“It’s not just music.”

Those few words from Matt Redman say so much about the unassuming British worship leader and songwriter whose music (“Blessed Be Your Name,” “Better Is One Day,” “The Heart of Worship,” “You Never Let Go”) is well-known the world over. Despite years of consistently acclaimed output and recording industry honors, Matt definitively shuns the “artist” badge, always viewing the fruits of his creativity as resources for the church rather than potential chartbusters. He composes with eternity in mind, never any showbiz trend.

But that isn’t to say Redman is unaware of the times. Quite the opposite, in fact, as his newest sixstepsrecords release, We Shall Not Be Shaken, was written fresh off the Passion World Tour (seventeen cities) and in the face of today’s global financial meltdown.

Replete with U2-esque instrumentation, the pulsating title track proclaims: Nations could be quaking, economies failing. When fear is found all around, You’re the solid ground, inviting the church to put its faith in something infinitely greater than the headlines.

“This album praises God’s steadiness,” Matt says. “We’re being reminded how shakable earthly things are—job losses, home foreclosures. When we traveled to Korea, there were high profile suicides due to the failing marketplace. So it feels appropriate now to address the economy in a worship song. Nothing in the Psalms was ever detached from its era.”

We Shall Not Be Shaken is intentionally Psalm-like, using simple poetic lyrics to express unbreakable truth in an age of utter brokenness. Working with producer Robert Marvin (Mat Kearney) and writer Jonas Myrin (Steven Curtis Chapman, Natasha Bedingfield), Redman penned several songs to center listeners on God’s unmatchable constancy.

“Through It All” transforms a cascading melody during the verse into a soaring anthem in the chorus, declaring: Through it all You are strong. As we walk through the shadows still You shine on. Just as certain and celebratory is “How Great Is Your Faithfulness”, which concurs: Everything changes, but You stay the same. Your word and kingdom endure.

“In this world there are so many empty promises. But God always does what He says He will do,” explains Matt. “I want that truth to really connect with people’s lives. That’s the highest compliment for a songwriter, to have helped someone understand what they were feeling but didn’t quite know how to say. I want biblical certainty embedded in them.”

The goal of spiritual confidence points to the other key focus on We Shall Not Be Shaken, the centrality of Jesus and the cross. First single “This Is How We Know,” co-written with Redman’s wife, Beth, seamlessly blends the message of John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16.

This is how we know what love is; just one look at Your cross . . . For You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son. Love amazing, so divine, we will love You in return.

“You Alone Can Rescue”, another cross-themed song has, in its short life, already been around the world.  A song of declaration and freedom, Matt has led it in 15 countries this past year, including on the Passion World Tour in London, Paris and Seoul, where thousands of university students declared its truth together, We lift up our eyes, we lift up our eyes, You’re the giver of life…

Likewise, “For Your Glory” sounds fit for a congregational or, perhaps even better, a stadium-sized sing-along, jubilantly shouting: Your cross is the hope that we hold up high as we tell the whole world of Your love and life. We will dance for Your glory, Lord.

Among Matt’s favorite tracks on the new album is “Remembrance (Communion Song)”, which fulfills his long-held desire to write specifically for the ceremonial Lord’s Supper.

“I’d never written about the cross from that angle,” he says. “But I love old hymns in this genre, and we even worked some words from a Eucharist liturgy into the piece: Dying, You destroyed our death. Rising, You restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.”

“My Hope” unites the set’s themes, combining words from 1834’s “On Christ the Solid Rock” with Redman’s lyrics: Though every kingdom be shaken, still I will rest in You.

For all this talk about steadfastness, there was one extremely notable shakeup just prior to the shaping of We Shall Not Be Shaken, which was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. In July of 2008, Matt and Beth Redman and their three young children at the time, moved from England to the United States, and in November, they welcomed their fourth child.  Along with Passion Conferences founder Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and others, they are helping plant Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

“We love America and have a heart for the nation on a lot of different levels, but we never planned to live here,” admits Matt, a quintessential Englishman who still reads The London Times and likes a cup of Marks & Spencer tea in the morning. “We were happy living in our village, close to our mums and a church we’d planted. But as we learned about the plans for this new effort, we felt an unmistakable call to join in.”

Despite the change of location, Redman will maintain an international awareness and travel schedule. He clearly sees God building the church in England and knows from recent travels with Passion to Japan, Sweden, and Uganda that “God is doing something incredible. People in these countries are on the same page as those in the UK and America. I love this foretaste of Heaven—every tribe and every nation coming together—this Holy Spirit thing that is happening globally.”

As for his U.S. residency, Matt is especially excited about combining the country’s optimism with a kingdom mind-set. “That could be really cool,” he says.