CCM Thursday: Steven Curtis Chapman Top 10

Any list of the most faithful, successful, influential and award winning Christian artists of all time will feature the name Steven Curtis Chapman (SC2) right near the top.  Since the release of his first album in 1987, SC2 has dominated the charts and the Dove Awards with his music.  His 1992 project, The Great Adventure, was one of the albums that got me believing that Contemporary Christian Music could be great.  I took youth groups to see him on a couple of occasions, and one of my favorite concert events ever was seeing SC2 and my friend (and his best friend) Geoff Moore share a stage and tell stories about their relationship and song-writing.  I have used his music in worship (Speechless and Let Us Pray), to teach lessons and to inspire action in students.  His catalog is so huge that this Top 10 list is limited to songs from albums released before 2003- but there are still some HUGE hits left out.  As always, I'd love to hear from you.  And be sure to scroll down past the list to hear a special medley of Steven's early hits.  It was a bonus track in The Great Adventure Fan Fun Pack, which also featured a video.   Dive in!  :)


10)  I Will Be Here - (from the album More To This Life, 1989)  I sang this song in at least 3 weddings, so it has to make the list!
  9)  Fingerprints of God - (from the album Speechless, 1999)  I gave my son Will a t-shirt with lyrics from this song and "God's fingerprints" on it when he was little.
  8)  Facts Are Facts - (from the album Heaven In the Real World, 1994) Amazing chorus with an amazing promise.
  7)  The Walk - (from the album Signs of Life, 1996)  Micah 6:8 "It all comes down to the walk..."  
  6)  No Better Place - (from the album For the Sake of the Call, 1990) "Jesus came to bring us life in the here and now..."
  5)  Live Out Loud! - (from the album Declaration, 2001)  "Wake the neighbors!"
  4)  For the Sake of the Call - (from the album For the Sake of the Call, 1990) If you are in ministry (professional or otherwise), this song should be close to your heart.
  3)  Dive - (from the album Speechless, 1999) One of the great "GO FOR IT!" songs ever written.
  2)  Lord of the Dance - (from the album Signs of Life, 1996) "I am the dancer, I need the LORD of the dance!"  And the instrumentation- simply brilliant!
  1)  Prologue/The Great Adventure - (from the album The Great Adventure, 1992) The soaring instrumental Prologue sounds like the soundtrack of a great western and leads straight into the classic "Saddle up your horses!" opening.  Check out the video of my 28 years in youth ministry to hear it all together!


So there's my list.  What did I leave out- I mean besides his rap duet with Toby Mac, Got 2 B Tru? Now THAT is a song for the Jukebox of Cheese!  Let me hear from you!