Cody Carnes on God's Goodness and Innovative Artistry in Worship

Cody Carnes joins the podcast to talk about his new album "God Is Good", what inspired the songs, and how innovation and artistry collide in worship. 

Jason and Kristina reflect on Jason's experience at Worship Innovators. 

On the vision for the album "God Is Good"

I was able to gather my favorite people to work together on this project. It felt kind of like my wedding day–all my favorite people in the same place. As I was writing for the project, I noticed how a lot of the songs were focused on His goodness. I just wanted "God Is Good" to be a big statement on the earth; it's what I want to tell people. 

We've said it in the Church so often. But we've just left this season of uncertainty and chaos, and a lot of questions. As an artist, I wanted to make a statement that God is good. He is the very essence of what good is. We can trust Him, we can take Him at his word–there is hope in Jesus. The only beacon of hope I saw during the COVID season was Jesus. 

On how to approach this record as someone questioning God's goodness

If you haven't had coffee with a friend in a while, you may get caught up in things that aren't as big as they actually are. You realize that maybe you were way to "up in your head" about it.

I hope this record is a friend that you're getting coffee with. That the anxiety and fear I've been experiencing are real but are based on lies from the enemy. We can have life and joy, and it's not circumstantial, it comes from the source. 

On making a live record

I do love the studio process, and it was a bit hard to let it go. It's less pressure cause you can really tweak everything. But with live, you have to throw an event and do a live recording–definitely a lot more pressure. But I really did feel from the Lord it needed to be live. 

I'm really glad that I made a live album. It was a special moment and the songs did come alive. People came with such high expectations and it blew me away. 

On capturing musical moments in the live recording

We started the whole process in the studio as a band. We worked on 20 songs and arranged everything together. But it's true that you can't replicate a band playing together on stage. There's something special when you can see each other and how the other musicians react. 

On innovative artistry and authentic worship

Art is a beautiful way to connect to the soul, to our emotions–that God created it that way. I believe  He created us with souls that are magnets to art. I believe that God values artistry, He himself is an artist. As a musical artist, it's important to approach music with artistry–to be innovative and creative. 

It is an offering to the Lord, and I want it to be as best as it can be. But I also want it to connect people with Jesus. I am creating art for the sake of reconnecting with the creator. Creating art to point people back to the great artist. 

On choosing songs for the album

It's a prayerful process to decide which songs should be on the album. I had 24 songs I really connected to and then decided that it'll be two albums instead of one. So the second one is coming at some point, and it's different from "God Is God". The only thing that's similar about the two is the band. 

On favorite moments on "God Is Good"

The album starts with "Good" which was felt special when writing, special in the studio, and also special during the live recording. It ended up being a favorite for many, so the album starts with it. Then there's a more rock and roll song called "Take You At Your Word" and then a full-on gospel song with Natalie Grant singing on it called "Good To Be Loved". My hope is that every song connects with people in a special way. 

Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Follow Cody Carnes on Instagram.