The comfy sofas and armchairs at The Corner Perk in Bluffton make it a popular spot for locals to gather for conversation over coffee, and singer Tim Malchak is hoping to spark some discussion when he performs a concert there Saturday.
"I'd like to see the audience really feel God's presence," he said, "a kind of 'spiritual dialogue' that speaks to the heart."
Malchak, a resident of Bluffton, will perform songs off his latest album, "Jesus Every Day," produced in conjunction with Tate Music Group. The album features several up-tempo tracks with a more driving beat than Malchak has performed in the past. The title tract has Malchak rocking out a powerful chorus that contemporary church bands will no doubt be picking up on.
But fans of his signature ballad style won't be disappointed. Two love songs appear on the album, and Malchak's voice rings true as he sings them from the heart -- no surprise, given that he recently became engaged.
Malchak's dynamic voice has a purity that is easily recognizable. So too are his accomplished musical skills, particularly on the acoustic guitar. While he credits Scripture for much of his inspiration, Malchak names artists such as Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin and James Taylor as major influences in his musical style. One local musician, Kathleen Edwards, likened his voice to Jim Croce. "He has a clear sound and effortless delivery that is really beautiful."
He is widely known throughout the Lowcountry for his many church performances and benefit concerts. While these public charitable appearances have garnered him much praise, it is his behind-the-scenes work at the Ridgeland Correctional Institute that really moves him.
"Some nights I go in just dragging, but by the time I leave, I'm three feet off the ground," he said.
Surprisingly, Malchak's career didn't begin with Christian music. In the 1980s, he recorded a string of Top 40 country hits, including "Colorado Moon," "Restless Angel" and "It Goes Without Saying." His success, however, came at a price. A dangerous drug addition nearly ended his life.
"I was your average, hard-working musician but I was obsessed with finding fame and fortune. I had a successful career in the music business. I was winning awards, I had notoriety, money, but I was living for myself."
It took hitting rock bottom to turn his life around.
That experience and the life-changing faith it sparked is the basis for his music ministry. It is also the inspiration for the song, "There's No High Like the Most High," which he will perform this weekend. In it, he tells how God stripped away the wasted years and gave him a new lease on life. It is a story he shares often with those struggling to overcome their own addictions.
In 2001, he founded Tim Malchak Ministries, to win the lost to Christ by the sharing of his faith, through music, witness and testimony. He has released six worship CDs to date.
To read more about Malchak's personal story and to hear samples of his music, go to www.malchak.com.
Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/03/28/1599794/singer-tim-malchak-talks-about.html#ixzz1I38DfR00
Local musician Tim Malchak has been leading Christians in worship for about a decade now, but the Bluffton man has not always sung the Lord's praises.
Malchak has been the worship leader at Hilton Head Presbyterian Church since 2006 and before that led worship at Church of the Cross in Bluffton. But he said he spent many years running from God. And although he was raised in a church, he had no faith.
As a singer/songwriter in Nashville, Tenn., Malchak did well for himself, winning several independent awards, including song of the year and best new artist at the Nashville Music Fest in 1988, as well as single of the year and male vocalist of the year at The Independent Music Awards in 1988. He was named one of Billboard magazine's Top 10 New Country Artists of 1987. He has performed with such legendary artists as Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Kenny Rogers. In 1993 he played at Farm Aid VI, which aired on TNN to 200 million viewers.
But all of his success didn't fulfill him.
"I really wasn't living for Christ," Malchak said. "And that reflected in my lifestyle."
He had been drinking and doing drugs since he was 12 years old, but finally gave it up in 1995 when he got tired of feeling lousy. Twenty-six years of drug use had taken a toll on his body.
Now he's older and wiser, and he's been clean for 15 years. "I've gone from cocaine to Rogaine," he jokes.
He said God put Christians in his life to witness to him after he got sober. He said he blew them off for a long time, but finally gave in and started taking them seriously.
But it wasn't until 1999 that Malchak gave his life to Christ. He was driving to Bluffton from a business conference in Kentucky one night when he turned on the radio in his rental car. It was set to a Christian radio station. He had never listened to a Christian radio station in his life, but he decided to give it a chance. The song playing on the radio was "The Anchor Holds." He said he felt like God was speaking to him through the words of the song. He pulled over to a rest area, repented and turned his life over to God.
"My own mortality came into light to me," he said. "I realized that one day I was going to die, and I was going to have to stand before a holy God in judgment, and I didn't like what he would've seen at that point if I was going to die that day. ... I knew that without a savior, it became very clear to me at that point that I was destined for an eternity in Hell."
From that day, he put all his faith in Jesus and says he was born again. Malchak added that life was not easy after that point. He went through a divorce and a lot of personal trauma.
"In the process of all of that, I think my faith became stronger," he said, adding with a laugh, "I certainly got some great songs out of it."
After that, Malchak started writing Christian songs. He recorded his first Christian CD and founded Tim Malchak Ministries in 2001. One of his songs, "Be My Peace," went to the Top 10 for United Christian Broadcasters in the U.K. in 2004. He said God gave him that song to help him through the healing process.
"I had nothing to do with it," he said. "When God can use you in that sense to touch other lives, there's just no greater joy on this earth."
Hilton Head Presbyterian Pastor Clent Ilderton said Malchak has touched many lives through his ministry. He said he is a great person with an extraordinary talent, a good sense of humor and a caring heart.
"We are really blessed to have Tim and his ministry here at our church," Ilderton said.
Malchak's ministry goes beyond music, though. When he's not worshipping God through his music, he often can be found preaching on the streets of Savannah and just about everywhere he goes. He also volunteers several times a year at Ridgeland Correctional Institution, where he ministers to inmates.
His newest CD, the all-acoustic
"Sovereign King," was released May 5 and is available at Heaven Sent Gift & Bookstore in Bluffton and online at www.malchak.com. Malchak describes the CD as an intimate worship experience that is an accurate representation of how he presents his music in concert -- just him and his guitar.
"I guess if I had a goal for this music ... it would find its way into as many other churches as possible so (the songs) could be used to glorify God on a grand scale," Malchak said. "That's my biggest prayer."
My Brother...we LOVE your music~!!!! And, we welcome the inclusion of TEN
MORE of your compositions. We are loading your CD at WMUG-FM
(WMUGRADIO.ORG) and we will take the CD with us to WDAD-AM to play on "This
Sunday Morning."