BETWEEN THE LINER NOTES
Larnelle Harris: Being About His Business
By Jennifer E. Jones
CBNmusic Producer
CBN.com – Grammy Awards, Doves, and numerous accolades haven’t changed Larnelle Harris. With three decades in the music industry, he shows CBNmusic that, after all this time, he’s still a man after God’s heart.
Jennifer E. Jones: You’ve been at this for 30 years now?
Larnelle Harris: Somewhere around there. You know, I quit counting a long time ago just as I quit counting birthdays [laughs]. I promised the Lord before my first audition that I would be in this for the long haul. I’m not talking about artistry or concerts. I’m talking about learning to live with Him and walk with Him.
Jennifer: Has that helped?
Larnelle: It has. It hasn’t made it perfect. I’m reading a book right now about safety. It says you’ve got about two weeks of bliss and then something is going to happen. There’s a natural ebb and flow to this thing we call life. You’re gonna have some downs. When I get the notion that God is far away, I look around, and it is me that has moved. Not Him. So yeah, it’s worked.
Jennifer: I can imagine you’ve learned so much from being in the industry this long. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
Larnelle: This is just not about me. This ministry doesn’t need anybody. It doesn’t need any names. It doesn’t need my input. I feel fortunate. I’ve got the greatest gig in the world, which is sharing my faith through this marvelous medium of music. It’s through the foolishness of preaching that God is going to win the world. [When it comes to myself] and all the people that I’m in league with, it’s not because we’re so smart or we say it just right and we don’t mess up because we do. It is through such vessels that God has chosen to win the world to Him. That’s what it’s really about. I’m a deacon of our church, and every once in a while the committee will get off on what color the rug is supposed to be [laughs].
Jennifer: I think I’ve been in those meetings.
Larnelle: When are we going to build this building? And all of these things are necessary but if we’re not careful, we’ll focus on those things. We’ll forget why we’re there. There are people outside of this building who have yet to know that God loves them. My job – should [I] decide to take it – is to put myself in a place where God can work in my heart.
Jennifer: So you’re just the vessel?
Larnelle: That’s it.
Jennifer: That must be so freeing to realize that you don’t have to be perfect, and you don’t have to nail it every time. You’re just the vessel who carries the message.
Larnelle: It’s freeing but it’s a pattern. I believe that Jesus was always about the business of what the Father was doing. God has an agenda.
Jennifer: So where has God’s business led you? You've been working on a CD called I Want to Be a Star.
Larnelle: I want to be a star. I’ve been working at it all my life, whether in Christian music or in secular. I want to be a star – like the one over Bethlehem that brought the humble and the wise. I want the world to know the love and the hope that I’ve found in You, Lord. I’ll shine anywhere You want me to.
Jennifer: That’s a catchy title.
Larnelle: I hope it catches some people who will say, “Yes, I know that star. That was the one that announced Jesus.” When they saw that star, they started to gather around the manger. It was the beginning of Christendom. It was the beginning of my redemption. It was the beginning of “God is love,” “God is with us,” and “God among us.”
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