"How He Loves" is a song by independent artist

John Mark McMillan John Mark McMillan (born November 27, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Career In 2002, McMillan released his debut album ''Hope Anthology, Volume 1''. This independent album was followed by ''The Song Inside: The Sounds of Br ...

for his second studio album, ''The Song Inside the Sounds of Breaking Down''. The song was successful despite the album's independent release, and has been covered by several well-known artists within the

Christian music industry The Christian music industry is one aspect of the broader music industry, with a focus on Christian music and subgenres such as gospel music, southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, contemporary worship music, and even traditional church mus ...

(

David Crowder Band David Crowder Band (stylized as David Crowder*Band and The David Crowder*Band) was a six-piece Christian rock and modern worship band from Waco, Texas. Their final album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian and No. 2 on the B ...

, Kim Walker,

Todd Agnew Todd Wilson Agnew (born March 15, 1971, in Dallas, Texas) is a contemporary Christian musician and songwriter. Musical career Agnew's best-known song is " Grace Like Rain", a version of "Amazing Grace", which was featured on his first album, ...

, New Breed,

Flyleaf Flyleaf may refer to: *In book design, a blank leaf in the front or back cover * Flyleaf (band) Flyleaf is an American rock band formed in Belton, Texas, in 2002. The band has charted on mainstream rock, Christian pop, and Christian metal ...

The Glorious Unseen The Glorious Unseen is a Christian rock/contemporary worship band from Nashville, Tennessee. Before signing with BEC Recordings, lead vocalist Ben Crist wrote and played many of the band's songs in his home church, The Anchor Fellowship. The band ...

) and Anthony Evans from the popular singing TV Show: The Voice. It has also been covered in Spanish by

Christine D'Clario Christine D'Clario (September 7, 1982) is an American Christian music singer, songwriter and worship leader, who plays contemporary worship music primarily for a Spanish-speaking audience. She has released seven albums: six in the Spanish-language ...

and

Seth Condrey Seth Brandon Condrey (born November 24, 1983) is an American Christian musician, who is a GMA Dove Award-winning artist, and a worship leader at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. He has released four Latin Albums, and two Engl ...

Background

McMillan wrote "How He Loves" following the death of his best friend, Stephen Coffey. Coffey was a youth minister for MorningStar Ministries. On November 1, 2002, during a church prayer meeting, Coffey prayed out loud "I'd give my life today if it would shake the youth of the nation"; the same night, he was in a multi-car accident and died of serious injuries. Meanwhile, McMillan was recording in a studio in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

when he received a call that two of his friends had been critically injured in a car accident. Later that evening, he received another call from his father who informed McMillan that Coffey had died. The next day, McMillan wrote "How He Loves" as a tribute to Coffey and out of a need "to have some sort of conversation with God" where he could speak to his frustrations and emotions over his best friend's death. According to McMillan, the love that he sings about in "How He Loves" is not a pretty, "Hollywood hot-pink" love. It is a kind of love that is willing to love even when things are difficult and messy. He says, "This song isn't a celebration of weakness and anger. It's a celebration of a God who would want to hang with us through those things, who would want to be a part of our lives through those things, and, despite who we are, He would want to be a part of us, our community, and our family."

David Crowder Band version

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

recorded ''How He Loves'' for their ninth studio album,

Church Music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The onl ...

. It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in 2009. For the band's version, Crowder received permission from McMillan to change the lyrics from "sloppy wet kiss" to "unforeseen kiss". DCB's cover helped propel the already popular song to greater rotation on Christian radio, peaking at No. 8 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs ...

chart in 2009. "How He Loves" was also by the compilation album '' WOW Hits 2010'' with the radio version.

Awards

In 2010, this version of the song was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year at the

41st GMA Dove Awards The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard. Nomin ...

.41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced
on

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

(February 18, 2010)

References

External links

How He Loves: A Song Story (John Mark McMillan's Vimeo)
mini-documentary
David Crowder*Band versionKim Walker version
{{authority control 2009 singles Contemporary Christian songs 2009 songs