A few years ago I was listening to a talk in a General Conference of my church when I heard these words, “As you seek to learn more about Jesus Christ, I urge you to study ‘The Living Christ.’”
For some background, The Living Christ is a document about Jesus Christ’s life and what He has done for mankind. I’ve wanted to memorize it in the past but felt overwhelmed (it’s loooong!), but for some reason when I heard this, I knew it was time. However, I also knew that my history with memorizing was shaky…to say the least.
And then the thought crossed my mind, “What if it was set to music?” No doubt, set to music I would remember it forever.
So I called my mom (always a good first step) and asked her if she knew anyone who might be up for the task. She mentioned a friend of hers from high school, Shawna Edwards, and I immediately questioned if the Christian-music-writing-extraordinaire would be up for a project like this.
However, my mom said she’d reach out, and I thought it can’t hurt to ask.
A day later the miracle came.
I got an email from Shawna…but not because she had heard from my mom, but because she just felt to reach out to me. Miracle.
Within a few days we jumped on a phone call to chat about the project. She mentioned she had just been trying to memorize The Living Christ herself. And she said she’d take it on.
From here I want to switch to Shawna’s perspective. She shares:
Lizzy wanted it put to music so that people could more easily memorize it. Because, let’s face it, when you learn a song, you pretty much remember it your whole life.
The Living Christ is a short document. It fits on one page. It declares the truth about Jesus – touching on His birth, life, death and resurrection, His great atoning sacrifice, and His divine role as the Savior of all mankind. It’s packed with simple statements that carry profound meaning to those who believe.
I think it’s beautiful. So I said, “Sure!”
I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I was willing to try.
Then reality set in.
As beautiful as the words of The Living Christ are, they simply weren’t written to be set to music. They don’t have a meter. They don’t rhyme. Some phrases are short and some are long. They don’t follow any pattern at all. Which makes them the complete opposite of a musical lyric. Of course, I knew that going in, but I had never tried something like this, so I guess I was naively optimistic.
I’ll spare you the details of how I went about trying to make it all work. I’ll just say that through the process, I have learned to love these words. And more importantly, to love my Savior more.
I divided the document up into 8 sections, and the song for each section is unique. It’s not a great work by any stretch of the imagination. I just hope it will be memorable.
Shawna worked a miracle to set this document to beautiful, memorable music.
It’s been humbling to see this project snowball, with so many others offering their talents–amazing arrangers, singers, artists, and web developers. What we all have in common is that Jesus has changed us. He freely gave His gifts–His LIFE–for us.
We are so honored to freely give this gift to you, with the prayer that it will help you come to know Him better.
We know that with Him anything is possible. We are thrilled to have you join us in memorizing this document, and come to know Him. To love Him. To be changed by Him, together.
The Amazing Artists Who Made This Happen
Lizzy Jensen
As the leader and creator of this project, Lizzy is passionate about memorizing The Living Christ and having the power of Jesus Christ change you.
Shawna Edwards
Shawna is passionate about spreading Christ’s message through song. She started composing songs to share her faith in Jesus Christ about 10 years ago. She wrote all 8 beautiful songs for The Living Christ Project.
Daniel Blomberg
The co-founder of Blomberg Music Productions, Daniel, loves to produce, arrange, and perform songs all about Jesus. He arranged all the songs for The Living Christ Project.
Kristen Bodine Scott
Collaborating and singing in songs about Jesus Christ is something Kristen feels very blessed to be a part of. She sings most of the songs for this project.
Elizabeth Soffe
As a full-time mom by day and artist by night, Elizabeth loves creating family and religious-based art. She illustrated the wonderful artwork used in the videos and flipbooks for each section.
Tiffany Egbert
Tiffany Egbert loves teaching music to children, especially religious music. She is thrilled to have helped create the flipbook for The Living Christ Project.
Yaphet Bustos
We are graced with Yaphet’s beautiful voice in section 6 of this project. He sings many songs praising Jesus Christ.
James Stevens
Singer/songwriter James sang and led BYU Vocal Point toward many awards. He is the beautiful voice behind section 5 of this project.
Lisa Jensen
As a painter, Lisa loves to help people memorialize nostalgic places and capture the beautiful parallels between life and nature in her abstract work. Her artwork is used throughout the website.
Michelle McGuire
A passionate artist and mental health advocate, Michelle believes deeply in the power of deliberate living. In painting, she intentionally seeks and shares heavenly light found in miraculous creations. You’ll find her work in the 8×10 print outs for each section and the phone wallpapers.
Michelle’s especially grateful for the enabling power of Christ; as she consistently experiences fundamental change and growth in her own life and those she loves, she is learning to trust Christ’s promise that we can all truly “become new” through His grace. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Kelsey
On her shop Good Works Goods, Kelsey creates beautiful Christ-centered decor to warm the heart and home. She illustrated the adult coloring pages for each section of The Living Christ Project.
Jessica Tiek
On her shop Anne Tiek Designs, Jessica is an artist using her talent to bring artwork, uplifting quotes, and coloring pages to others seeking Christ-centered options. She created the children coloring pages for this project.
Ethan Galland
Ethan is a talented photographer who took the stunning photos of Lizzy and her family throughout the website.
McKenzie Rucker
Ever since she memorized The Living Christ while on her study abroad to Jerusalem, McKenzie has loved keeping the message in her home and heart ever since. The knowledge that Jesus “is the light, the life, and the hope of the world” has been the largest impact in her life. She designed and developed The Living Christ Project branding and website.
McKenzie intentionally seeks to find the small tender mercies in her everyday life that show a small glimpse into God’s incredible power and love for us and all His creations.