God Stepped IN: A New Single by Dr. Daran Mitchell

Dr. Daran Mitchell is a prolific pontificator, a professor of preaching, a sought-after revivalist, a pastor, and a jazz aficionado. Recently, he added recording artist to his list of titles. With not much more than a social media status update, Dr. Mitchell released the single, God Stepped In, on Spotify and other streaming platforms. Because Dr. Mitchell is known as a hymnologist, it was unexpected to discover that this release was not a hymn. Upon this discovery, we immediately reached out to Dr. Mitchell to find out what inspired him to make this bold step and to share with our readers what the experience of being in the studio was like.

SoZ: Dr. Mitchell, thanks for agreeing to talk to me about your new single. I want to jump right in and ask you what inspired you to record this song.

D. Mitch: (Chuckles) Well… I always wanted to do it. I just didn’t think I had the voice to do it. Let alone when you think about the song that was recorded, it was way out of my wheelhouse, to be honest with you. I always thought that I would record a hymn or hymns. You know, that’s what I became known for. I don’t want to say famous, but I’m known for singing hymns. Hymns are a genre of music that I love. I grew up singing hymns as a child. And, of course, entering the ministry, I had to lead prayer meetings in my home church, and I really took an interest in memorizing the hymns. I’ve always loved hymns. But I think the main thing was it was something different, something that stretched me, and then I got some encouragement from Dr. David Williams, who’s a dear friend and a classmate in seminary. He kept pushing, saying, “Mitch, you ought to do it.” He would shoot me some songs, and I would check them out. We actually did a son together a few years ago called Rise. I really enjoyed that experience. Then he said, “It’s time for you to do something on your own.” He sent me a couple of songs, and we landed on this one. He gave me vocals, and at first, you try to do it the way you heard it. He said, “No, you gotta make it your own.” So I said, “Let’s do it”. And after a couple of tries, there you have it. I think, for the most part, I wanted to just do it to say to myself you can do this. But I had people supporting me too. My wife and son were always encouraging me to do it. And, of course, Philippians 4:13…

SoZ: What was your experience like in the studio?

D. MITCH: The experience was great. It was so different from anything that I’ve done. I’m still in this space where I want to learn new things and try new things. Being in the studio, man…When I got in there, it was like,” Whoa…I’m really in here. God, you got to help me through this.” I’m a perfectionist. So I’m listening to myself, trying to get the note right, breathing, and all those kinds of things. The engineers were really patient with me. Dave said, “Mitch, you love jazz. Feel it. You have to hit the note perfectly.” This is not like singing Let Mount Zion Rejoice; this is not that kind of party. NO. It was “feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme…” I started feeling it, and the more I felt it, I started to get into it, and the song got into me. The lyrics spoke to me where I was and where I have been since the pandemic. All of this really helped me to get into the song and realize that it would be a blessing to so many people.

SoZ: What was the lyric in this song that really resonated with you?

(At this point, he pauses and looks heavenward. He is silent for two minutes before he answers.)

D.MITCH: This has been a tough time. I thought this named the space where many of us are trafficking. This has been a tough time. That by itself got me. Just wrapping around that, God’s presence in the midst of these tough times. I’m thankful that God touched David with those lyrics and touched my voice to be able to communicate those lyrics.

SoZ: What advice would you give to someone who is being compelled by God to do something out of their wheelhouse?

D. Mitch: Trust God and the people around you that God is speaking to and through.

Dr. Mitchell’s single, God Stepped In is available on YouTube.