Here is a song story video about the song "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan.
A short documentary on John Mark McMillan and the song How He Loves.
I also found this one that is not as good quality image and sound but fills in so many details for this story.
The story behind How He Loves by zacclay
This song is 100% in line with the painful worship that David offered in the Psalms. We see over and over again worship out of pain, anguish and trials. Let's take a quick look at Psalms 6 for example:
For the director of music (Meant to be sung for the people). With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint;
heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.
3 My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, LORD, how long?
4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8 Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the LORD has heard my weeping.
9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
I love how there is no resolve to this psalm. He is still in this. It is obvious that David trusts God in this, but it doesn't mean that the dissonance resolves or the pain is gone. In the song "How He Loves" John Mark's pain is still there but there is hope, there is love. God's love that, as John Mark would say, is sometimes messy and not clean/nice all the time. I hear people say all the time that this song should not be sung in church because of the 'descriptive' lyrics and the 'informality' and honesty that it uses. As a worship leader, I have to find a balance between helping people discover worship anew with expressions of worship that they are not used to and distracting them so much that they lose focus and have a hard time worshiping.
Either way, this song is powerful and is being used by the Holy Spirit around the world to bring people in to an honest, raw, authentic, and sometimes painful worship while demonstrating that God's love is sometimes overwhelming and big.
"Lord, help me to trust You in pain. And keep Your love central to my understanding of how my trials play out. You love us so much that you allow us to learn and grow through trials. Yet, we trust You and Your love for us."
For a post from John Mark on this song visit: http://johnmarkmcmillan.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-he-loves-david-crowder-and-sloppy.html
