About Me
It takes inspiration to build anything. Even the most logical of structures begin with imagined lines and shapes that, through some noble effort, are transformed from the intangible into the physical. The same can be said of a ministry. It starts with a call and a vision before surrender and obedience cultivate what is seen. Everything You Do, the self-produced, live worship release from Carl Cartee, a staff writer of Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, on GreatWorshipSongs.com, is a product of this transforming process.
As snowflakes fluttered and twirled through a frozen December night, Carl and his band set their instruments, effect pedals and monitors upon the enduring wooden floor of Ocean Way Studios. The famed recording studio is housed in a Gothic Revival church on Nashville’s famed Music Row and often plays host to artists such as Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and George Strait. One this night, the studio poised to welcomed friends, students and music industry staffers from the dreary night, offering a shelter for prayer and the spirit of worship.
As the opening notes rang out and Carl sang the first words of “Just One Name,” (There’s a name where the weary run to rest, where the poor and the broken will be blessed.) they seemed a fitting metaphor for the those in attendance. Gathered in a church, safe from the biting cold, the collection of individuals were soon transformed into a community of worshippers raising their voices to glorify God. And through the music, there was a realization that what protects is not the physical structure of houses or churches but the name of Jesus.
“Music is something intangible that humans create and yet it becomes ingrained in humanity,” says Cartee. “The inspiration and the tools are from God and it is our responsibility to be faithful with the music we create. Worship music should inspire people to seek the Father and to proclaim the gospel. Hopefully that inspiration will welcome Jesus into everything we do as a culture.”
Carl’s deep voice, fitting to a musician raised as a Springsteen fan within the walls of a North Carolina church, opens the record guiding worshippers into the revelation of the Savior. With proclamations such as “It’s (the name of Jesus) the sound on the lips of those redeemed, it alone remains the blessed hope of nations,” there is an understanding that Carl is not only a musician but a voice calling the church to remember the shelter and hope of Jesus. With complete conviction in his voice, the listener has every reason to believe him as he sings “there is endless life for every hopeless heart, where You are.” Carl is a musician whose songs are rooted through him in the foundation of Christ.
Perhaps the most adequate depiction the foundation of Christ on the record is the song “This Is the Gift of God,” declaring that because of the Father’s love, “rich in mercy,” He welcomes sinners as family. Hinting of a future Easter classic, a sort of modern hymn, Carl shows his skills arranging the melodic structure so minimize the common distractions of a new song.
Carl was playing guitar by age three, a student of his grandfather. It was the shades of Godly influence by Carl’s father and other community leaders that helped to firmly place him a path to ministry during his teen years. After studying music at Gardner-Webb University, he embarked into full-time music ministry, spending several years leading worship conferences and writing songs. This leading and writing was sort of a prep for a bold step in faith as Carl moved with his wife from the known wilderness of North Carolina to the wilderness of Nashville’s established music scene.Soon, his songs, his voice and his heart caught the attention of the music industry.
Over the next few years, he recorded several albums, experiencing a brief moment as an artist on Spring Hill Records. His growth as an artist and writer continued to be fruitful a blessing of the faithful move to Nashville. Still the minister in Carl was not satisfied as he continued to travel to lead worship and speak at conferences nationwide. Truly Everything You Do, as a collection of songs, is really one level of a ministry that includes a national worship conference, Inspire Worship Conference, a staff writing position with Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, and a position as Artist in Residence as Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, TN. And it is the latter that really speaks louder than the others, as Carl continues to remain faithful to his local church. Seeking the call to equip worship leaders, one-on-one mentoring is an evident goal of his ministry and music career.