Creation is a living, breathing tableau--a work of art telling the story of its Creator. As people cultivate the world, the beauty of creation is often taken for granted, which is one reason why a group of award-winning Christian artists have joined forces for a historic music project, A New Heaven and a New Earth. The recording is a unique collection of original songs that is available now at digital and streaming outlets everywhere from The Fuel Music here. More than a work of art, the album is meant to initiate a conversation.
A New Heaven and a New Earth features songs written and recorded by hip-hop titan Aaron Cole; singer/songwriter Jason Gray; GRAMMY-nominated, Dove Awards-winning Building 429 frontman Jason Roy; chart-topper Micah Tyler; vocalist, producer and actress MŌRIAH; former Newsboys bassist and solo artist Phil Joel; and beloved CCM duo Waterdeep, comprised of husband and wife Don and Lori Chaffer. This elite roster of contributors resulted in thoughtfully written songs steeped in a vibrant array of sounds representing everything from pop, rock, and hip-hop to R&B, folk, and Americana.
The eight tracks comprising A New Heaven and a New Earth issue a clarion call for Christians to recognize their responsibility in Creation care. The project is meant to unify people as they find common ground in caring for their common home. What's more, the project has organically evolved into a multigenerational effort with several of the artists' children integrally involved.
"I really wanted to write a song that echoes how small I feel in this space, and yet how important my role here is," says Roy, who recorded the lead track "It's All Yours." "Thinking about the Earth, the massive Redwood trees, the mountains...I look around and see what an incredible gift has been put into our hands."
"This is the planet that God's given us, and we need to be good stewards of it," suggests Joel, who is featured on "Arms Around the World" and anchor track "Our Common Home." "Sadly, I don't think we've really done a great job in the last 50 years, but thankfully God always provides ways to see things restored, redeemed, and replenished... this gets me excited. We can be a part of creating a new heaven and a new earth."
Offering the gentle, acoustic-driven "Into the Unseen," Waterdeep echoes Joel's and Roy's sentiment that creation care is more than simply an act of goodwill or a responsible choice. "We were trying to articulate how we, as humans, wound up deciding it was not very important to care for our natural surroundings," the group's Don Chaffer says, "when that was actually the original commission--to care for the garden and all the creatures in it."
"One of the few things that unites every person on this planet is that our feet are all planted on the same spinning miracle," notes MÖRIAH, who contributed "You Mean the World." "By nurturing nature, we're caring for each other."
"If we all just came together, what would that look like?" asks Cole, who put his indelible rhythmic stamp on "Together." "What does this mean for me to... come alongside the people around me and my community on this Earth?"
"If you look back at the beginning of Genesis, every time God would create--the light, the stars, the moon, the oceans--He would say that it was good," asserts Tyler, who recorded the project's "So Will I." "If God would love this world, put this thing together, and call this thing good, I think there's a challenge for us to do the same."
"God often meets me in the beauty of creation," offers Gray, who wrote the album's "Awestruck" with Brandon Heath and Kyle Williams, both of whom also lend background vocals to the track. "Whether I stand before the ocean, go hiking in the Rockies, or enjoy the colors of a sunset, the grandeur of natural beauty somehow makes me feel small and loved at the same time."
