It’s like going to church, but a little louder. Well, a lot louder.
That’s how Mark Hall, lead singer and songwriter for the mega-popular Christian band Casting Crowns, describes one of their concerts. The contemporary Christian music group will make a stop on Sunday, March 26, at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, as part of their “Healer” Tour.
Hall, like the rest of the group, is a youth pastor in Georgia and said the songs originate from “teaching and working with students longer than Casting Crowns has been a band.”
“Living with teens, you have to be real, you have to be transparent and you have to show your scars and let people know that God doesn’t give up,” Hall said. “Life is anything but easy.”
One of the 14 songs on the new album “Healer” is titled “Anything But Easy.” Other songs include “Jesus at a Distance,” “The Devil is on the Run,” “Scars in Heaven” and “No Hurt.”
Possibly Crowns’ greatest attraction to music lovers and a testament to their longevity is being able to relate to so many different people and their stories — where happiness, frustration, fear, frustration and joy — can all make life more confusing and difficult to maneuver. The words in so many of their songs, such as “Who Am I,” “Voice of Truth” and “East to West,” can resonate with those who face, have faced or will face, challenging times.
“One of the things we try to do that my dad would say is put everything on the bottom shelf so everyone can reach it,” Hall said. “We’re not speaking in riddles. All the lyrics are on the screen and wherever you are sitting you will know what we are about.
“You’ll hear the stories behind the song, there will be a lot of laughing but we talk about the heavy stuff too.”
Much of what Hall wrote for “Healer,” according to the band website, was crafted from songs “speaking to his own struggles, his own fears and uncertainty, an undeniable theme emerged.”
“I was walking through the world being shut down, just like everybody else. I’ve been a youth pastor for over 20 years and here I was counseling teenagers who’d just lost their senior year, lost their friend groups, felt hopeless for the future,” he said. “As I started working on this record, I realized all the songs I was writing dealt with healing in some way, something we all need.
“And more than that, we need a healer.”
The definition and need for healing can take many paths with an unlimited number of results. Sometimes, Hall said, people have their definition said, people have their definition of what healing looks like. It doesn’t always work out that way, however.
“A lot of times people need or want God to show up in a certain way and he doesn’t,” Hall said. “We feel entitled, that we deserve it and sometimes we miss what He’s doing, how He’s healing.”
The latest album takes listeners on a trip through healing and how it can look like.
“Maybe He takes them home or maybe He heals through a friend’s life where you just have to love — that’s what it can look like, but He’s always working.
“Maybe the best way is to be a witness to your friend. To be a listener and that’s what you do, you listen for what they are dealing with. They start telling you things they are not telling anyone else. You start praying for them on your own — but you listen first. Next time you’re hanging with your friend, let them know you’ve been calling their name out to God.
“You’re not being super spiritual or telling them they’re off center. It builds a bridge and they know what you believe. Everyone is scared about being awkward, but we can all just be big prayer warriors.”
Ben Fuller, and We Are Messengers will open the show, brought by Got Faith Music, which has featured many of the top names in Christian music, including TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Mercy Me, For King and Country, Newsboys and more.
