Montell Jordan: From R&B Singer To A Pastor

January 14, 2023282 views0

Montell Jordan: From R&B Singer To A Pastor

2023-01-14T09:35:56+01:00

By Church News

Former R&B singer Montell Jordan who rose to stardom in the early 90s with his infectious hit “This Is How We Do It,” has found a new passion in the church.Despite his surroundings growing up, he didn’t get involved with gangs. “I was more fearful of my dad than I was of the Crips and Bloods,” he said. “If we even thought about gangbanging or being around that, he would take us out first.”Instead, Montell’s life revolved around the Baptist church. The grandmother of a local Crips leader was a part of the same congregation, which gave Jordan immunity. “That was a Crip neighbourhood,” he adds. “They knew we were church kids, so it was almost like we had a pass, we had a protective covering, we could walk all through the neighbourhood.”Still, as his musical career took off, Jordan abandoned his Christian principles. “Ironically, I was part of the reason,” puts in his wife Kristin. “I was his manager the whole time. When we first got married they told us we would sell more records if we didn’t let people know we were married.”Although his fame faded, in 2010, things were looking up for Jordan; he had a comeback album on deck and a reality show pilot. But those projects were shelved.And so, Montell and his family joined Victory World Church in Atlanta. After doing a 21-day fast in July of 2010, Montell recalls, “The Lord spoke to me and said ‘you got to retire, you got to lay that life down.’”A perplexed Montell grappled with the idea of walking away from an R&B career that spanned almost two decades. “So then the battle becomes, how do you lay down the only life you really ever known?”In the beginning, Jordan served in the shadows, changing diapers in children’s ministry.“One time a worship minister said, ‘Hey, would you come and be a part of this service?’ I was like, ‘I come with a lot of baggage. I don’t know if you want an R&B singer on your stage.’”“I was scared because I knew I wasn’t one person,” he says. “I was probably fearful that me standing on stage would mean that people were going to think that I’d completely given my heart over to Him when I haven’t.”Kristin adds that despite her husband’s insecurities, his first time singing in at the church had a memorable impact. “One of the songs he sang was ‘Moving Forward’ by Israel Houghton. And it was just like, [whistles] ‘This is a game changer.’”Not long after, Montell was offered the worship pastor position. “They saw ministry in me that I didn’t see.” He was soon given a license to marry, baptize and christen.Jordan decided to craft a sound accessible to the entire congregation. With this goal in mind, he started working on a live concert of all new material with a newly formed collective of church musicians, called Victory World Music.“We were being told that this can’t be done. People are not going to pay to come to the church to see the musicians that are here. And I was like, ‘Trust me, we’re going to be fine.’” Indeed, the group released an album, Shake Heaven and put on a sold-out show.ALSO READ Seminary Student Finds New Life, Purpose in Christ