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I enjoy creative people so interviews with musicians are usually a pleasure for me. But a strong sense of purpose and a God-given wisdom only makes the time sweeter.
Such was my good fortune when talking to Starfield's primary lyricist, Tim Neufeld. The band's sophomore release, "Beauty in the Broken," (read review here)sparkles with authenticity and truth; clearly, honesty is a central component of the mission of Starfield. Many Christian bands pay lip service to this message. Not all go the distance. But Tim Neufeld's calling seems to spring from just this center, even when discussing the band's beginnings. "Worship music moved us early on. We tried to do the rock thing but it didn't pan out because it's not what we're called to. It's not necessarily what we're gifted at either," he laughs. "We're worshippers first, rockers second. Our mission is to connect with our Creator, together with other people. We do the other stuff but it's not our drawing card. It's not a successful concert if people are just entertained, if it's not Christ-centered. It has become more and more of a priority to us to make sure it is Christ-centered. And to make sure that the two hours we have with people are rich with theology and passionate, intimate worship of God." The mention of theology comes up again and again in our conversation because Neufeld is a man who wants passionately to communicate his understanding of God with listeners. Theology, and brokenness, the theme of the new album. "It's a theme that is a big part of our lyrics because I don't know how to go through life without it. I don't know too many people whose walk with God is always through a field of daisies. We find grace still today after we've been crucified with Christ and taken up our own crosses, and it's a theme not only through the worship at our concerts but through our own lives in general." When I mention that you don't always hear much about being broken at the cross, he quickly takes up for the church. "It depends what church you go to, there are plenty of people talking about it. There is today the convenient Christianity and there is one more true to the teachings of the Bible. We feel like we're here to be real before God, not to play the Christianity game. We want to be honest and faithful to what God's calling us to." I notice that he has spoken of what some may think of as America's two churches, and he says, "Paul talks about the different levels of discipleship. He said if the gospel is being preached from impure motives, it's still good that it's being preached. For instance, "Purpose Driven Life" gets a lot of slack for being infantile, simplistic in its approach and theology, but I know from reading it myself that it contains profound truth. Not everybody can pull out a Packer book and unpack it, no pun intended. It's difficult for many of us, myself included. There are levels of the spectrum and we're all on different levels in our journey." "All of that to say that for us in this particular moment, for this album, we felt called to dig a bit deeper than we have in the past. More than ever we wanted to experience God, to go deep with Him." I think anyone who has listened to "Beauty in the Broken" would agree, Starfield has journeyed well.
The copyright of the article Starfield Interview in Christian Music is owned by Kevan Breitinger. Permission to republish Starfield Interview in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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