Millard - I Can Only Imagine

CONTENTS

PRAISE FOR I CAN ONLY IMAGINE

In I Can Only Imagine, we are reminded that God is able to transform an abusive and monstrous father into a tenderhearted friend and role model. He is able to change a reluctant choir student into a world-renowned vocalist. And he can turn a song written in ten minutes into an anthem about the wonder of eternity.

God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, and Barts story is a testament to that truth. What does God have in store next for his music, his family, his career, and his legacy? The answers in the title.

Pastor Greg Laurie

Bart is a friend of mine. Hes the same guy on the surface as he is a thousand feet deep. He knows how to play music, but even more important, he knows how to live life. This isnt a book about Bart; its about Jesus. Its an invitation to grab your knees and do a cannonball into the big life God promised us if well risk being real enough to try.

Bob Goff
Author, New York Times
bestseller Love Does

This book is appropriate because not only does Bart have a song to share but he has a story to tell. I have literally watched the pages of this book play out with Bart as he searched for his identity as a worship leader. He temporarily mistook his identity as the lead singer of MercyMe. Now he is writing, singing, and telling his story about his true identity in Jesus Christ. This book can greatly impact people who experience trials and are searching for their identity.

Rusty Kennedy
Director, Leavener

Bart Millard is one of the most powerful voices in Christian music, and his voice is even more impactful as he tells his life story. The vulnerability and honesty shown on each page is a refreshing change from our pseudo-macho male culture. The love, grace, and forgiveness that Bart communicates in his personal life is an amazing reflection of the faith that guides him. I Can Only Imagine has deeply inspired me as a father, husband, friend, and follower of Christ.

Mike Matheny
Manager, St. Louis Cardinals

Sometimes God intervenes, if only to remind us of the depths of his love taking place every moment behind the curtain. This wonderful story is about God amazingly showing up for a frightened young man who had lost touch with Gods protection and goodness. Then suddenly God explodes into real time what hes been doing all along. And when Bart sees it, he is eventually stunned, amazed, and authentically undone at Gods grace. And he has been that way ever since. Ive had the honor of recently watching it up close. It has changed my faith. Read this bookif only to find your story.

John Lynch
Coauthor of The Cure

Bart Millard is one of the most engaging, fun-loving, positive artists Ive ever met. Its hard to believe he is the product of such a painful and difficult childhood. I cant count the number of times I heard Bart say, This song was inspired by my dad, and I pictured only one scenario. It wasnt until I heard him tell his story that I realized how different his upbringing was than what I had imagined, and how remarkable it is that he has gone on to create such incredible beauty throughout his life.

Amy Grant
Recording artist

I Can Only Imagine

2018 Bart Millard

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Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by W Publishing, an imprint of Thomas Nelson.

Published in association with the literary agency of WTA Services, LLC, Franklin, Tennessee.

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I CAN ONLY IMAGINE is a trademark of MercyMe Music, Inc. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture references marked THE MESSAGE are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture references marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by Thomas Nelson, nor does Thomas Nelson vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

Epub Edition January 2018 9780785216759

ISBN 978-0-7852-1675-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-1673-5 (TP)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017917450

Printed in the United States of America

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To Shannon, Sam, Gracie, Charlie, Sophie, and Miles.

I know what I was, and I know what I am now.

Having your life made into a movie is a surreal experience. When the film I Can Only Imagine went into production, I quickly learned what an incredible challenge it is to compress a persons life story into less than two hours of screen time. And because movies are so expensive to produce and market, add to that time crunch an intense pressure to make every minute engaging and entertaining for the audience. As I said, its an incredible challenge.

Storytelling in film is most certainly an art form. Every second countsliterally. After shooting countless hours of footage on location, the very first cut of the film was around six hours long. The directors began by editing the scenes into chronological order in order to tell the story, but because no one had signed on to produce a lengthy TV series docudrama, more than four hoursabout two-thirdsof the footage fell to the cutting room floor, as they say. Years had to be edited down to a five-minute composite. A series of events had to be accurately depicted by a single scene. This, I learned, is why you sometimes hear of a certain actor being cast in a movie and then find out later he or she was edited out or the vast majority of the actors scenes were deleted.

Given these constraints, the filmmakers did an incredible job of not only producing an amazing movie but also telling my story with authenticity and integrity. Dennis Quaid, the legendary actor who has played a myriad of characters onscreen over the years, played my dad. He really helped me understand why and how to draw the line between the reality of my life and the movie about my life. (Im forever grateful to Dennis for the time we spent talking about my relationship with my dad between takes.)

So when the opportunity to write my memoir came up in connection with the film, I was really excited to have the opportunity to tell some of the details that couldnt make it into the movie. The filmmakers were locked into an industry time frame, but within these pages, we dont have to be. Now I get to share more about the amazing people who are such a vital part of my story.