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Latest Music
GROWING YOUNG - (Album)AVAILABLE NOW!!!
- Released: October 3, 2023
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Growing Young
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All the Way to Kingdom Come - (Single)
- Released: September 14, 2023
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All the Way to Kingdom Come
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O Wounded Healer - (Single)
- Released: April 21, 2023
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O Wounded Healer
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The Storm is Gone - (Single)
- Released: March 7, 2023
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The Storm is Gone
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Rock of Ages - (Single)
- Released: April 21, 2023
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Rock of Ages
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In the Morning - (Single)
- Released: December 27, 2023
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In the Morning
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"Growing Young"
Expressing the Story
So, I wanted to write a collection of songs in a way that expressed the gut wrenching emotion and story of God’s miraculous breaking and remaking of my heart over the last few years. Inwardly, out of fear and anxiety, I ran from God for many years. I didn’t always trust His guiding hand but now having been set free from my past, having faced many of my “giants” and knowing when I surrender to Him I can face whatever fear or anxiety lay ahead, I was ready to tell the story of His redemption in my life.
The Storm is Gone — Single "If there was ONE song from this project that I would love for everyone to listen to 'The Storm is Gone' would be it. This is my story. . .or rather God's story of breaking me and putting me back together and how I deal with the old way of life when it rears it's ugly head. This is my cry for God to take it all and leave me with the one thing I want to desire most: Jesus."
~HalRich’s Influence
As a kid, no other Christian music artist inspired me more than Rich Mullins. Maybe it was because his music didn’t sound like all the other Christian music I listened to. Maybe it was because Rich wrote and sang from a depth I hadn’t heard in many others. Maybe it was because he was able to express Biblical truth in real-world thoughts, faith and emotions. Or maybe it was because he was from Indiana and was influence by the Quaker faith which was the case with all my relatives. In any case, Rich was one in a million and the songs that “hit me so hard in the middle of the night” when I was young inspired me now to write some new songs styled after the music that moved me so deeply as a kid.
Rich Mullins
"I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news on KTIS that Rich had passed. I just about had to pull off the road. Rich's music meant so much to me as a kid trying to figure out God's call on my life."
Rich’s Influence
As a kid, no other Christian music artist inspired me more than Rich Mullins. Maybe it was because his music didn’t sound like all the other Christian music I listened to. Maybe it was because Rich wrote and sang from a depth I hadn’t heard in many others. Maybe it was because he was able to express Biblical truth in real-world thoughts, faith and emotions. Or maybe it was because he was from Indiana and was influenced by the Quaker faith which was the case with all my own relatives. In any case, Rich was one in a million and the songs that “hit me so hard in the middle of the night” when I was young inspired me now to write some new songs styled after the music that moved me so deeply as a kid.
The Struggle to Surrender
This project is about the struggle to surrender fully and daily to Jesus, receiving God’s grace, singing praise and worship to Him with a few “Rich-like” odds and ends thrown in. A couple of songs are styled after early 80’s Rich, some are hammered dulcimer driven, others are piano ballads, a Biblical narrative and a church hoedown thrown in too! I don’t have a fraction of the talent Rich had or ever will. I know that but I have Jesus and I can’t help but sing of Him.
O Wounded Healer — Single "'O Wounded Healer' was inspired by Henry Nouwen's book, 'The Wounded Healer'". We have all been broken to some degree but I think those are the only kind of people God uses to bring His eternal Kingdom vision to pass."
~HalContact for Booking
Biography
My Heart and Music
Years ago my wife told me she would never marry a traveling Christian Musician. Well, I used that as an excuse and I chose to be a worship leader. There was no way I could support a family traveling around doing music anyways. In some sense though, it felt like I was ignoring a call God had for me. Over the years, along with that small rebellion I held onto some “hurts, habits and hangups” while in ministry until He finally wore me down a couple years ago. For the first time in my life, I was completely free and one of the first things I felt like I needed to do in moving past my rebellion was to sing the songs of my heart and write my story in my songs. So, these days, I want to daily surrender to Jesus and try to follow Him as best I can.
“For the first time in my life, I was completely free and one of the first things I felt like I needed to do in moving past my rebellion was to sing the songs of my heart and write my story in my songs.”
“When He leads worship it is purely from his heart which draws me into focus completely on the Lord. As we have traveled and led worship in various churches over the years, I constantly have people coming up to me saying, ‘your husband is truly gifted in what he does.’ I would agree. :)”
– Martha Swift
(my wife)
My Journey
My parents were from Indiana but I was born and raised in Minnesota. They were Quakers but apparently not many Quakers like the MN cold so we went to the Presbyterian Church where I accepted Jesus at 12 on a canoe trip to the Boundary Waters. Rich Mullins was one of the first CD’s I owned and we sang a couple of his songs with the YFC sponsored singing group I was in during high school. In fact, my folks bought me a hammered dulcimer the Christmas before Rich died. I studied commercial music at Belmont University in Nashville, TN before transferring (or running away) to Bethel College in St. Paul, MN, where I met my wife, Martha. We married after graduation and moved to Sioux Falls, SD where I attended Seminary and received my Master of Arts in Bible and Theology.
Since then, I have led worship for over 20 years now; most of them as a full-time worship pastor. Music has always been a part of my life. I began violin lessons at age 5, piano at 7, taught myself guitar during my early college years as well as experimenting with other instruments. I have been married to my best friend Martha for over 25 years now and have 3 amazing kids who challenge me daily. We see our life as our ministry and together we are passionate to reach our community for Christ. We enjoy life together as a family riding bike, eating ice cream and having pizza on Sundays.
My Worship
I used to say, “I am all about worship,” when in reality, “I was all about the music we call ‘worship'” instead of true worship found in the Bible. Romans 12:1 calls us to offer our physical selves as living offerings or sacrifices that are holy and pleasing. God doesn’t want our mere occasional sacrifice for an hour on Sunday but entire lives of holy and pleasing sacrifice. So, in the end, I just want Jesus and to follow Him in obedience (See my song, “The Storm is Gone”). That we are saved by grace is for certain BUT how we live our lives from that point is what worship is really all about. We worship what we love and I want to be known more for my love for Jesus than any music I sing or write. In fact, I am convinced that God’s love language IS obedience. The Gospel writer John talks about this when he wrote, “If you keep my commands, you will abide in my love” (John 15:10). Worship IS Love. And Love IS Obedience. Obedience IS Worship.
“I am convince that God’s love language IS obedience.”
“Worship IS Love. And Love IS Obedience. Obedience IS Worship.”
Tour Dates
Contact for Booking
Book Hal to lead worship, preach, share his music and/or share songs by Rich Mullins