wfn.org | Jars of Clay Rock N' Roll-Solid in Spreading Message of Christ

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

31-December-1999 
99439 
 
    Jars of Clay Rock N' Roll-Solid in Spreading Message of Christ 
 
    Band belts out music to touch young Presbyterians 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
INDIANAPOLIS - From the first song it was clear Christian rock group Jars 
of  Clay was using more than just lyrics to reach its youthful audience 
during a spiritually charged concert at the "Dawn ... an Epiphany" 
celebration. 
 
    The crossover pop/rock band, which has shot up mainstream music charts 
the last four years, sent a spiritual message resonating through about 
4,000 jubilant concert-goers at the Indianapolis Convention Center on Dec. 
29. A message of hope in Christ. 
 
    Message received. 
 
    "It was so awesome," said an elated Emily Hergert, a 17-year-old member 
of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Neb. "Their message was so 
balanced. The crowd was really getting into it," she said describing her 
stint in the frenzy, head-banging stage-front section known as the "mosh 
pit." 
 
    Concert-goers at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) youth and young adult 
millennium-ending celebration signaled its appreciation for the group's 
musical ministry by waving flourescent green tubes and flicking lighters 
against a background of  song-interrupting cheers and applause of 
appreciation. 
 
    "They really talked to the young people and reached out to them," 
chipped in Lita Simpson, a member of First Presbyterian Church in McAllen, 
Texas, who said she was in her forties. "I thought it was great. It was 
more than (my friends) expected and it was more than I expected." 
 
    The four band members, two of whom grew up in Parkminster Presbyterian 
Church in Rochester, N.Y., met during the mid-1990s while attending 
Greenville College, a Free Methodist-affiliated liberal arts school in 
Greenville, Ill., developing both friendship and confirming their devotion 
to Christ through music. It's faith in Christ  that allows people to pass 
through difficult periods and emerge stronger, according to group members. 
 
    "He's worked through so many peoples' lives, even our own," lead singer 
Dan Haseltine told the audience during the 90-minute performance. "It is 
humbling ... ." 
 
    The multi-platinum success of Jars of Clay - their 1995 mainstream 
debut album included the hit single "Flood," and their second release "Much 
Afraid" won a Grammy in 1997 - has catapulted the group, once known as 
"Jars Boys," to enormous national success. Music videos soon followed on 
MTV and VH-1, as did network appearances on such programs as "CBS This 
Morning," "The Late Show with David Letterman," and the "Conan O'Brien 
Show." 
 
    The group, currently touring to support its latest release, "If I Left 
The Zoo," also has participated in movie soundtracks, including "Prince of 
Egypt." 
 
    Jars of Clay, whose musical influences include the Beatles, frequently 
compose slow, methodical lyrics expressing the complexity of personal 
relationships and God's hand in persevering. Songs have even chronicled 
difficulties between band members themselves. These closest of friends can 
experience tense moments, especially when touring the nation by cramped 
mini-van during Jar's early days. 
 
    "A book that I read during one difficult summer...showed me that I may 
not have forgiveness to offer (band members) Dan (Haseltine) or Steve 
(Mason) or Matt (Odmark)," said keyboards player Charlie Lowell, who grew 
up attending Parkminster Church, along with Odmark. "But that's the whole 
reason that Christ gave his life, because he is full of grace. To extend 
that grace to us, to give to each other. (After reading the book) I didn't 
have to look 
inside myself to find it. I mean to look to Christ for that forgiveness." 
 
    The song "Crazy Times,"  which the group performed from its "Much 
Afraid" 
album, deals with similar emotions and the unfortunate consequences of what 
happens when one refuses God's help. 
 
    "It seems it's always the crazy times/You find you'll wake up and 
realize/It takes more time than your saline eyes/To make things right," the 
song says. The track "Fade to Grey" (also from "Much Afraid") deals with 
dark times, too. 
 
    "It"s really a spirit thing," said guitar player Stephen Mason. "We 
have to trust the Holy Spirit to guide and direct." 
 
    While band members expressed some concern, they believe their 
inherently Christian message won't fade away as the lines between Christian 
and mainstream music continues to blur for the group. 
 
    "There is a way of doing it," said Mason. "There's a balance of being 
bold and really writing what we know is true. But also using it in a 
style...that won't alienate non-believers that would certainly serve the 
point of what we're doing. But it's hard." 
 
    As for the future for Jars of Clay, that's in God's hands, too. And 
that's just fine with Mason and his musical colleagues. 
 
    "It's really a Spirit thing," Mason said. "We really have to trust the 
Holy Spirit to guide and direct." 

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