#289 - "Any Other Man" by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
NRT's Kevin Davis speaks with the head of one of Southern Gospel's biggest groups about their latest song, "Any Other Man."
In 2008, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound won Gospel Music Association Dove Awards for Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year and Southern Gospel Album of the Year for Get Away Jordan. The Jordan album has also been certified Gold. In 2009, they won another Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year Dove Award for "Reason Enough" from their Dream On album. Released in the fall of 2008, the Dream On DVD debuted at No. 1 on the Contemporary Christian Music Video Chart and at No. 3 on the Billboard Music Video Chart. Dream On was nominated for a 2010 Grammy in the category of "Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album.”
In 2010 they again debuted a DVD (A Tribute to the Cathedral Quartet) at No. 1 in the Billboard Music Video charts. No.2 and No.3 respectively were the Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Not bad musical company! EHSS' success continues with each new release, but perhaps their most rewarding achievement is the new generation of gospel music lovers emerging across the globe. The group's contagious energy spreads through entertaining performances, bringing listeners around the world their refreshing approach to gospel classics and new material that is uniquely Signature Sound.
I had the chance to interview Ernie Haase about his powerful new song “Any Other Man” from their brand new 2012 album Here We Are Again.
Please tell me the background message behind the song “Any Other Man.”
We have struck a nerve with this new song of ours. The handful of times we have performed it, the response has been amazing. In fact, it’s a level of response that EHSS has never experienced before. We recorded it live October 2011 in Bucharest, Romania. So, you will hear the live sound mix. Our international crowds are age 40 and under, so we had a feeling they would like it there in Romania. But every time we have staged it in North America, the older saints have come alive. Like I said, it has hit a nerve.
I wrote this song with a couple of friends after reading a blog (a character assassination) that left me, how should I say it, very mad! I wanted to take vengeance and give the blogger a piece of my mind. I told my friend and co-writer Wayne Haun that I just can't fight. I look to Jesus and how He could have used His power and how He could have defended Himself. Jesus was not only totally God but He was totally Man too. If He wanted to, He could have won against any person at any moment. And honestly, any other man would have but Jesus wasn’t "Any Other Man!"
When we uttered those words, it struck a nerve with us. I felt a good chill up and down my spine. I knew then we had to write this song for us. After writing it, the musical bed was too soft and pretty. Then one day I was working out at the gym in a hotel in Australia and on the television they were showing a Bon Jovi music marathon. Not too many people bring up the name Bon Jovi in the Southern Gospel music community but we knew this song needed that type of classic rock musical feel. Wayne and I re-worked it and found the musical bed that we feel delivers the message the way it needed to be delivered.
Which Bible verses best connect to the message of the song?
Romans 5:15-16: But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
John 3:17: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
What's the takeaway message for listeners?
Briefly, let me tell you why I think the song is resounding so loud in the hearts of young and old, and especially in men. We all struggle with injustice in some form or fashion. For red-blooded men, this can lead to vengeance or, at the very least, constant feelings of anger that in turn makes us want to stop loving and believing. I struggle here big time. I struggle with my temper and with the vast audience God has blessed me with. All I needed to do was post on our Twitter account or Facebook about this situation, and I would have won. Often lost on all of us is the fact that Jesus was not only totally God but He was totally Man too. He could have won but he just wasn't "Any Other Man!"
"Any Other Man" Lyrics:
Any other man
would have said, "Take her away"
instead He wrote forgiveness in the sand
And any other man
would have called the leper's plight
unfortunate but part of some great plan;
but Jesus wasn't any other man
No, Jesus wasn’t any other man
Any other man
would have surely walked on by
the blind man begging there beside the road
Any other man
hearing Lazarus had died
would join the mourners sorrow as it flowed;
but Jesus wasn't any other man.
No, Jesus wasn’t any other man.
CHORUS He was totally God
And totally man
He came here to save
and not to condemn
He came down to Earth
to fulfill the Father's plan.
Jesus wasn't any other man,
Jesus wasn't any other man.
Any other man
who was sentenced to be killed
would beg for mercy from the courts that day
Any other man
looking at his mother's grief
would call the waiting angels to escape;
but Jesus wasn't any other man
No, Jesus wasn’t any other man.
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE Any other man
including me, I'm afraid
would not have been so forgiving
of the ones who loved to hate
Asbury’s Bible commentary: “Just as Adam's sin affected the entire human race, so the work of Jesus Christ also affects all who believe in Him. In this way, Adam was a pattern of the one to come. In this section, Paul uses one twelve times to emphasize this point. One affects many or all. Sin entered the world (the human race) through one man, Adam, when he sinned. The wages of sin is death, so death came to all men. Just as Adam's sin affected all, so also Jesus' act affects many. The parallelism, however, is not entirely balanced, because trespass and grace are not the same. It takes greater power to undo the effect of sin than it took originally for sin to enter. Grace is much more powerful than transgression. So if death came upon the entire race through Adam's sin, how much more will life come to those who accept God's provision in Jesus Christ!”
Having grown up with a works-based faith, a song like “Any Other Man” helps remind me of the Biblical Truth that God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to Earth to seek and to save the lost. No matter where you are in your walk with Jesus, this song is a salvation message that Jesus truly was not “Any Other Man.” There is nothing we have been given that is more valuable than our salvation. Take time to reflect on how thankful you are for the gift of Jesus and the moment that He found you and saved you. Also remember John 3:17: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” What a wonderful, loving and gracious God that we serve. I am so thankful to God for saving me through His Son Jesus, fully God and also fully Man. He is acquainted with our grief and anger. As the song proclaims, “He came here to save, and not to condemn, He came down to Earth, to fulfill the Father's plan. Jesus wasn't any other Man, Jesus wasn't any other Man!” Amen!
NRT Lead Contributor Kevin Davis is a longtime fan of Christian music, an avid music collector and credits the message of Christian music for leading him to Christ.
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