"I grew up in the church," he shares. "My brother and I are pastor's kids. I was a rebellious kid, but at 17 I had a real experience with God. I went on a mission trip to Mexico that made me realize I wanted to serve God full-time, and I went on to Youth With A Mission. We were on a mission to Salvador, leading worship in downtown San Salvador, the capital, with about 70 people encircling us. When we were done and iwas time to leave, this guy stopped me to ask me why I was singing. I explained to him that we were singing about the Lord and how much He loves us. I shared my testimony with him, until the bus was pulling out so I had to go. But he grabbed my shirt, saying please don't leave until I can sing about God the way you were singing."
Gabe's voice quiets as he says, "I brought that back with me. Sometimes we confine Christian music to the four walls of the church, but I brought that experience back to apply to my band. We want to take our music out anywhere people will listen. Fortunately for us there have been bars, coffeehouses, and lots of other places that have allowed us to sing, and sometimes even lead into worship at the end."
I ask Gabe if those sets require a different song list. "No," he replies. "We do all of our original songs, though I might throw in a Neil Young or some U2, so people can find something familiar. But that allows us to take them on a journey, to sing to them about home. We can sing a song like "Walking on the Waves," very explicit about trusting in the Lord and calling out His name. Often the bar owners who see us setting up and tearing down are the ones who come up to us later needing prayer or something spiritual. The other day I got a call from a pastor who mentioned a girl from his church who had heard us at a bar, but was now in the mission field in India." Gabe's voice is filled with awe at the thought of being used by God. "It's tough sometimes, not always the easiest thing to do but you keep going. You just follow the path God's put you on."
And a little bit of Circleslide to listen to along the way can only help the journey.
