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Windows and Walls

After 15 years with 4Him, a collaboration that resulted in 22 No. 1 hits and 8 Dove Awards, Mark Harris wasn’t laying the groundwork for a solo career when he released The Line Between the Two in June 2005.

While each of the four members was working on or had recently released solo projects, there was no plan to put an end to 4Him. In fact, later in 2005 the group was planning to go into the studio and record another hymns album. But as they sat down together in a North Carolina restaurant one warm summer day, Mark, Andy, Marty and Kirk found themselves planning an ending for the group that had brought them such success and fulfillment.

“We didn’t sit down to end 4Him,” Harris says, but a variety of ministry opportunities for the individual members made it, “in hindsight, such a God thing.” That’s how the foursome found themselves spending 2006 celebrating what had been. They released Encore, an album filled with hits and fans favorites, and embarked on a farewell tour.

Once that chapter was finished, Harris began to contemplate his future. While he’d already done more than most people could accomplish in several lifetimes, retirement wasn’t even an option. Instead, he relished the opportunity to face a new challenge of solo work. As 4Him’s primary songwriter, Harris had spent years writing from a corporate perspective, making sure his words encompassed what the entire group wanted to say. Now, speaking only for himself, he was able to communicate more personal messages straight from his own heart.

“It’s exciting for me to be able to do that,” Harris says, adding, “I never knew what it was like to write 12 songs and cut 12 songs. I always felt like I had to write 50 and record 12.” What this streamlined process allowed him to do is spend more time on each song, honing the melody and message until they were just right.

And it’s those songs that provided the direction for Windows and Walls, both musically and thematically. Due in stores on Sept. 25, 2007, Harris’ second solo project was definitely influenced by his current role as Head of Worship Ministries at Bay Community Church near his home on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, but the project really centers around story-driven songs.

The first radio release from this album is one that Harris says is particularly special to him. A tender story of just how quickly kids grow up, “Writing On the Wall” is one any parent who’s ever marked their child’s height on a wall will relate to. In comparing it to his work with 4Him, Harris says, “it’s more vulnerable, it’s a more intimate setting. It’s such a very honest statement. I won’t regret not doing more concerts when I’m older, but I will regret not being there for things in my kids’ lives.”