that’s what he wants to do with our dreams. But it’s, it’s all about our character and it’s all about us trusting him and wanting him to be glorified above all else.
MAC POWELL :
Absolutely. I feel like, you know, when, when the Lord, I think he gives, I pray this for my children. I pray, Lord, will you give them the desires of their hearts, but first that their hearts would be after you. And so therefore that thing that they desire is him and have a better and a stronger relationship with the Lord. And then, you know, seek first the kingdom of God and all those other things will be added to you. And so, you know, when we’re in those, those times of dreaming, those times of trying to chase our dreams, um, The first thing is really to surrender it to God. I got to a point early on, even with Third Day, once I had learned my lesson of giving up that thing that I thought I wanted, and God turned it into something bigger, a few months later, really about a year down the road, we were just starting to establish Third Day, playing more shows, and it wasn’t even fully Third Day yet. It was just three members. And God said, there was a chance where my parents were gonna move back to Alabama where I’m from, And I was like, I can’t afford to live on. I’m probably going to move back with them. And I just instead of going, God, why don’t you help me do this? I went, God, my hands are wide open to this thing that this dream that is a better dream than the one I initially had. You made it bigger and better. Yeah. My hands are wide open to you. It’s right here. You take it from me if you want something else. Cause I realized, and I learned this earlier too. I went to three high schools in four years, all my high school career. We had to move from Alabama to, to Marietta, Georgia, right outside of Atlanta where my dad got transferred with his job. And so I’ve got all my friends that I grew up with. I’m going to high school with them. All of a sudden now I’ve got to move to Atlanta and, And then once again, we bought another house a year later that was in a different place, had to move high schools again. But every time I moved, I didn’t want to go. And then I found out it was better than the place I previously was. And God taught me a lesson through that. And it’s a lesson that I’ve tried to learn my whole adult life is when God takes something away or he changes it, that means he’s got something better for you. Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bigger and better in the eyes of the world, but it’s bigger and better for us as individuals.
CHRYSANDRA :
so and let me say this one more thing and I’ll stop rattling these are like nuggets of gold Mac that I think it says that if you can listen to wisdom and put it into your life it’ll it’s supposed to help advance and oh
MAC POWELL :
yeah i don’t know if it’s wisdom necessarily but it’s helped me when you were talking earlier about abraham isaac you know talking about dreamers i mean abraham isaac jacob joseph all of them in that family line and then you go on through the scriptures whether you’re talking about daniel moses you know, Jesus himself, they’re all dreamers. They’re all dreamers. Now God, you know, there’s difference in our differences in our dreams that we have at night when we’re sleeping or when we’re daydreaming and those two dreams that God puts in our heart, but he somehow works through all of those things together. I just think about, you know, time, how Abraham, it was, he had been given this promise by God and it like took so much longer to than Abraham ever thought it would. And Abraham thought, well, God gave me this dream, and it’s not coming into fruition, so maybe it’s up to me to kind of do something and make it happen. And that caused a bunch of trouble. And you think about Joseph, you know, the dreams that… God gave him one that one day his brothers would be bowing down to him. Well, he thought it meant one thing, but but God was using it for another thing. And so I just think, you know, it’s good. It’s good. It’s not only good to have a dream, but to surrender that dream and to trust and to know that sometimes. it’s gonna take a little bit longer than we think. Sometimes that thing is not gonna happen tomorrow or even next year, it may be a few years. And so if anybody is out there listening now, that’s the encouragement I wanna give you, is when God places a dream in your mind, in your heart, on your spirit, It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen automatically. Now, for some people, it does. Some people, God just goes right now. It’s happening right now. But a lot of times, most of the time, God works so much slower than I want him to.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, Mac, we’re going to jump right back into that. We’re needing to take a quick break. We’ll be right back. You are tuning in to All the Dreamers. We are with Mac Powell. We’ll be right back. Hi guys, this is Chrysandra Brunson, host of To All The Dreamers. I am so happy to introduce personal training, nutritional guidance, and behavioral change coaching. Healthy, happy, and heavenly for your wellness, spirit, soul, and body. Contact Mimi Kroger at healthyhappyandheavenly.com.
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CHRYSANDRA :
We are back. You are listening to all the dreamers. We are with the one and only Mac Powell and his incredible wisdom and insight on dreaming and being a dreamer. And it is God’s heart to be a dreamer. He’s the biggest dreamer and he wants us to be that too.
MAC POWELL :
Absolutely. He has big dreams and big goals for us, plans for us. Think ultimately about the disciples and think about the dreams that they had in the sense of the Messiah is coming, but they thought it was going to be a certain way. And Jesus comes and just totally changes that. And so sometimes it’s good to know that our dreams, even though they’re given to us by God, they can sometimes be a lot different than we thought that they were going to be. But it’s always, always going to be better.
CHRYSANDRA :
Thank you, Mac, for saying that. I think we just need that stamped on our hearts. And even right now, I just I feel that that weightiness of that, that we just that trust and not to make it happen on our own. So, Mac, you so you did this. So you did. You and your friend at the time, this is 1991, you guys were able to put, you made the lyrics. How many songs did you have on this first CD?
MAC POWELL :
On our very first CD? Gosh, Will, it wasn’t even CDs. Our first tape album, right?
CHRYSANDRA :
You might have to Google that if you need to.
MAC POWELL :
Kids, if you don’t know what a tape is, it’s coming back.
CHRYSANDRA :
Video tape, but a tape.
MAC POWELL :
Right. You know, it’s funny. I had somebody, there was an artist recently, a friend of mine had gotten some tapes made, and they gave me one. I was like, oh, this is so cool. Oh. Where do I get a tape player to play this thing? Right. But, you know, it’s amazing to know that in those early days, even we had a bunch of songs and we recorded some. And so a lot of friends helped us out to be able to go in a studio, which is something that was like another dream come true for us. Hmm. You know, one of a long list of dreams. And we started selling these tapes at concerts. And then we went and worked at a at a YMCA camp for two summers. And we met a lot of kids from all over the state of Georgia, even the southeast coming to these, you know, this the summer camp we were working at. And, you know, you got to remember, we’re college age. We’re freshmen, sophomores in college. And all these kids would take those tapes and they’d go to their different places where they lived in Georgia or South Carolina or Alabama or whatever and play it for their youth pastors. And then we started getting these calls all of a sudden from all over the place going, hey, will you come play for our youth group? And the ball was just rolling. You know, God used all these different things that we always wanted to do and these dreams that we had to go in the studio, dreams to make an album, dreams to do concerts and sell these tapes. Right.
CHRYSANDRA :
and and then he just used those things to grow it to grow it to make even bigger dreams come around wow wow so mac do you so where did you grow up what state did you grow up i don’t know it’s jordan i know it’s in the south but for all the listeners tuning in uh Where was home?
MAC POWELL :
Yeah, well, I grew up, when people ask me, where did you grow up? It’s hard to define that because I grew up basically until I was a freshman in high school. I lived in Alabama. And hence, behind me, people who are listening, they can’t see, but behind me, there’s some you’ll see on my show.
CHRYSANDRA :
I know.
MAC POWELL :
Alabama footballs and a helmet sign and Alabama books. So I’m a big University of Alabama football fan, Roll Tide. I hope you didn’t lose some of your listeners right away when I said that.
CHRYSANDRA :
I think there’s everyone tuning in. They like, they like a full size, but I know there’s a lot of Alabama fans.
MAC POWELL :
That’s right. And so I moved from there as a, uh, when I was going to start my sophomore year of high school. So I moved to Marietta, Georgia, which is Northwest about 30 miles Northwest of Atlanta. Um, And, you know, basically have lived here now my whole life. This is even though my Alabama boy at heart, I’m a Georgia boy now living here for goodness, 30 something years now. And so, you know, this is home for me. Georgia’s home. And this is where my you know, I got married, where all my kids were born. So I’m an Atlanta boy.
CHRYSANDRA :
Aw. And I know that they’re kind of rivals, right? Alabama and Georgia. Oh, yeah.
MAC POWELL :
It used to not be because we didn’t play each other much back in the day when I was growing up. But the past few years, we’ve played each other a lot. It’s been a fun little rivalry.
CHRYSANDRA :
So you can kind of be on both sides. That’s pretty neat. Well, it’s neat to see, Mac, that you have that Southern heart that I think just families in the South are – There’s a special sort of kindness just dosed into your guys’ spirit that this is where the Lord would just stir up your heart for ministry to be able to live out your calling. And Mac, you have been able to touch the world with your heart and living out God’s dreams for your life. And I just have to say thank you for living fearlessly. And Mac, you just performed again at Red Rocks recently. And it was so amazing to see that dream fulfilled too. What was that like? Can you just take us to the height of third day and then just listening to the Lord to transition into something different?
MAC POWELL :
Yeah, I mean, that’s a great question because it’s another thing that kind of teaches us more about dreams. For me, I had these dreams for the success of Third Day. And then as we were talking about earlier, God went exceedingly abundantly way beyond anything we could think or imagine and really blessed us to be a band that was around for almost 25 years and gold records and platinum records and, you know, All kinds of really cool accolades, Grammys and Dove Awards and all this stuff traveled the world. So it was really an amazing journey. And yet, while the journey was still going strong, a few years, I’d say probably for me in the… 2010 or 12 ish area i really felt like the lord placing another dream in my heart like i had been wanting to sing country music for a long time and i would have a lot of fans come up to me and say have you ever thought about doing country music because your voice really fits that and i always just kind of brush it off and then finally this dream started growing and i got to a place where i made up my first solo christian out it was very independent a third day was still going on i made my first solo country record in 2012. And I would just do it every once in a while whenever Third Day would have a break from the road. I’d make some music and go tour these little clubs. And I really loved, I had that dream of trying to reach people outside of the walls of the church and trying to play some music and encourage people who wouldn’t normally come to a Christian concert. And that was another dream that God put in me. And I was able to do that. I was able to make three solo country records and tour across the US and get some songs on the radio. And it was a dream come true. But I always knew that was a seasonal thing for me. I always knew that Christian music was really where I belong where my heart is the most and where I feel like the Lord is giving me opportunities. And so in 2020, January 2020, I stepped back into, not that I ever left. I never really left Christian music, but stepped into really focusing on trying to make some more Christian music. And I made my first solo Christian album. I thought it was going to be out in the fall of 20, but the little COVID thing kind of threw a curveball. And so it came out in 21, but it actually was a good thing for me. It gave me more time to develop more songs and to write more songs for the record. And I think make it a better album than it would have been if I’d put out in 20. And so I did a lot of growing during that time. The Lord taught me. through that season really brought me. I’ve always been a person of prayer, but God really strengthened my prayer life through COVID and through that season of trying to start doing Christian music again. And so it was, you know, it’s a blessing. And I love that. you know, we have these seasons and we have the ultimately these dreams in our hearts, but we have seasonal dreams too. We have these things that got so much to go do this right now. And I was so thankful that I got a chance to do that and touch a lot of lives and hopefully encourage some people. And it was a lot of fun, but with that solo Christian album, another dream to be able to, you know, continue to do this after so many years is a blessing and I’m thankful.
CHRYSANDRA :
Well, thank you, Mac, for being so obedient. And we are coming up to the end of our time here pretty soon. But we want to have you back all the same. I had to ask you if you could give any nugget of wisdom for someone to follow Jesus’s calling on their life. What would you what would you tell them?
MAC POWELL :
Well, for me, there’s three things in life that really I call my three witnesses. It’s my medicine that I take every day. Word of God. It’s it’s the spirit of God and seeking him in prayer. And then there’s also the church, the people of God. When we have those three things in our lives every day, that’s gonna help us to grow. I have to daily read God’s word, seek him in prayer and his spirit in prayer, and also to be with like-minded believers, part of the church. And so that is for me, is what keeps me strong. And if somebody is trying to follow the dreams that God has placed in their hearts or even find dreams from the creator of those dreams, that’s the way to do it. See God in prayer, read His Word and to be with other believers.
CHRYSANDRA :
Thank you so much, Mac. And I know everyone wants to be able to come alongside to cheer you on, to support all your endeavors and your family. How can they stay in touch with you?
MAC POWELL :
Yeah, absolutely. Well, a lot of information you’ll see and hear about stuff online on Instagram and TikTok. Just follow me at Mac Powell, M-A-C-P-O-W-E-L-L. And I also have a website that has all the tour dates and, you know, information about records and all that stuff. That’s macpowell.com.
CHRYSANDRA :
Perfect. Well, I know that you guys, you have to see Mac in person. It’s life changing, not just because of Mac, but because of Jesus and Mac and through all of the family members hearts and whatnot. But Mac, thank you for following Jesus fearlessly. And we would love to have you back soon. Thank you for being God’s dreamer. We thank everybody for tuning in to this episode of The Callings. to all the Dreamers radio show. We want you to keep on living out God’s dream for your life. You can go to The Calling’s website to get in touch with Mac and all of our different guests at thecallingnonprofit.org. We want you to ask yourself what you would do if you knew you could not fail and know that God’s put that on your heart for a reason for such a time as this. Till next time, Dreamer. Keep dreaming big.
