Instead of a music review, concert preview, interview with an artist or something else relating to Christian music, today we just want to offer prayers for one of CCM’s most successful and admired artists.
As most people have heard by now, the 5-year-old daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, Maria, was killed in the driveway of their home Wednesday in what police are calling a tragic accident.
Chapman is one of the best-known Christian artists, of course, to the world at large.
He and his wife Mary Beth need everyone’s prayers at a time like this.
Adding to the horror of the tragedy was that little Maria was struck by a vehicle driven by her teenage brother, police said.
So their son, obviously, also will need prayers as he struggles to cope with a tragedy beyond comprehension.
Thinking of Steven Curtis Chapman brings a whole bunch of things to mind, but a few of them stick out:
Of all the hit songs he’s had, hearing his fun-loving spirit back in the early 1990s, when he did an impromptu rap with an up-and-coming dc Talk, has always been one of my favorite SCC moments.
Another was when he starred in a Hallmark Channel TV Christmas movie (starring as a pastor … and he was good!) and showed a little in his role about what a Christian should be about.
And his concerts, like the one I saw in Hershey a few years ago with an up-and-coming Casting Crowns, have always had a feeling of communal prayer than a performance by a singing “star.”
Steven Curtis Chapman’s musical awards are way too many to mention, and he’s sold a staggering number of records (10 million and counting) for a Christian music artist.
Along with their three biological children, the Chapmans have three adopted daughters from China, and little Maria Sue was the youngest.
Chapman’s latest hit song is “Cinderlla,” a beautiful ballad about a dad dancing with his teenage daughter, and to read Chapman’s lyrics now just about breaks your heart:
“She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of her dress
She says, “Dad, the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancing
Oh, please, Daddy, please?”
So I danced with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I danced with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone …”
The Chapmans have faced heartache and tragedy before — their first newlywed apartment burned down — and Chapman has always written the kind of loving, uplifting music that inspires people and gives them courage in the face of just this kind of tragedy.
Now, he, his wife, his son and everyone else in their family can use an awful lot of that same love coming back their way, and prayer support, as they struggle to cope with this tragedy.
And may they know that the next time they see their daughter, all of their tears will be gone.
