Lead vocalist/guitarist Justin Anderson shares the following:

Hey everyone!

Just giving you a quick mainstay update from the road - we are in the middle of this Jeremy Camp tour, and it has been going SUPER WELL! Soon we are heading back to our stomping ground - the MIGHTY
MIDWEST!!!!

We have seen God do some really, REALLY amazing things in and through these shows…people are connecting with the music, and more importantly, connecting with God. The stories we have heard from people night to night have been unbelievable…what God is doing in their lives…how Jeremy’s and our music have helped them…it has been a real uplifting experience for us personally as a band. I think we are embracing our calling to not only to play rock and roll for people, but also to lead them in worship
and try to facilitate real connections with God, night to night.

SO! This has been a surprising spiritual journey and blessing from God. Being able to hang with Jeremy and his guys and connect with people after hese shows has been the blessing of a lifetime.

Stay tuned - more updates coming!

Justin Anderson

I tend to think a lot about “community”, the latest buzz word for the Body of Christ. It’s just the way I’m wired; I’ve always had a passion for the Body. And for a long time I was sure I knew what community was, what it was supposed to look like. But like many far wiser than I, I’m beginning to understand finally how little I really do know. And I’m seeing also how hard true community can be.

I recently interviewed a label owner from Indiana whose entire company lives in community, one of the more unique and inspiring stories I’ve had opportunity to report. I was encouraged not just by his sense of ingenuity and adventure, but also by his honesty as he shared the cost of living and fellowshipping side by side with the people he also works with. He was truthful to say that at times ‘community was repulsive.’ Always ultimately worth the aggravation, but challenging just the same.

The small group I’ve been meeting with for the past year has talked a lot about ‘accountability’ recently, another popular buzzword, one that we all claim to want from one another. Until it’s time to actually address something significant. Then we find that many of us aren’t really up for this level of sacrificial love; it’s more cheap talk than anything else, unfortunately. The scary part, apparently, is the honesty involved. It seems it’s as hard to tell each other the truth as it is to hear it about ourselves.

But I wonder then…. why bother to meet at all? Sara Groves’ stunning new album, Tell Me What You Know, contains a powerful song called “Honesty.” Its lyrics are as follows:

“Here in the stillness/where thoughts are born/here in our frailty we’re tattered and torn…. here in confession/here in our mess/here in the places we’re mostly undressed/mostly….oh honesty/oh honestly/the truth be told /for the saving of our souls.”

The chorus goes on to quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Only the truth and truthfulness can save us now.”

What I love about this song is its perspective of desperation. Groves portrays honesty as ultimately life-giving, even life-saving. I’m frustrated by our unwillingness to pursue truth at all cost, and I feel somewhat lonely in this perspective. I hate to think I have to move to Indiana to find an honest small group.

I spent much of last week at a themed resort, a heavily themed resort with a number of settings, each staged with meticulous attention to detail. A long-time lover of Africa and all things African, I was thrilled to stay in a lodge manned by natives, brimming over with African art and ambiance, and alive at all times with the sound of African music. The air was deliciously filled with softly undulating rhythms, quiet wooden vibes, and subtle chantings.

Venture outside of the lodge area into another setting, and you might hear airy Asian whistles, or Venetian love ballads, or worse, much worse, endless repetitions of “It’s A Small World.” Yes, my family visited Disney World, and take it from me, the world really is not that small. But I digress….

I was fascinated by the way Disney used music to create a setting. The subliminal soundtrack of each venue deliberately crafted an appealing ambiance, removing you from central Florida and transporting you to a place distant both geographically and psychically. Disney leaves nothing to chance, and the effect was subtle yet profound, exactly as intended, I’m sure. The soundtrack encouraged you to believe that you were, indeed, on an African plain. And it was presented with such understated appeal that you were happy to do so.

You probably know where I’m going with this…. While I admit that the application isn’t exactly the same, I wonder if our music, themed in a somewhat similar sense, is as successful. Does Christian music create a vibe equally as winsome? Are our musical expressions of faith ‘transporting’ in the sense of offering a glimpse into another world? As imaginative as ol’ Walt was, even he couldn’t duplicate the ‘quickening’ power of the Spirit. We have access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead; imagine if it filled our music.

I’ve been wondering for a while now about the incessant clapping between songs during Sunday morning worship. I’m not sure how this strange trend started, but it’s always made me uncomfortable. Coincidentally, it seems to have started right around the time worship music hit the commercial market in a big way, and I’ve wondered also if there is a connection between these two developments. Exactly who is being applauded on Sunday morning? You want to assume it’s God, but it never really feels that way to me.

I visited a church in my area for the first time yesterday, one that has been growing rather explosively. It was the snappy ad in the paper that drew me, something about ‘experiencing the power of God.’ …In a word, NOT. It was actually more like an extended period of elevator behavior. You know, where everyone stares straight ahead in a zombie-like trance of extreme isolation? Even the clapping felt a bit robotic. But when the pastor mentioned being ‘back-stage,’ I felt a chill rundown my spine.

Yes, in one sense it’s just a word, a descriptive term of location. But could it also serve to explain a central shift in our worship perspective? Worship as performance rather than devotion? A friend had recommended the church to me, saying that it was ‘like going to a concert.’ Unfortunately, it was exactly like that. The final nail in the coffin was when we were singing “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever” following the sermon. The lead guitarist leaned into the mic and thanked us for coming, at which point the singing stopped mid-song (I kid you not!) and the robots, um, I mean, the people turned immediately to the aisles and left, quickly and rather silently. Apparently ‘forever’ wasn’t even the full three minutes. This song was not so much an expression of adoration as a part of the closing ceremony.

At what point did the audience of One come to mean ourselves?