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- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson; Gld edition (February 13, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0785216731
- ISBN-13: 978-0785216735
About the Book:
The captivating story behind the bestselling single in the history of Christian music—and the man who wrote it
MercyMe’s crossover hit, “I Can Only Imagine,” has touched millions of people around the world. But few know about the pain, redemption, and healing that inspired it. Now Bart Millard, award-winning recording artist and lead singer of MercyMe, shares how his dad’s transformation from abusive father to man of God sparked a divine moment in music history.
Go behind the scenes of Bart’s life—and the movie based on it—to discover how God repaired a broken family, prepared Bart for ministry through music, and wrote the words on his heart that would change his life forever. I Can Only Imagine is a front-row seat to witnessing God’s presence throughout Bart’s life. Whether falling in love with his childhood sweetheart or mourning his father’s death, founding MercyMe or flailing in the midst of its success, Bart continues to place his trust in God’s plans—plans that continue to surprise and surpass what Bart could have ever imagined.
My Thoughts:
Wow. Where do I begin? I was working for a small town Christian bookstore when Almost There released. A very good friend grabbed me one day as I came in for my shift and pulled me back to our music section.
"You've got to hear this!", she exclaimed, telling me the song had been a part of the worship service at her church that week. I slipped on the head phones and within the first few lines I was awestruck.
Mercy Me, a group I knew nothing about, had captured every thought and imagining I'd ever had about Heaven. I bought a copy and when my husband got home that night I told him, "You've got to hear this!"
My husband is like Bart: music, all types, genres, and decades make up his world. His life, like Bart's, is lived to a soundtrack. It was a miracle I'd found a song my husband knew nothing about, but it was a song that moved him like it moved me. (He still gives me "credit" for his love of Mercy Me!)
I shared all of that so you can hopefully grasp just how special this book is to me. Bart's story and how that song came to be is woven into the tapestry of my own walk with God. I changed how I worshipped after hearing "I Can Only Imagine", and now that my parents are with Jesus, the song and now the story have taken on a deeper and richer meaning.
Watching God move through Bart's life was a painfully gorgeous illustration of Romans 8:28. Of course, we have the beauty of hindsight, while Bart was living in those moments of fear, isolation, and pain. I cried for him, and I kept telling him to hold on, because better days were to come.
Obviously, he knows that now! But that's how powerful his story is. You just want to encourage him and pray for him and his dad, his entire family, as you read. And it's written like you're talking to him at a coffee shop, or over dinner.
I'm so grateful Bart included the last chapter in the book. He'll probably never even read this, but just as "I Can Only Imagine" changed my journey with God, his latest song, "Even If" has arrived in perfect time for this leg of my journey. A new, harder road that keeps me telling Jesus, "Where else can I go, Lord? Only You have what I need, and have been faithful to me."
As a woman in ministry, that song resonates with me, just as the song that led to a love for Mercy Me and their soundtrack did all those years ago. The journey wasn’t easy for Bart Millard, but as he wrote in the book, "But the fruit on a tree's branches is not grown for the tree but for those who will eat from it."
Praise God for such good and nourishing fruit! I'm giving I Can Only Imagine 5 full stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher with no services or obligations promised in return.
"You've got to hear this!", she exclaimed, telling me the song had been a part of the worship service at her church that week. I slipped on the head phones and within the first few lines I was awestruck.
Mercy Me, a group I knew nothing about, had captured every thought and imagining I'd ever had about Heaven. I bought a copy and when my husband got home that night I told him, "You've got to hear this!"
My husband is like Bart: music, all types, genres, and decades make up his world. His life, like Bart's, is lived to a soundtrack. It was a miracle I'd found a song my husband knew nothing about, but it was a song that moved him like it moved me. (He still gives me "credit" for his love of Mercy Me!)
I shared all of that so you can hopefully grasp just how special this book is to me. Bart's story and how that song came to be is woven into the tapestry of my own walk with God. I changed how I worshipped after hearing "I Can Only Imagine", and now that my parents are with Jesus, the song and now the story have taken on a deeper and richer meaning.
Watching God move through Bart's life was a painfully gorgeous illustration of Romans 8:28. Of course, we have the beauty of hindsight, while Bart was living in those moments of fear, isolation, and pain. I cried for him, and I kept telling him to hold on, because better days were to come.
Obviously, he knows that now! But that's how powerful his story is. You just want to encourage him and pray for him and his dad, his entire family, as you read. And it's written like you're talking to him at a coffee shop, or over dinner.
I'm so grateful Bart included the last chapter in the book. He'll probably never even read this, but just as "I Can Only Imagine" changed my journey with God, his latest song, "Even If" has arrived in perfect time for this leg of my journey. A new, harder road that keeps me telling Jesus, "Where else can I go, Lord? Only You have what I need, and have been faithful to me."
As a woman in ministry, that song resonates with me, just as the song that led to a love for Mercy Me and their soundtrack did all those years ago. The journey wasn’t easy for Bart Millard, but as he wrote in the book, "But the fruit on a tree's branches is not grown for the tree but for those who will eat from it."
Praise God for such good and nourishing fruit! I'm giving I Can Only Imagine 5 full stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher with no services or obligations promised in return.
Until the next page turns,
Deena
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