Singer Jordan Feliz on Being a Millennial, Walking Boldly Into the Future With God in His Corner
Centricity Music's Jordan Feliz has quickly become one of Christian music's beloved new artists and with the release of his anticipated sophomore album Future, he wants people to know that trusting God has liberated him to be the artist he was called to be.
The following is an edited transcript of Feliz's interview with The Christian Post in which the young husband and father explains why, as a Christian, he's looking forward to all that's in store for the future. He also offers advice to others on how to let go of needing to be in control and start trusting God.
Christian Post: Your new album, Future, focuses on not having all of your life planned, and instead finding peace in the present. As a millennial, can you tell us how you got to that point, especially since we're told that total satisfaction is impossible?
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Feliz: How I really got to finding peace in my current state, is honestly from community. I had somebody really speak into my life and remind me that my future was not dependent on how great I was or how good I was at something, or what I created. It was all wound up in the inheritance of God, which is just our salvation. It's what was paid for on the cross. That is what we have to look forward to — walking through day-to-day with a God who is sovereign over every season.
It's funny that we're told so many times in our lives, especially by our society, that satisfaction in life is impossible. It's like you can never make enough money, or you can never have enough stuff. But because when we shake those expectations that the world tells us to have on ourselves, we really can find true peace, and where our satisfaction truly should lie in our self-worth, in Jesus.
CP: How has trusting God as author of your life liberated you?
Feliz: Honestly, it's probably one of the most liberating things I think anybody could ever go through, because that's where you find true freedom. That moment when you realize you don't have control and it's OK to not have control — that is what God calls us to do, He calls us to literally give Him our struggle, give Him our fears, give Him our anxieties. It's funny, because these are all the stresses and insecurities that make us feel like we're just not good enough. It's why we try to fill our lives with materialistic things like cars and money and all this junk. It's the most liberating thing to rely on Jesus and put all of our trust and all of our hope in Him.
CP: Your music is always so refreshing to listen to because of how stylistically different it is from most CCM. Do you get flack for being different or do you find it allows you to chart your own path?
Feliz: I think it's a little bit of both, honestly. I have had some people tell me my sound is too pop. There have been radio stations and people who haven't played songs because they feel that it's too pop-oriented or something like that.
But I also feel like there's another side of the coin where people are responding with "man, it's just so different that it stands out and it creates something new for listeners, new for people, new for Christian music fans," and that's always exciting.
I think it's just really important to remind yourself that God has you in your lane for a purpose. You don't have to go look at everybody else's lane, where they are at and how fast or slow they're going. Just stay focused on where God has you; be genuine, authentic and honestly, that's why we believe in the Ultimate Provider. He's going to be there for us no matter where we are, what we're doing or what we're creating, as long as we're trusting in Him to create or to give us these things, give us inspiration. Give those things to Him and trust in that, then we can stay in our lane and be really happy.
CP: As times change and the world becomes more digital, what do you think will be the future of ministry?
Feliz: Oh man! This is a kind of crazy question. I think that the future of ministry is just the fact that every single day, we have the entire world at our fingertips. We can communicate with people in different walks of life, different roles; you can interact with anyone these days. I think there is something that's really dangerous about it as well, but on a ministry level we can do something really powerful with it.
The fact that someone can post a YouTube video with a message of hope and talk about Jesus, and it can be shared millions of times and millions, potentially billions, of people could view it and see it and hear the truth about Jesus, I think that's pretty amazing!
CP: Did you ever anticipate your first album would be so well received? What do you think the future has in store for you?
Feliz: I, 100 percent, had no idea that the first album would be received the way that it was. I'm so honored by it. It's been amazing to see all that God has done with it. I feel like God has given me such a peace about the future. I'm not sure if that means what the world might think is failure, or what the world might think is success, but I'm just trusting that He has my future. And I'm trusting that he's going use the songs for the good of the Kingdom, and for me that is the true success.
CP: As an artist and a young man, how do you discipline yourself not to jump ahead of God?
Feliz: I feel as though I've had to learn this lesson almost every year since I graduated high school. As humans, we just want control of things so badly. It's as if we're always trying to take control of what's coming. But I think oftentimes, I have to remind myself that whether I do the best thing that I could ever do, if Jesus has the reigns, if He's the one driving the ship, then there's going to be things that happen that I could never do in my wildest dreams.
I continually remind myself to be in prayer and remind myself that being in control might seem really strong here, but it's one of the weakest things we could do. The strongest thing to do is to give things to Jesus and let Him dictate our path, and guide us through life.
CP: If you could offer advice to others on trusting God for their future, what would you say?
Feliz: I think the quick advice I would say on trusting God with their future, is to remind them that we believe in the Creator of the Universe. We believe in the Creator of the Heavens and the Stars, and if He can do all of this, then how can we not trust Him with something as simple as our lives.
We like to think that our lives are so complex, and sometimes they are. But no matter how hard it gets or how scary things may seem, we have to rely on the fact that we believe in a God who is sovereign over everything. No matter what situation, what season of life you're in, He's there. He's with you. He always will be and always has been. That's the beautiful thing, because He's always been there and never left. He knows everything that you're going through, and has walked through it before you have. That's really someone you can put your trust in.
Feliz can be seen kicking off the Winter Jam 2018 lineup in major cities nationwide and will be headlining his own "Future Tour" in April. For more information, visit his website.
