I don't know much about Christian Music, but for pulling together the teams that made CompassionArt, making #4 in the secular music charts with History Maker on Easter Day 2010, being lead singer Delirious?, and for communicating a sense of God's calling I nominate Martin Smith.

It happens I downloaded History Maker a week or so ago. It is a great song with great lyrics speaking truth to the soul. This song in itself would be enough to put Martin Smith in my shortlist for favourite modern christian music artist. 

By way of coincidence both Tim Hughes and Michael Whitaker Smith also feature on the album I am shamelessly promoting here, CompassionArt.  Martin Smith communicated the vision for CompassionArt for which he should take considerable credit. What makes CompassionArt really neat in my book includes the following facts.

• Martin Smith pulled together a team that represents the best of modern christian music artists for one week for one purpose (er, for examplesongwriters: Paul Baloche, Steven Curtis Chapman, Stu G (Delirious?), Israel Houghton, Tim Hughes, Graham Kendrick, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Martin Smith (Delirious?), Michael W. Smith, Chris Tomlin, Darlene Zschech; and special guest vocalists: Kirk Franklin, Amy Grant, Joel Houston, Leeland Mooring, Christy Nockels, tobyMac, CeCe Winans);
• they all did it for nothing, right from the artists through the record labels, recording studios and CCLI licensing administration were all free of charge,
• CompassionArt  produced a "whole load of new songs that [...] answered the question 'what's faith got to do with poverty?'."
• Because that lot did all that for nothing, so we can buy the album knowing that the income stream it generates really does go to projects working with poor communities across the world.

Finally lead singer Delirious? pretty much speaks for itself, but the sense of God's calling is pretty evident when Martin Smith speaks of how  Delirious? disbanded as members found God using them in different ways. They just looked to see how they could use what God had given them to meet the needs in front of them. Martin Smith, singer/songwriter former frontman of Delirious?, now heads up Art and Development charity CompassionArt, together with his wife Anna. For more details see www.compassionart.tv.

Oh I almost forgost to say Martin Smith is doing some cool thing with tearfund too. Check out the video.