Crystal Cathedral

Minister of Worship

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March 13, 2011
Interview by Sheila Schuller Coleman with Scott V. Smith, Debbie McClendon Smith, and Sarah Smith

SSC:    We knew what we were looking for in a permanent minister of worship, and we'd been praying and praying for God to help us find that person. Today, I'm pleased to introduce to you, Scott V. Smith and his wife Debbie McClendon Smith. Scott will be our new minister of worship and Debbie will be our new worship leader.

Scott has been a Grammy winning record producer for many years. He's worked with such artists as Andrae Crouch, the Winans, Yolanda Adams, Larnelle Harris, Wintley Phipps, Smokey Robinson, Phil Collins and Chaka Kahn, to name a few. In addition to being a record producer, Scott has written and produced many praise and worship songs.

Debbie is a Grammy nominated Christian recording artist with six CD's to her name. She has performed and co-hosted the 700 Club; however, her first love is music ministry. Scott and Debbie come to us highly recommended by Pastor Jack Hayford. He has prayed with them and has been their personal pastor for the past twenty years. Pastor Hayford said this is a couple who can bring worship to the Crystal Cathedral.

So we are so excited. Please welcome with me, Scott V. Smith and Debbie McClendon Smith. Scott and Debbie, we are so excited. You are our answer to prayer.

SS:      We're thrilled to be here.

SSC:    So tell us what happened when you first received our e-mail.

SS:      Well when I first looked at it and I saw the description of what you were looking for, I just felt the Lord speak to me and say this is where you're supposed to be. Debbie and I had been praying for a long time that there would be a place that we could come to together and minister together.
 
SSC:    And Debbie, you felt the same way.

DMS:  Absolutely, absolutely.

SSC:    So what is it about music worship and music ministry that excites the two of you?

DMS:  Well the bible says that when we worship the Lord, He inhabits our praise. There's no better place to be than worshipping the Lord and knowing that He's here with us.

SSC:    So what are your dreams for the future? What do you foresee for this ministry?

DMS:  We're excited about this point in our lives and just seeing what God will do as we partner with you, Sheila.

SS:      And we really want to, through our music, tell people about hope. That's the one thing your father has is this incredible legacy of bringing hope to people in Jesus and that's just always what we wanted to do through our music is to encourage people and give them hope.

SSC:    And that's important to the two of you. Do you have children?

DMS:  We do, we have one child and she's just our dream.

SSC:    But you have actually more than one child, do you not?

DMS:  We do. My first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, so we were disappointed. The first time you're so excited and then boom. So then the second time, we were excited and we just knew that God had given us someone wonderful.

SS:      We would pray for him every day and when he was born, he had some real problems. He lived for three days and then he went to be with the Lord. And we were just very disappointed and our faith was really tested. You wonder at times like that, you can't feel anything and you wonder if God really does hear you. It was very difficult.

SSC:    So even though you lost him here on earth, he is not lost. We know exactly where he is, right?

DMS:  Right! When we had the dinner after the funeral service for him, one of our pastor's friends said to me, "Debbie, I see you with a child." And yet in my heart, I thought but I want that child. I want the one I held in my arms. I sang until he died right in my arms, that's who I want. But I grabbed that seed of hope and in the days when I was struggling, I believed that God was going to give us another child. And He did.

SS:      Yes, He did.

DMS:  He gave us someone wonderful. She's so talented, so wonderful and so beautiful. And the doctor, who was a Christian, said to me, "Debbie, she's perfect." And it was just God.

SSC:    Yes, it was God. Praise God.

DMS:  Praise God.

SSC:    When the two of you were married, what song was sung?

DMS:  At our wedding, as we walked out, the song that played was Great is Thy Faithfulness. And then at Shaun's funeral, the hymn that we sang was Great is Thy Faithfulness. And then when we dedicated Sarah, Pastor Jack came down the stairs and said, "Do you mind if I talk about Shaun?" I then heard the men's chorus begin to sing Great is Thy Faithfulness and I knew in that moment, God was saying to us, I am faithful in the hard times, I am faithful and I will bring you to a new place with a beautiful child. And I knew Sarah was a gift from God.

SSC:    Great is His faithfulness. And let us see how faithful He is. Can we introduce them to Sarah?

DMS:  Yes! Yes!

SSC:    This is Sarah.

SARAH:  Hi.

SSC:    This beautiful girl is also gifted and talented and wants to sing for Jesus. When you heard that your dad and mom were looking at coming here, when we were beginning to talk, I hear you went into your dad's room one night and prayed.

SARAH:  Yes. I felt that this new job for him was from God, and I just felt like praying for him because I wanted it to be amazing and I wanted God to know that he was the perfect one for this job.

SSC:    And he is. He is the perfect one for this job. In fact, we are still pinching ourselves because we looked and looked and we never thought we could find someone who could do it at all, much less we get the best in your mom and dad. But the school is also an answer to one of your prayers. You've been praying for a school where you can explore and expand your gifts in music.

SARAH:  That's true. I've been asking God for such a long time because at my current school, there's not really a music program and at this new school, I'm like wow, it's actually a performing arts school? I've always dreamed of that. And I've never heard of a Christian performing arts school so that's the best part.

SSC:    And we're so excited for you. And you're going to be singing and worshipping and leading us, along with your mom and dad too, right?

SARAH:   Yes.

SSC:    We're so excited. I'd like to close with a prayer for the three of you.

Lord Jesus, thank You. When we asked, You sent the best for us. You sent us Debbie and Sarah and Scott, all tremendously gifted and totally dedicated to You. Protect them and guide them as they lead us and teach us how to worship You, our great, mighty, faithful, loving father. Amen.

Please welcome the Smith family.

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