From a very early age, Steven Curtis Chapman was compelled to fix what was broken. Steven is best known as a Christian music icon. He’s won Grammies, 58 Dove Awards, and had multiple #1 radio hits; he is one of the most successful Christian artists of all time.
One of the reasons so many fans are drawn to his music is because of his honesty. His life has included both mountain top experiences, and devastating lows that would shake even the strongest person’s faith. As he faced brokenness throughout his life, he felt compelled to try to fix it. Even as a young boy, he was wired to be a peacekeeper, a conflict avoider, and to try to make people happy.
“I remember there was a time before my parents had really committed their lives to the Lord, there was a lot of conflict- a lot of fights and door slamming and Dad driving off. All he knew was when things get really hard, someone leaves. And I remember experiencing that as a little boy and being devastated by it. I think my way of responding was to say, I will do whatever I can to make sure those things don’t happen.”
It wasn’t until years later that Steven began to realize that he was born into a situation that was broken. His mom and dad had married at a very young age, and Steven’s older brother arrived a short time later. The pressures, along with brokenness in their own lives, led to a very stressful marriage. The stress came to a breaking point.
“My parents were at a point of saying ‘Maybe this marriage isn’t going to work-maybe we need to get a divorce.’ Or, maybe we should have another child, and that would help fix our broken relationship. That child turned out to be me. So I began to look back and say, no wonder I have this compelling drive to try to fix what’s broken, because that’s literally what I was brought into the world to do.”
Steven figured out what his assigned role was – to learn what would please people and deliver it. That desire to fix what was broken, and to please people, was a perfect complement to his musical gifts. When he played the guitar and sang songs, he could see that it made people happy and it made his parents proud.
“The first time I held a guitar and played a song in front of people, there was applause. I could see that they liked me and I had pleased them, and I knew I wanted to do that AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.”
Steven’s music was an arena where his “Mr. Fix It” personality could flourish. In his personal life with his marriage and his adopted children, he came face-to-face with situations that could not be easily repaired. Then his family experienced a tragedy that left them with a heartache so deep that it can’t be fixed this side of heaven.
So how does Mr. Fix It deal with “unfixable” brokenness? Hear Steven’s story in Chapter 26 of Epic.
Mr. Fix It - Steven Curtis Chapman
