“There are three stages in the work of God: Impossible; Difficult; Done.”
These words of James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), founder of the China Inland Mission, aptly describe the progression of this first recording project by Rod Mackert. While employed as a professor and research scientist at the Medical College of Georgia, while raising a family of six children with his wife, Janet, while serving in leadership at his local church, Rod has also squeezed in time to arrange and record this first collection of his songs, Eyes of Innocence.
After getting his first guitar at the age of thirteen, Rod began writing tunes of his own by his high school years. His new birth in Christ soon after his 21st birthday brought about an explosion of songwriting born of a heart liberated by God’s grace and truth. As he began to share his songs at his church and student fellowships, he also received requests for recordings of them. But the demands first of graduate school, and then of a post-doctoral year in Japan, seemed never to leave enough time for musical pursuits. Time became even more precious as he and Janet moved to Augusta, Georgia and began a demanding time building a career and family. Through those years, though, he regularly played guitar and sang for his family and friends, in church services and Sunday school, and at student fellowship functions. And people continued to encourage him that his songs needed to be “out there” for others to enjoy. Now after more than four years of work, the Eyes of Innocence project has passed through the appointed stages: Impossible... Difficult... DONE!
The songs on Eyes of Innocence take everyday struggles and conversations into the arena of profound spiritual truths. Many are written in a narrative style; some have light-hearted fun woven into the arrangements (listen for the megaphone vocals and honky-tonk piano in “Listen from the Heart,” or the toy piano in “Eyes of Innocence”). But most memorable to the listener is the ability of Rod’s compelling melodies and articulate word pictures to stir the heart.
Rod’s musical influences include Paul Simon, James Taylor, Neil Young, John Prine, and the late Mark Heard. He plays 6- and 12-string acoustic guitars, and the styles of his songs range from lively sing-a-longs to contemplative, fingerstyle ballads. His CD is available at the following locations:
Borders Books & Music, 257 Robert C. Daniel Jr Pkwy, Augusta, GA 30909; tel. 706-737-6962 (CDs and cassettes).
Family Christian Stores #121, 204 Robert C. Daniel Jr Pkwy, Augusta, GA 30909-0802; tel. 706-737-0782 (CDs and cassettes).
Handcraft House, U.S. Route 29 (R.R. 1, Box 104 BD), Madison, VA 22727; tel. 540-948-6323, 800-207-0534 (CDs and cassettes).
Heavenly Resources Christian Bookstore, 1109 Knox Avenue, North Augusta, SC 29841; tel. 803-442-9222 (CDs and cassettes).
Directly from Rod & Staff Records.
For more information, or to have Rod share his songs at a concert, family night supper, or other function at your church or Christian school, please contact Rod & Staff Records at 706-860-4890 or info@rodnstaff.com.