Unearthing Spiritual Heritage

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Mar 25

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A Q&A interview with Krissy Nordhoff,
artist/songwriter and Brave Worship founder

For this month’s guest blog, I interviewed my dear friend, Krissy Nordhoff. She is a Dove Award-winning songwriter of “Your Great Name” (recorded by Natalie Grant) and founder of Brave Worship. In this interview, we discuss her surprise discovery , during our recent music mission journey in Scotland, of “famous” ancestry having a direct tie to the “Your Great Name” song she co-wrote centuries after he was martyred for his faith in Jesus!

2 images let to right: Krissy Nordhoff standing by a Scottish statue; Krissy's album cover called "Your Great Name: write the songs in your blood"

“Spending time with Jesus gives you more truth and less fear.” -Krissy Nordhoff

LH: My friend, you are woven into the fabric of the story behind my HEARTSONG OF SCOTLAND project. My experience with you and Brave Worship during our 2017 Scotland sojourn was the inspiration behind this Celtic-flavored worship EP, which I consider to be a creative endeavor to honor the “spiritual geneology” that connects us all. When I say the words “spiritual geneology” to you, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

KN: I feel like we have a spiritual heritage that we know nothing about. When I was growing up I had some spiritual role models, but I had a sense there were more. I think all of us have more than we’ll ever know, and we won’t know until we get to heaven.

LH: You have a vast and amazing catalog of worship songs you have written, recorded by many artists in the industry. Have you always felt called to write worship music?

KN: I was 5 when I got saved. At the age of 7, I encountered the Holy Spirit for the first time during a slide show of Africa [at the little country church we went to]. The lady doing the slide show said, “The Lord might use some of these kids on the front row in ways we wouldn’t have thought of.”

Suddenly, I felt a rush of goosebumps. I didn’t know it was the Holy Spirit, but something told me it was a message from God. I was already writing songs -- my first song was called “Miracles.” I’ve always been intrigued with the supernatural and God’s power… the miraculous.

LH: Several years ago you co-founded the Brave Worship community, which has been a big part of how God has reawakened music in me and given me a new voice [after not being able to sing for 5 years]. Since you were so young when you got saved and began writing songs, I wonder if you could have imagined back then, that you would spearhead a community like this one?

KN: Even when I was little, I was always trying to bring people together. The word that comes to mind is “pioneering.”

LH: Yes! Knowing you as I have [now for 7 years], I definitely see you as a pioneer. I’ve heard you tell the story about how you were praying for years that God would bring you a support community for women in songwriting, and then one day you heard Him say “Be what you need.” So, you co-founded a community of worship leaders, writers and singers called Brave Worship. Would you consider yourself to be someone who has always been naturally bold or brave?

KN: I was not brave as a child -- I dealt with a lot of fear. I had a traumatic death in the family and cried every night for a year because I was afraid to go to sleep. My sister, Maribeth [co-founder of Brave Worship] was bold and fearless. I even wrote her a song while she was in high school:

“You take your turn, You take a stand,

But most of all, you take command.

If I had your wit I’d be at my best,

If I had your nerve, I’d be a mess!”

(Laughing). Over the years, I’ve grown in bravery.

LH: To what do you attribute this change in yourself?

KN: Spending time with Jesus gives you more truth and less fear. It’s a process...and the older I get, the more I realize how important it is to carry out what God has put in your heart. I’ve missed opportunities, and I don’t want to waste any more time.

LH: I’m thankful that you invited me to be a part of the Brave Worship community. My history of songwriting has been largely in the country music genre, although I’ve written some personal songs to God through the years. And, I’ve always had a strong desire to “point people to God” in whatever I am doing. How do you consider what you are doing to be part of the “spiritual heritage” your children will inherit?

KN: [I want them to have] a sense of belonging. A foundation of purpose: “This is what we’re about.” Knowing who they are so they don’t have to go through some of the hurtles that I did. I’m in my 40s and just starting to understand. [I hope to] shorten the duration of [learning] time while they have the torch, so they have longer to live it out.

LH: What a gift that is! If you had a word of advice for people our age, what would it be?

KN: Align yourself with people braver than you that have the same beliefs, and learn from them.

LH: There is a “Story of Scotland” video that explains how you and I ended up in Scotland together with Brave Worship. The trip would not have happened without you and your “pioneering” efforts! You took the reigns to lead us all there. Readers of this interview can learn more about it by watching the video, but what I’d like to ask you is this: What did you hope the end result of our Scotland trip would be?

KN: I was hoping for team building. Building relationships while we were there. Learning spiritual history…about the grounds [where we walked in Scotland]. I wanted to hear stories of saints that had gone before us, and put my feet on places where significant spiritual things had happened. I wanted it to inspire us to write about it. Because of this trip, my heart is open to history more than it ever has been. I hated history class growing up. A door has opened to me.

LH: And for me, as well! I was not a fan of history class, either… but I have a whole new appreciation for it thanks to our Scotland experience and our teacher on the trip, Ray Hughes (Pennywhistle Travel). I also have a new appreciation for family geneology, and a renewed desire to trace my ancestory further back in history.

So far, 4 of the people on our trip have learned that they have direct ancestry ties to famous men of faith we learned about in Scotland, and you are one of those people. Again, readers can learn more by watching the video… but to summarize here, you learned that a Scottish minister named James Guthrie [who was martyred for his faith], is your 11th grandfather back in history. How has learning that you have this “spiritual heritage” in your family line impacted you?

KN: When I hear the stories of James Guthrie, it resonates in my heart. He wasn’t afraid to stand up to the king on behalf of all the people… I have that bravery in my DNA.

LH: The video story shares about us noticing on a Scotland tombstone monument [during our Scotland sojourn] that several words from your song “Your Great Name” are engraved on this monument, honoring Guthrie and others who were martyred for their faith. Does this bring new meaning to this song you co-wrote?

KN: Yes! I thought it was about me wanting to proclaim what the Bible says about who Jesus says He is, from the perspective of healing. Now, it feels like it could be a generational anthem that originated from the Guthrie family, because of His desire to proclaim the truth about Jesus. Also, I feel like it’s a continuation of what James Guthrie [the martyr] was killed for doing. His life was cut short proclaiming the name of Jesus. But… it is now to the detriment of the enemy because it’s going to have a greater impact!

LH: You used the word “anthem”… your daughter’s name is Anthem. I love that! If you could sit down with that James Guthrie right now and ask him some questions, what would you ask him?

KN: I’d want to know if he had other food allergies besides cheese (Laughing). I thought it was interesting to learn he was allergic to cheese, because we’re all [in our family] sensitive to cheese.

He was a professor… I would want to know his teachings about Jesus. I would also ask him, “Did you know about my song?” I would want to get some good lyrics from him so I could turn them into song, and ask him how I can best continue to carry out what he started. My prayer is that it’s not just my generation that it keeps going. It’s a family torch for my stretch of this race, so to speak. How can I best keep this torch ablaze? I don’t want it to go out on my shift while it’s my turn to run!

LH: I think you’re doing pretty well on your shift. In fact, I think you’re actually making a shift happen with your efforts. I think your Guthrie grandfather who died for his faith would be proud of you.

KN: There was a list of the top songs of the last 2 decades, and “Your Great Name” was number 21 on that list. I would tell him, “Part of the heritage you gave me…that I didn’t even know [came from you when I wrote the song]…was able to spread around the world…it didn’t stop on the street where you were murdered.”

And here’s something else. In the top 25 songs, only 14% were of the songwriters were female writers. I’m carrying a torch for oppression of women in the arts, in ministry, in the writing room… all those places where I’ve seen it my whole life.

LH: One last question. In the Story of Scotland video, viewers get to see a little clip of my cell phone video, as I was filming you playing and singing “Your Great Name” at the church in Scotland your Guthrie grandfather founded in the 1600’s. What was it like for you in that moment?

KN: It felt magical. Like an open heaven in that place! Like God cracked open the window of heaven in that moment and my worship was reaching heaven. That church felt like the connection between history and heaven. I was hoping the Lord would let [my grandfather] Guthrie hear what I was singing in that church. It was the ultimate realization of the saints cheering you on. I know who’s pulling for me, now. I know he is behind me, cheering for me!

About Krissy Nordhoff

Krissy Nordhoff standing with her family (husband and 3 children)

Krissy Nordhoff is a songwriter, worship leader, and the writer of many well-loved songs, including Your Great Name, Mercy Tree, and hundreds more. She is the co-founder of Brave Worship and creator of the Worship Songwriter Mentorship on-line program. Krissy lives in the Nashville area with her husband, Eric and three children. To learn more about Brave Worship, visit http://www.braveworship.com/

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