Waxahachie, TX
December 12, 2018 | Mikayla Heldt
Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) alumnus Russell Blackman released his album “ One Shepherd Boy ” on November 9.
“The inspiration behind my album is basically a parallel of life between that of mine and the character David in the Bible,” Blackman says. “My kind of writing and writing for this album in particular…is based solely off my encounters with God. I have this special relationship with Him, it’s tangible and it’s real.”
Blackman says that the majority of his songs were “downloaded in a dream” from God. He wrote these spontaneous worship songs through dreams, the piano rooms at SAGU’s Hagee Communication Center (HCC), in his dorm, and at a worship service at a church in Tennessee.
There are seven songs on the album, and Blackman arranged them in a specific way to tell a story.
“‘New Day’ is like the Genesis of the album and ‘Anthem’ is the Revelation of album. Basically, the beginning and the end of one complete story,” he says.
Though Blackman admits that he loves every song on the album, “Anthem”, the final song on the track, has been particularly significant to him lately.
“I’ve been in a very reflective mode, thinking about Heaven and what it’ll be like when we’re all there surrounding the throne.”
Blackman graduated from SAGU in December 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in Church Leadership and Associates degrees in Music, Business Administration, and Bible. While attending SAGU, he says that the environment, worship experiences, an emphasis on quality time with the Lord, and the friendships all really gave him the resources to create “One Shepherd Boy”.
“SAGU provided a safe space and a greenhouse environment for this album to flourish,” Blackman says.
Though the album had been talked about before he came to SAGU, Blackman says that his time there was a huge part of the album’s process.
“I always had the title in my mind, I had a vision for what I wanted, but SAGU really cemented that vision.”
He hopes to go on tour someday and reach people through his music and continues to write music to spread the gospel of Christ.
“Russell Blackman Music’s motto is ‘releasing the sound, revealing the King’ and that is my hope and prayer with every album, everything that I write,” he says.
Blackman also wants the album to be used as a resource for churches, worship conferences, and workshops all around the world. He looks forward to sharing these songs that were birthed out of his worship experiences.
“It’s just basically being that boy, that shepherd boy who is different than the rest of the crowd…and has had these personal worship encounters with God….I just wanted to share that with the rest of the world.”
To learn more and purchase “One Shepherd Boy,” go to https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-shepherd-boy/1442003964 .
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu
