Israel Houghton Is In His Element
by Hugo Bravo

The 7x Grammy-winning Christian singer-songwriter—who will lead worship at Commissioning Weekend in Hershey, Pa., in June—talks about his inspirations, why we must seek to go where God is, and the challenges new church leaders will face in ministry.
Israel Houghton was supposed to be in Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards in February. He was nominated in the Best Gospel Performance/Song category for his contributions as a singer, songwriter, and producer to “One Hallelujah,” a powerful, arena-filling worship anthem that announces our united praise under one Lord, backed by gospel harmonies, R&B vocals, and electric guitar riffs.
“We all have different stories,” the lyrics go, but “when it’s all said and done there’s only one.”
“Singing about the grace of God across nations and uniting in worship … that’s red meat for what I do,” says Israel.
He and his wife, the singer and television personality Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, had planned to fly from New York to L.A. after a live recording of Coritos, Israel’s upcoming music project that combines traditional worship hymns and gospel with Latin music genres such as salsa and bachata. The couple chose to skip the awards show and instead went to a worship service in Brooklyn led by their friend Marcos Witt, one of the most renowned and beloved names in Spanish Christian music.
“I gave our two Grammy tickets to my son Sonny and his girlfriend, who were already in California,” says Israel. “As soon as I offered it to them, I had a feeling inside me that we would win.”
That Sunday, as Marcos Witt sang “Tu Fidelidad,” a song about God’s unending love and commitment to His people, Israel received a text message from Sonny that “One Hallelujah” had won the Grammy. Sonny had even tried to run up and accept the award in his father’s name but could not reach the stage in time.
“What a blessing,” says Israel. “They were both so happy and grateful for the opportunity to attend the show, and I was able to stay for a beautiful worship service in New York.”
Israel Houghton’s own walk with the Lord has been filled with such moments and opportunities to make his own path and put himself in his element, where he knows that his gifts will honor God best.
“For the first half of my life, I didn’t always think that God was working in my life like I see Him now. Sometimes we grow up being told that accepting His salvation immediately makes everything go great from now on. But then the hardships of life kick in, and you wonder where those abundant gifts that you were told about are,” says Israel.
“I want to make music that says God is good and faithful, no matter who or where you are. It’s what I would have liked to hear myself when I was young.”
Style and ‘Graceland’
Israel Houghton was born in San Diego County, Calif., and grew up in Globe, Ariz., a small, mostly Hispanic mining town near Phoenix. Israel’s parents both had diverse musical tastes, with a record collection including pop acts like the Beatles and Michael Jackson, as well as Christian musicians like Keith Green and the gospel crossover superstar Andraé Crouch.
“I was tired of being told to either do black music or do white music. So I asked, why don’t I just do kingdom music, then?”
“My dad was a pastor and a tough audience himself,” remembers Israel. “But there was one album he brought home one day that he loved: Graceland by Paul Simon. He would light up hearing Simon sing with traditional African musicians like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I took notes on what I was hearing, why it sounded the way it did, and why my father liked it.”
There is no single style or musical genre on Graceland. It’s a mix of African sounds and rhythms and Paul Simon’s pop melodies with lyrics inspired by America as well as Simon’s travels in South Africa. It was a huge departure from his work as half of the folk-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel, and even from Simon’s previous six albums as a solo artist. Graceland opened Israel’s mind, showing him how music across the world was connected to African beats and rhythms.
“But it took a long time for some Christian music executives and churches to accept that. It can be very discouraging when someone tells you that your music is not black enough to be in one lane, yet not white enough to be in another,” says Israel, who is of mixed race.
When a music executive asked Israel what he would do regarding those two lanes, Israel replied that he would buy a bulldozer and build his own path. He wanted the industry to bend to his lane, not the other way around.
“I was tired of being told to either do black music or do white music. So I asked, why don’t I just do kingdom music, then?” says Israel.
This kingdom mindset and distinctive cross-cultural sound has carried over to all of Israel’s work. When he recorded New Season, the first album alongside his worship group ensemble New Breed, he also recorded Nueva Generación—the same album translated to Spanish.
“Some of the best Latin musicians of all time are on Coritos. I’m talking percussionists and horn players who’ve performed with singers like Marc Anthony and Luis Miguel,” says Israel. “Those musicians said they agreed to be part of Coritos because they had listened to Nueva Generación years ago, and it changed the way they did ministry.”
The sounds of worship
For years, Israel was a member of Lakewood Church, the Houston-based evangelical Christian church led by pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen. Along with leading musical worship, Israel was asked to occasionally minister to a congregation of 45,000, a task that to this day he admits makes him feel uneasy.
“There’s an element to a musical performance that is understood and expected. It’s not foreign to me,” explains Israel. “I know the instruments, the words, and the appreciation in a room for what I’m doing. Music is powerful and I take it very seriously, but there’s a different sense of gravity to preaching, or even leading a Bible study. It’s a big responsibility.”

“I love the process of writing music. I write something every single day. It’s not good every day, but I still write.”
Israel says that the role of a singer-songwriter is closer to that of a theologian, writing music about ideas and universal truths that can reach people of all ages through symbolism, stories, and defined structures. Just as theology can change and develop over time, so does a songwriter’s themes and abilities. Israel admits that some of his earlier music featured personal theology that doesn’t fit where he is today.
“I’ve had to undo some songs that I did in the past, such as times when I sang about being so beneath the Lord or begging for a piece of His bread. I’d be mortified if my children, who have so much, were singing songs like that. A sense of false humility doesn’t honor God; it can be a very fine line.”
Israel released his first album, Whisper It Loud, in 1997, at age 25. “Sometimes when I work with younger singers, they’ll come up with something and immediately love it and want to record it that day,” says Israel. “I tell them, ‘That music is never leaving this room!’ If they think I’m being too tough, I ask them if they want to create something that will be remembered for six months or six decades.”
Be where God is
In 2007, while on stage at a massive worship event in Houston, Israel remembers being so caught up in the excitement that he declared to the audience, “God is here! His presence is right here!”
“But then I heard a voice say, ‘I’m not even here.’ This was God, talking so clearly to me that I was almost floored,” says Israel.
This message left him confused. The Bible says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, KJV). Was God not there among so much praise?
The next day, Israel spoke with Darlene Zschech, a fellow Christian singer and former pastor. He asked her if she had ever heard God say such words to her.
“All the time. When I’m too much in the moment of here and not understanding how He moves,” Zschech told him.
She suggested that Israel read Amos 5, from The Message translation Bible. The Scripture is a powerful warning (coincidentally, to the house of Israel) about the divide between flashy rituals and activities for God and true moral deeds done in His name. The Lord did not want music and gatherings that revolved around self-fulfillment and ego: “All Show, No Substance.” Instead, He wanted to see work done in the name of justice and fairness—enough to fill rivers and oceans.
“Through Amos, God was saying, ‘I’m tired of your programs, slogans, and all the commercial works that come with it. I’m where none of you are. I’m with the orphan, the widow, and the man clinging to life in a hospital bed. Go there.’ ”
Israel gathered his team and organized a new plan. Between the morning worship session and the evening, they drove to inner-city areas of Houston, inviting people who may have never heard of Israel or his music, or even seen a worship session before. These folks would be the designated VIPs for the night’s events. Israel arranged buses to pick them up and bring them to sit among the worship service’s regular attendees. He wanted them to see if anyone felt out of their own element sitting among the people that God was truly with.
“If you feel uncomfortable right now,” Israel said to crowd, “figure out why that is. You’re comfortable attending a worship event, but if social justice is somehow involved, you’re not anymore? Because this is what Jesus did for all of us.”
“Through Amos, God was saying, ‘I’m tired of your programs, slogans, and all the commercial works that come with it. I’m where none of you are. I’m with the orphan, the widow, and the man clinging to life in a hospital bed. Go there.’ ”
That day permanently changed the way Israel ministers. Even when traveling overseas to places like Kenya, he and his team arrive a day early and make time to visit the little towns and poorest spots where they know God will be.
“Now, I can pray to God and ask Him to make my heart break for what makes His break too,” says Israel.
But there’s also joy and delight in such a partnership with God and His plans.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart,” says Israel, quoting Psalm 37:4 (ESV).
“I used to think that meant God goes down the list of things we want for ourselves and then approves your list. It’s not that. Delighting yourself in the Lord is like receiving a heart transplant. You get an urge to pray for places you’ve never visited. You declare things that you’ve never imagined. You wish to happen what God wishes to happen. You see what He sees, feels what He feels, and move like He moves.”
Answering the call
Israel’s upcoming June performance at The Salvation Army Commissioning Weekend in Hershey, Pa., will celebrate the newest lieutenants of the Army’s Eastern Territory, the Champions of the Mission, as they are ordained to serve God. Having seen a pastor’s responsibilities from his time at Lakewood, Israel says that answering the call to lead a church is one of the most noble, courageous decisions a person can make.
“It’s as important as choosing the person you will marry, and as powerful as when you first accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior,” says Israel.
“There’s a revival of new believers in the church today. Many of them are young people who did not grow up in the church but have discovered God on their own. But simultaneously, there is another group that did grow up in the church and have made the choice to distance themselves from it. It can be for personal or political reasons, but they have made that decision. So how will the church continue to grow with their new members, while at the same time reaching out to those who have lost that connection?”
It’s no easy task.
“Everyone will have their own ideas on how to fill that breach. But if God is in those plans, they will succeed,” says Israel. “And I’m going to do my part to help, because we still have people out there to reach.”
Photographs by Julio Miranda