Interview: Donnie McClurkin – Singer, Songwriter and Producer - Page 2

When you talk about the ministry, you play a dual role. You sing and you're also a minister. Do you think there's a difference between the two roles?

Music can bring people to the point of letting down their guard and hearing it and knowing that there's more. They can hear and be inspired by the music. They can hear and be encouraged by the music. But it's only by the preaching of the Gospel that man can be saved, the Bible said. God said He chose preaching, the tools of preaching to bring about salvation. Not every singer is a preacher. Not all preachers can sing but it's important to know the stark difference. I can't be satisfied with just singing. When God put His Word in me, I'm obligated to preach His Word to the people to know the love of Jesus Christ. That's what delineates the two. The music can bring you to the point of receiving but it's the Gospel that gives you what you need to receive.

Your latest album is entitled We All Are One. When you were preparing for this album and when you look back on the final product, what's the significance of that title?

God has made us to be one. Jesus prayed before He left. He said, "Father, make them one as We are one." We've become everything but one. We are so divided in church and in this world. We're divided by nationality. We're divided by skin color, by gender. We're divided, you know, over stupid stuff. We all have denied the fact that we all have a common bond. Everyone is inexplicably linked to one another. We have majored in focusing on our differences instead of focusing on our commonality. The songs tell us to come back to that, to understand that God made us one. In the Lord, we are one. God so loved the world - not the Christian body - the whole entire world. And He gave His Son. He wanted the world to know Him. He wants us all to fall in love with Him and to love each other. What if there are stark differences? That doesn't stop me from loving. It shouldn't stop me from loving. So what if you don't believe in God like I believe in God? I may not agree with what you believe in but I can love you. That's one thing that we haven't majored in. If you're a Muslim and I am a Christian, I may never agree with your tenets of faith, but we can sit down and eat together. We can laugh and joke together. If you're in need, I can give you what I have. You don't have to be like me, walk like me, talk like me. But… I can love you.

Article Author: Clayton Perry

Clayton Perry's mission parallels that of John Hope Franklin, Marcus Garvey and Carter G. Woodson. As the founder of the NUBIANO Project, Perry facilitates the design of projects that give voice to the Black diaspora, empower the Black community, …

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