[MUSIC - DARLENE ZSCHECH, "YOU ARE GREAT"]

Here I am safe, in the arms of my savior.

Deep in my heart

NARRATOR: Known as a worship leader who brings people

straight into the presence of God,

Darlene Zschech has written over 100 songs sung by millions

of worshippers worldwide.

Formerly the worship pastor for Hillsong Church,

she's performed on, and helped produce, one platinum and 16

gold-selling Hillsong albums.

She's a bestselling author, cancer survivor,

and now senior pastor of Hope Unlimited

Church with her husband, Mark.

Some people may not realize, Darlene,

but you left Hillsong six years ago.

Uh-huh.

Why?

There was a sense of frustration,

and it was not at anything, or in anything.

But you know, I think God does that sometimes,

when He wants to shift you out of something

that is so comfortable.

It was like--

He unfeathers the nest.

He-- He really does, and-- and I couldn't really put words

around it.

Then Mark said to me, literally, just one day,

he said, would you like to have an adventure?

And I'm like, what do you mean?

Are we talking fly-fishing?

[INTERVIEWER LAUGHS]

I've always wanted to do fly fishing.

And he's like, there's a little church an hour up the road.

Um, on the Central Coast.

But he said, they need a pastor.

What do you think?

Wow.

I was like, what?

Like in our whole married life, the only thing

we ever said we never wanted to be was senior pastors.

[LAUGHS]

We finally said yes, and it was--

And of course you still sing, I'm sure.

Yeah.

I still sing.

I still lead worship.

I mean, it's--

INTERVIEWER: Right.

--who I am.

It's what God has given me to do.

Well, Darlene, your worship is so passionate.

And it's because your relationship with the Lord

is so real, and--

but it hasn't been easy.

I want to talk about your battle with breast cancer.

Yeah, I had been chasing and getting

this lump checked for two years.

I'd gone back numerous times, and they did say, you know,

it's just fatty tissues.

And at that ti--

at that time, I was in my late 40s.

I'm like, well, welcome to the 40s.

[LAUGHS]

DARLENE: Everything is fatty tissue, it seems.

So I went back.

And I just felt that--

I-- I said to them, you need to biopsy this today.

And so by the time I left that night,

it had been confirmed that it was breast cancer.

And then a week later I was having surgery.

You lost your hair.

I lost my hair.

So I had my wig.

I called her Betty.

And my church, you know, they used to--

we had a good--

Betty had her own little fan club there for a while.

[INTERVIEWER LAUGHS]

And I would still lead worship.

But, to be honest, you're battling

with so many other factors that actually that became

a very minimal thing, so--

Yeah, but here you are, you know, perfectly healthy.

You've spent your entire life worshipping God--

[LAUGHS]

INTERVIEWER: --leading others in worship, serving God.

DARLENE: Yeah.

And then this happens.

DARLENE: Yeah.

I mean, did you ask the question, why?

You know.

Yeah, I did.

You know, I, um--

And I don't think there's anything

wrong with that question.

You know.

No, no.

And-- and actually that's what I learnt.

I guess, early on in my Christian walk, people

said to me, never question God, you know.

But actually I just found Him to be such a good father.

He's such a good father, and He spoke to me in amazing ways

that I'm sure I never would have learned some of these things

on mountaintops.

I thought I knew how much He loved me.

But then one day He asked me, what do you believe?

And I'm like, I believe this, and this, and this, you know.

I was a very good Christian in all my answers.

And then He said, No, no.

What do you believe, daughter, about how much I love you?

And it took me days to answer, because I said to Him,

this doesn't feel like love.

Wow.

But he's a good God.

He's OK.

He's got big shoulders.

He's OK with our--

with our questioning, and our-- you know,

I think the bigger the question, the bigger the answer,

you know.

It may be sickness.

It may be loss.

It may be disappointment.

And sometimes you feel like heaven's silent.

And, God, how can this be love?

You know.

But actually, if you go back to the Word, you know,

it just underpins everything.

Yeah.

DARLENE: You know, if you're--

if you're listening, He is speaking.

And I think sometimes trouble and--

and intense hardship, um, can make us-- it made me at times,

you know--

block our ears, shut our eyes.

It's like it's too much.

But actually, He's speaking.

He's encouraging us.

He's loving us all the time.

And I tell you what, though, being in worship

and declaring, you know, the truth of scripture

through song.

And, you know, because music gathers all of who you are,

it helps you-- and your auditory senses--

it helps you.

Scientifically, it says it helps you at a molecular level and--

INTERVIEWER: Wow.

So doing all these things and then

declaring the living word of God,

I mean, there's nothing quite like it

when you're hanging on for your life.

[MUSIC - DARLENE ZSCHECH, "YOU ARE GREAT"]

We stand in awe, Jesus.

Well, Darlene, tell us how you're doing now.

I feel really good.

I'm-- I'm-- I take a tablet now that's pretty hard going.

Got another nine years to go, hallelujah.

But you know, I just feel the grace to do the journey.

I'm cancer free.

I'm-- I'm-- I live differently.

I refuse to live busy.

I live very intentionally, and, you know,

I don't travel like I used to.

INTERVIEWER: Sure.

I eat differently.

I parent differently.

I mean, some of the lessons that I've learned,

I wish I'd learned them a long time ago.

I've always been a thankful person

but I live more thankful today.

[MUSIC - DARLENE ZSCHECH, "YOU ARE GREAT"] You are great,

greater than--

NARRATOR: It's Darlene's thankfulness for God's love

and faithfulness that inspired her latest project, Here

I Am, Send Me, which she started during her battle with cancer.

DARLENE: This message in me has been like, you know,

every day Lord, teach me to sing.

And no matter how uncomfortable it is, no matter how awkward

it could be, no matter.

I-- I don't want to put His will through my sieve, you know,

through my lens.

I just want His will.

[MUSIC - DARLENE ZSCHECH, "HERE I AM SEND ME"] Holy Spirit,

come.

Come in power.

My life is yours.

My life is yours.

Holy Spirit, come.

Start a fire.

My life is yours.

My life is yours.

My life is yours.