When John Chisum arrived in Nashville as a young songwriter more than four decades ago, his dream was surprisingly simple. “I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, but I did grow up in a musical home,” Chisum said. “At age 18, when I came to Christ, I just wanted to write a song. I remember thinking that if I could write a song and get it published, I could die and go to heaven.” God had considerably more in store.
During his first year in Nashville, nearly 20 of Chisum’s songs were recorded, launching a career that would eventually include more than 400 published compositions, music publishing leadership, recordings, international worship ministry and decades of encouraging other Christian creatives. Now, Chisum is preparing for another milestone—and one he hopes will become a new Middle Tennessee tradition.
On November 21, Chisum will host “O Night Divine with John Chisum & Friends” at the historic Franklin Theatre in downtown Franklin. The 7:30 P.M. Christmas celebration will feature Broadway performer Laura Osnes, American Idol runner-up Clark Beckham, singer-songwriter Andrew Greer and special surprise guests. The evening is designed around Christmas music, worship, celebration and the hope at the heart of the season.
“My heart for it is that it will become a new Franklin tradition—to be the annual kickoff of the Christmas season in Franklin,” Chisum said, noting that he envisions the event becoming something audiences anticipate each year, perhaps eventually growing into multiple performances. “I want people to say, ‘I can’t wait for Chisum’s show. You never know who will show up.’”
Chisum is also incorporating Franklin itself into the event. He commissioned downtown Franklin artist DeAnn Hebert to create a painting used in the show’s promotional materials and hopes to highlight local businesses and creatives as the event grows. The show represents another chapter in a life that has repeatedly demonstrated one of Chisum’s central messages: God isn’t finished with us simply because one season ends.
Finding his calling
Chisum’s early success in Nashville opened doors he could hardly have imagined when he first dreamed of getting a single song published. His early work led to a publishing position connected with legendary Christian music figures Bill and Gloria Gaither. He later became vice president of publishing for Star Song Media and went on to work with Integrity Music, where his responsibilities included managing the publishing of well-known worship songwriters such as Paul Baloche and Don Moen.
Meanwhile, Chisum was writing his own music. Over the years, he has written and published more than 400 compositions, made more than 10 recordings and appeared as a worship leader on two Integrity Hosanna! Music recordings. His ministry also took him around the world as a worship leader, teacher and Christian communicator. For years, music, ministry and faith seemed inseparable from Chisum’s identity. Then came an unexpected change.
After leaving the business side of the music industry, Chisum spent approximately 16 years in church ministry, serving in roles that included worship pastor and associate pastor. Eventually, a church situation in another state came to an end, and Chisum returned to Nashville at age 58.
He had no job and no clear idea what came next. “It was like déjà vu,” he said. “It was like 1983 all over again.” Only this time, he wasn’t a young songwriter with an entire career stretching before him. “It was scary to be 58 and feel like you were washed up,” he recalled. For about nine months, Chisum worked with a business coach, trying to determine his next move. “I had done so much—in business, worked as a worship pastor, associate pastor—but that season was pretty much over,” he said.
Each week, his coach would suggest something different. Chisum would get excited about the possibility, go home and realize he didn’t want to do it. Finally, the coach challenged him from another direction. With decades of experience in songwriting, publishing, worship and Christian music, why wasn’t Chisum sharing that knowledge with others? The question stayed with him. Chisum began searching available website domains and discovered “Nashville Christian Songwriters;” he bought the domain for $13. “I realized it was a million-dollar idea,” he said. “That was the beginning, and suddenly I found what my next step, season, calling was.”
Nashville Christian Songwriters began in 2015 with Chisum coaching songwriters online. Eleven years later, it has grown into a multifaceted organization with a staff, physical facility and studio, offering songwriting coaching, artist development, production, publishing support, retreats and other opportunities designed to help Christian songwriters develop both their craft and calling. “We’re really focused on empowering Christian songwriters and artists,” Chisum explained.
The people who come to NCS span generations—from teenagers to people in their 70s and 80s. Some simply want to improve their songwriting; others hope to record, publish or develop careers and ministries as artists. Chisum sees all of it through the lens of ministry. “I’m a pastor-teacher at heart,” he said. “That’s where our heart is.”
Songwriting retreats are one expression of that mission. At the time of his interview, Chisum was preparing to welcome approximately 20 songwriters for a retreat featuring multiple coaches, concentrated writing time and opportunities to share newly created songs. NCS has also expanded into media. Chisum launched the Song Revolution with John Chisum podcast in 2017, eventually producing hundreds of episodes and interviewing many notable Christian artists and leaders. More recently, NCS partnered with Cornerstone Television to expand the concept to television. After decades in Christian music, Chisum is still finding new ways to use his experience.
Encouraging others when faith gets hard
Chisum speaks openly about the spiritual struggle that accompanied the loss of his previous ministry role. “I struggled with my sense of faith for a while,” he remembered. “I’ve reconstructed it in a really positive way. It wasn’t fun, but it was needful.” Looking back, he realized how closely his sense of identity had become tied to what he did. “I found so much of my identity in myself as a Christian communicator and songwriter,” he said. “I was on the platform for 35 years. When it was taken away from me, I plunged into some anger and frustration and even felt abandoned.”
Church itself became difficult, and Chisum had negative physical reactions when he entered a church building. “I wasn’t a great rock of faith,” he said. “It was hard.” That’s important to him because Christians can sometimes tell stories about difficult seasons differently once they’re safely on the other side. “It’s easy to sugarcoat the trials, and we often look back differently than it actually went,” he said. Slowly, however, something began to change. “Somewhere in the middle of this journey back, I regained my sense of belonging and worship.”
During his lowest season, Chisum said there were times when he couldn’t—or didn’t want to—pray or worship. Then unexpectedly, God used motivational speakers alongside Scripture to begin pulling him forward. “I woke up and realized I could die and lose everything, or I could get up and do something about it.” He started walking through his neighborhood, sometimes for hours. Scripture became part of those walks, as did the encouraging messages he was hearing. “When I was walking the only Scripture that came to me was, ‘I and my Father are one.’ That and the motivational words I’d been reading were the only things that saved me,” Chisum said.
The experience eventually inspired what Chisum calls “modevotionals,” which combine biblical truth and devotional teaching with practical motivation and encouragement. He has developed a free 31-day modevotional e-mail series and accompanying videos in that style available at johnchisum.com, and hopes to write more books with a similar emphasis. At this stage of life, encouragement has become one of his highest priorities. “Many people are depressed, unmotivated because they’ve been through so many things,” he said. “It’s important at my stage of life to be an encourager.” That encouragement isn’t limited to songwriters. “It’s the number one gift I can be to other people, both to songwriters or just to normal people who need a lift in their day.”
Chisum is writing again, too. After spending years focused heavily on developing other writers and artists, he has experienced what he describes as a creative and spiritual renewal of his own. His recent projects include new music and his book, God Gave Me a Song, Now What, with additional songwriting resources in development.
A love of Nashville
Through all the changes, one constant has been Chisum’s family. He and his wife have been married for 46 years. She has worked as an interior designer and home stager and has long had a love for home décor. Their grown daughter is completing doctoral work at Johns Hopkins and is also a worship leader. Nashville has also become part of the family’s story. Chisum has lived in the area three different times, beginning with his arrival in 1983. Career and ministry opportunities took the family to Mobile, Alabama, and later Grand Rapids, Michigan, but somehow the road kept leading back to Nashville.
In 2015, at the beginning of what initially looked like one of the most uncertain seasons of his life, Chisum returned for the third time. “I’ve always managed to come back here,” he said. “This is home.” His wife has made her feelings equally clear. “My wife has told me I can go, but this is her home,” he said with a laugh. “So we aren’t going anywhere.” This November, that sense of home will take center stage at the Franklin Theatre as Chisum gathers friends, artists and an audience to celebrate Christmas together through O Night Divine. For the songwriter who once believed publishing a single song would be enough, it’s one more reminder that a calling can have far more verses than we expect and the Christian life can be made up of many different fulfilling seasons.
—Cheryl Wray, Author, Freelance Writer, Speaker, cherylswray@gmail.com
