Good Good Father -- Pat Barrett and Anthony Brown

 

It’s an appreciation that had been ongoing for about four years before these two songwriters decided this “Good Good Father” should be shared more broadly in 2014. The spontaneity of what had first sprung up in Atlanta churches where Anthony Brown worshipped struck others like his friend Pat Barrett, as circumstances in their lives spoke more intently to them through the song’s lyrics. Is He ‘dad’, or ‘daddy’, or ‘father’, and does the adjective ‘holy’ get inserted somewhere for you and me? All of the above, these guys might say, but the point of what they wanted to say was that He’s so very good, along with many other words they used to express their devotion to Him. Their underlying idea is that He’s not distant, though there’s a lot that tries to interfere with that before a believer draws near to this Father.

 

One can imagine that the first time, or one of the first times, that Anthony coaxed a church in Atlanta to sing some lines in the spur of the moment about this ‘good good father’, perhaps he was thinking about a notable gap in his mortal life – he’d had no dad growing up. And, others like Pat shared that becoming dads, with little children any Christian parent wants to nurture correctly, motivated their worship to Him in the song. Pat says he was a recent dad (2-year and 4-year-olds), so the song’s words resonated with him for that reason. Chris Tomlin, in conversation with Pat, also shared that he likewise had little children whom he wanted to be able to show God. How does one do that? Pat echoed that desire; how does one explain the Almighty to a child, introduce to a child the eternal Father who can change lives? Pat further shares that reading about Jesus addressing ‘his Father’ was really challenging in the 1^st Century culture in Israel and Judea, because you just didn’t talk to God that personally. He admits he had to unlearn so much about the cultural inclination to pray impersonally to a distant God, and instead think and talk to Him as Father. You can almost hear the many conversations that Anthony and Pat had about this Father, as they came at Him from different perspectives. Maybe it was Anthony who wrote the words about Him being a ‘tender whisper…in the dead of night’, a reassurance he would have missed as a child from an earthly father. And, Anthony felt His Father’s pleasure that ‘I’m never alone’. That’s really powerful stuff for someone without a human dad in the picture. For Pat, he’d ‘…heard a thousand stories…’ about God, conveying some feelings he says he had to unlearn about God being far away, too distant to address intimately. For both Pat and Anthony, this Father-God provided all the answers for those ‘searching…far and wide’.

 

Pat and Anthony repeat so many words to Him, notably saying he’s good twice – Anthony says once just didn’t seem like it was enough. He’s also ‘perfect’ for sure, with an ‘undeniable love’ that makes me ‘who I am’. Get that – my identity is wrapped up in Him, as it should be, since He made me in His image. All these are written to drive home this point: God is who He is (‘it’s who You are’), and I can revel in being His son, the son of a good good Father. I’m loved, He’s perfect and holy, and Pat and Anthony concede at one point that this ushers in a ‘peace so unexplainable’. It’s a situation that cannot be fathomed, and it’s beyond our human ‘think(ing)’. Their message is just to accept what’s being sung. You and I will be face-to-face with this Father, and then maybe we’ll understand it more. Or, just love Him more.

 

See the original song story here: The Story Behind "Good, Good Father" - Prophetic Crossroads

 

See more details on the song story told here: Chris Tomlin - "Good Good Father" (Story Behind The Song) | 95.5 The Fish - Cleveland, OH (955thefish.com)  (see story from Patt Barrett beginning at 0:50 to 2:22 and 3:34 to 3:50 of the video)

 

See very short explanation of the song’s purpose here: Good Good Father - Lyrics, Hymn Meaning and Story (godtube.com)

 

See some information on song here: Good Good Father - Wikipedia

 

See here for image of Atlanta seal and its public domain status -- File:Seal of Atlanta.svg - Wikimedia Commons This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.