Justin McRoberts wants to start a conversation. He’s a talented songwriter & successful indie musician and yes, his album came out last fall, “Grace Must Wound.”
But all of that is just the overflow of his passion as a communicator. Justin has things to say with or without a guitar, and you get the impression that it would be difficult for him to live without speaking of those things. If he wasn't making music he'd still be reaching and stirring people with his timely message about God and life.
His voice is gentle but intense as he shares, "Hopefully what I do has more focus than simply putting out a record that highlights my abilities. I need it to be about more. For me music is the way right now in which the meaningfulness of my life is manifested. It has to do with me communicating the things on my heart and trying to get into a conversation about life and about God."
If you think he's kidding, check out his MySpace blog. It contains the record of his conversation with a "cyberperson" who had posted a list of 10 things he found annoying about Christianity. Rather than feeling put off or intimidated by the complaints, Justin chose to engage him in an ongoing conversation. In this honest exchange of intentional friendship and exploration, he dismantles stereotypes with kindness and uses gentle humor to edify. It is, in short, a model of deliberate and friendly engagement, elevating the cultural exchange to a new level of godliness and respect.
He brings the same willingness when addressing the church, although that arena may call for a different approach. He is candid about the process. "I don't mind rubbing folks the wrong way. By making really broad generalizations, I challenge them to think. I might say, "The church as we know it is more of an extension of consumer America than it is the manifestation of the presence of God in the world." It's a sweeping generalization that doesn't apply to everybody but I say it to engage people in the conversations they're not having." He laughs and says, "I'd rather start a fight in the hope that in the midst of the fight we'll get around to conversation. We've exchanged the art of conversation for the art of war. We pick a side and we lob bombs over the fence but we never become personally engaged enough to look them straight in the face, so there's really no hope of getting anywhere." His focus is strong as he continues, "When we fight like that and don't converse I think it reveals a lack of confidence in us and our message. We don't trust the truth to come through if we were to debate with evolutionists or social scientists."
Justin's right. It takes confidence and trust to be ready to represent the life of faith to the world. But he's ready; his life backs up his words. I asked him if his perspective and his willingness to share it had caused him any problems. At this point in our conversation, I expected an honest answer and I was not disappointed. "I think my willingness to talk about certain things means I spend less time in selling myself, which I'm OK with. Ultimately, I've been told, it puts a ceiling on my career potential, but I don't care." By now I know it's pure Justin when he says, "I'd rather try and fail than be afraid to try and not accomplish anything." He shares with me that this philosophy shows up prominently on "Grace Must Wound" as well. "If I can't have enough confidence in the truth and in God's ability to make Himself known in my music or conversation or my engagement with the world, then I don't risk myself and I don't get the fullness of life. You have to take risk to get there." He closes with enough truth to keep me gnawing all year. "It costs you something but that's what you want to spend yourself on. That's why you have it, to spend on the stuff that matters to you."
