“Sacred Self” is a new album recorded by Micah Bentley, worship and arts pastor at Axiom Church in Peoria, Arizona. A musician and songwriter from an early age, Bentley wrote the songs for this album during a period of reflection as he completed training for being a spiritual director. On a recent day in his home studio, with his young children playing in the background, he took some time from working on some new music to share about the creative journey.
How did you get your start as a songwriter?
I was just a little sixth grader who wanted to learn punk rock songs when I started guitar lessons. My instructor, a professional songwriter, was gracious to humor me, but he also taught me how to put my thoughts together to write a song. I wrote my first original song in junior high.
How do you compare creating a recording to making music in a corporate worship setting?
Both require a lot of listening and being in tune with the Spirit and with my own heart. Recording music has always been one of my favorite activities. It is a safe space to experiment and be fully creative, to try anything. I love coming into a recording session with an idea for one thing and see it end up as this other thing.
What was experimental in your “Sacred Self” album?
This was the first record I recorded and produced all on my own. It’s a slower process than when you come to the recording session with your songs nearly ready and you need to make the most of the expensive studio time. This gave me a lot more freedom and time to work on it at home during the week.
How did the experiment work for you?
The fact that this album has a very minimalist and intimate feeling lends itself to do it this way. A lot of these songs came from reflecting on my journey, taking inventory of my life. That’s why the title is “Sacred Self”—seeing ourselves and God’s beautiful creation the way God sees us. The more I’m self-aware, the more I feel connected to God.
“Sacred Self” does not come across as an explicitly Christian music album. Is that deliberate?
Something that has always been a part of my DNA as an artist is a desire to inhabit the space between the sacred and the secular. That’s where Jesus existed—not just in the church but outside of the church too. I see myself as an artist to bring sacredness into those spaces.
“Sacred Self” is available on Spotify and Apple Music or at https://micahbentley.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-self
Kathy Heinrichs Wiest is a freelance writer who loves the smell of whole wheat bread in the oven, the feel of an orange being plucked from the tree and the view from her front porch in Kingsburg, California. On Sunday mornings you’ll find her in the fourth pew from the front on the left at Kingsburg MB Church, moved by the hymns and praise songs and inspired by the stories of God at work locally and around the world. She and her husband, Steve, own Dovetail Remodeling. They have two grown daughters, one son-in-law and a precious granddaughter.
