Make Me New – Dan Burr

Dan Burr could probably tell us what message will resonate with almost any audience, since he’s been so many places and been exposed to a wide variety of groups in his career. He’s been in thousands of concerts, so it must not be an accident that what he has to say through the music he’s brought to people is popular. What would a message sound like that would have such broad appeal? Could that have been Dan’s objective when he composed “Make Me New” in 1985? It’s not a very complex work, with just a few lines, but he must have thought nothing more was necessary to convey the essence of his thoughts. What does renewal look like, anyway? Would it mean being re-born, in the literal sense (take, for example, this picture depicting Louis VIII’s birth in France, 12^th Century)?

Dan Burr’s international career must have been well-along in 1985 when he composed “Make Me New”. He and his wife Karen had been in ministry for some 40 years in 2012, indicating Dan was perhaps a 30-something when he thought about being made new 27 years earlier. Burr, unlike a biblical predecessor who shared an interest in rebirth but was confused about it (Nicodemus; John 3:4), surmised that renewal is of the spiritual nature. It hasn’t been a message he’s shy about sharing, apparently, if one even just glances at his travel log. He’s written just over 100 songs, a relatively small number, but the breadth of his effort to communicate their theme is extraordinary. The Christian message has accompanied him across the globe -- 7,000 concerts in 23 countries, from Canada (the Burrs native country) to Asia, including Russia and Israel. What must it have been like for this gospel singer and evangelist to perform for the Jewish prime minister of Israel, as a video indicates was one of his life’s highlights? He’s not afraid to knock on the doors of the powerful, including those who work in the White House, as the video also makes clear. His bold, upfront approach must have also carried a sincerity and sensitivity that has kept his hearers listening. Could it be the ‘me’, ‘my’, and ‘I’ that he uses repetitively in the few words of “Make Me New” are what resound in the ears of his audience? If you want to suggest someone make a change in his life, first begin with your own testimony-confession. My own rebirth is the best recommendation I can make to others.  

The Burrs are still at this renewal business. They have been ministering in the Los Angeles area and still reportedly travel to carry this renaissance message to anyone in the world that will hear it. Why do you suppose they’re not just relaxing in their retirement years? Perhaps the best way to answer that is with another question. How often do you think they sing “Make Me New”? Once a year, a few times annually, or more than that?  

See link here for biography of the Burrs (Dan and Karen): https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-burr-518a3312

This YouTube video gives a short look at the composer: http://www.yourepeat.com/watch/?v=hWNWeheD8XE#!

This site may be the contact for the composer: http://eagleministriesintl.org/