Jesus reigns in this place / Showers of mercy and grace / Falling on every face.

SO GOES the chorus of Michael Larson’s most well-known song, ‘Freedom.’

While liberty in Christ could be said to inform all of his worship music, the  Langley musician has a new theme: Perfect Love.

Larson’s CD of the same title releases this month, through Surrey-based Ion Worship. Ion’s head, Marc Pusch, believes the album works “hand in glove” with what he is endeavouring to accomplish. Both men visited BCCN’s offices last month to elaborate on their musical partnership.

Perfect Love, said Larson, “calls the church to intimacy with God – to worshipping from the heart.” He cited Amos 5, in which God calls for justice to “roll down like waters,” as a key inspiration. The CD, he said, is his attempt to answer the question, “What is God trying to say to the church?”

He recalled his childhood, and the influence of his father – who was a pastor at Christian Life Assembly (CLA). “Growing up, I would call  on the Lord to touch the cities. I’ve learned to take up the cause of the poor.”

Larson participated in The Well, produced by Friends Langley Vineyard; he later released a full-length CD,  Everything, with his CLA based group, Surreal.

His new CD, he said, demonstrated some artistic evolution from his previous efforts. “With Surreal, it was more of a ‘band’ feel. My producer, Philip Janz, encouraged us to go in  different directions.” He considers the new CD “more mature, both lyrically and musically.”

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The CD, said Pusch, “felt like a perfect fit” for Ion.  “It enhances our catalog, because it’s a distinctive, unique sound. It’s not a cookie-cutter production. I think Michael borrows from Coldplay and Peter Gabriel. There are also influences from Brian Doerksen. But it’s unique – because it’s coming through a unique person.”

Perfect Love, he added, “also enhances us spiritually. Knowing who Michael is, it’s clear to me that he lives this stuff out.

“We are looking for unique voices, which share what we want to do. It reinforces what we’re doing.”

Pusch also extolled the theological substance of Larson’s work. “What I love about this album is that there is a thread that runs through it. It takes people on a journey. It starts by acknowledging who God is – that he is sovereign over all. Then it shows he is Emmanuel, God with us – and acknowledges that he’s expressed his love to us.  

“Our response to this is that we’re here, waiting – expecting that God is releasing his kingdom to us.” The CD “is about reverence, intimate love for God – and how we walk that out. We gotta walk this sucker out; our worship has to get walked out.”

Ion, he stressed, endeavours to take a personal approach to its artists. “We really partner on the projects. There’s a relationship that’s reinforced in the process. It’s more than just a distribution deal.”

Perfect Love, he said, will be available from  “retailers throughout pretty much most of the Western world. It’ll also be available at all major download sites.”

Contact: IonWorship.org.

– David F. Dawes

October 2007