Jonathan Stockstill (center) is the worship leader and teaching pastor for Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La., and frontman for the worship band Deluge, which also includes Nathan Munsell, Andrae Harrison, Corey Bastin and Keith Gassette (pictured left to right). Their new album, Unshakable, took the group to unfamiliar territory—the recording studio.
Deluge has always recorded live albums, but after listening to the live recording of Unshakable, they decided they’d be able to capture the songs creatively on a studio recording. However, the band will also release the live recording later this year.
The inspiration for Unshakable is the body of Christ, says Stockstill, who wants the album to draw people into a worship encounter with Jesus, but adds that this record also expresses a lot of emotion from painful experiences Stockstill, his family, the band and the church have endured.
Two years ago, Stockstill’s sister-in-law, Amy, died. Everyone was believing God for her healing, but He had other intentions, he says. His brother, Joel, has also had immense battles with his health.
“I’ve watched him, not just as a friend and a brother but as a Christian, I’ve watched his faith be tested in so many ways. And he’s just remained unshakable. … I figured it would be a great opportunity to write a song with him in mind about … a believer who remains unshakable through situations and trials.”
This title song is about walking through really difficult situations and being able to remain unshakable. “A lot of the songs have the theme of being tried and remaining strong in your faith and keeping your heart focused on Christ,” he says.
Although the album is an expression from painful situations, the songs were written from a place of victory and faith.
“I’m a strong believer. The Bible says the kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. … Even though sometimes we can walk through times of sadness, as a believer we’re supposed to really have a constant sense of joy and peace. … A lot of the DNA of our church is joy and freedom, and we really value that. … I can’t say that any of the songs I wrote on here were in a depressed mode; they were all in real victorious state of ‘Yeah, we are remaining unshakable.’ … I was just expressing what we were going through. There is victory in it even though it was tough.”
This album was also created out of an intimate time of worship for the band. A couple of months before recording the record, the band went to a cabin to get alone with God and write.
“This cabin had no TV, nothing. [It was] in the sticks,” Stockstill explains with a laugh. “We got in there and just worshipped.”
The song “Let’s Worship,” which features Kari Jobe, was written during this retreat. Late one night they were simply worshipping and hanging out, and the song came about in literally five minutes, Stockstill says.
One song that Stockstill enjoys playing live is “Come in My Courts.” The story behind it makes it meaningful. Stockstill’s brother wrote this song after his wife, Amy, passed away. In a prayer meeting God gave Joel a vision of a throne room. He wrote the song, and later Jonathan helped him complete it.
Stockstill hopes musically this album is a breath of fresh air and not the typical status quo CD people are used to. He feels that creatively Deluge express something different and unique. But more important, he wants people to sense the spirit in which they made the record.
“I feel like we really tapped into a real, deep worship experience. I want people … to feel the presence of God and, no matter what state they’re in spiritually, [for it] to really impact them, even to be able to use it in prayer times. … I think the goal is for the believer’s life to be strengthened with this project and for them to find it as a tool to be able access the presence of God.”
Deluge offer songs from their own experience that are an example of living with unshakable faith.
Click here to purchase this CD.
