As the world looks in on Christianity today, they are looking for honesty and for sincerity. Too often, what they have found is hypocrisy in those who profess to be followers of Christ. As a new generation of bands hits the forefront in Christianity today, we are seeing a transparency that has never been seen before. MIKESCHAIR is one band who is definitely not afraid to openly discuss who they are, hoping that in their journey with the Lord, others may relate and come to know Him as well.
MIKESCHAIR formed while they were students at Belmont University. The Lord has opened many doors for them and as they walk through those doors, they sing about their faith and even about the doubts and questions that they have along the way. We recently caught up with Mike of MIKESCHAIR to talk about where the Lord is taking them and how the Lord is using them.
The Band
Q – Can you tell me how the band came together?
“We all came to Nashville, Tennessee, to go to Belmont University. It’s a situation where within the first two weeks of our freshman year, MIKESCHAIR kind of formed. I had written a song with a friend and we decided that we wanted to record it. So, as we started recording the song, we need the electric guitar, bass, and drums; we needed all these instruments to make the song. Right across the hall, our violin/keyboard player Jessie walks in one day while we were recording and was like, “Hey guys, I play violin. Can I play with you?” We were like, “Yeah, man. Come on!” So he kind of got on the track and the next thing you know, Sam, our guitar player, walks by the dorm room and was like, “Hey guys, I play electric guitar.” We were like, “Dude, we need that.” So he came in and got in on the song and then we went out and recruited John, our bass player. At the time, it seemed so random, all these different people walking by the dorm room but we’ve been doing this now for six and a half years, so it’s very evident that God’s hand was very much in the formation of what we did. Everybody wonders about the name. The name came during that time where we were starting the band and recording. All of the rest of the guys in the band lived on the first floor of our dorm. I was the only one who lived on the third floor. So, naturally, I spent all my time down with the rest of the guys to the point that I was sleeping on the floor in their room. They always like to interject that I was eating their food, which I wasn’t (laughing). One day, I came back from class and the guys had gotten me a chair, so that I would have something that was mine. So, I wrote my name on it and every time we would play and record, the chair was involved. For us, it’s just a reminder of where we started and how faithful God is to bring us from that dorm room to what we are doing today.”
The Music
Q – How have you seen god working through the music He’s given you?
“It’s countless stories. Even early on, when we were starting the band, we played a lot on campus. We had one story where this girl came up to us after we played. She goes, “Guys, I don’t know what it is about your music, but every time I hear it, I cry.” After talking to her a little longer, we found out that she was actually a Buddhist, so it was just an amazing opportunity to be like, “We know why, this is why this music touches you.” Just being able to share Christ with her in that moment (was amazing). It’s things like that all the time and even now, since we’ve had the blessing to be on the radio and for people to hear the songs in more ways, we hear stories from people who just found out they had cancer and our song came on the radio, one song in particular “Can’t Take Away”, and in that moment brought this one person hope. That’s why we do what we do. That’s why we’re writing music for the Lord. That’s why we’re in Christian music because there’s so much more to what we do than just music and that’s what we get excited about.”
Q – How do you guys stay grounded in your faith?
“A huge thing for us is that we’re all deeply rooted in local churches here in Nashville. Whenever we’re in town on a Sunday, we’re usually serving in some way. A lot of us help with the worship at our church, just constantly being brought back to why we do what we do. Another cool thing that we do, we call it marriage counseling. There’s a really cool organization here in town called Porter’s Call. Porter’s Call is simply a guy who felt called to minister to artists who are on the road full-time. It’s free; it’s paid for by all the labels here in town. Basically, it’s just an avenue for us to come as a band and sit down with somebody who asks us tough questions that most people don’t ask. (Questions like) Are you loving each other well? What are you doing on the road to stay connected with your church community? What are you doing to stay connected in prayer and reading the Bible? That’s been huge for us.”
Q – How has it helped your walk with God by being surrounded by fellow believers?
“It’s an incredible thing. That’s a huge part of being a believer, being in community. Being is such close community with guys that you know in and out…we’re like brothers at this point. Guys who can call you out, guys who see past the surface, it’s something that’s incredible.”
Q – How important is the Word of God when you are writing songs?
“It’s an integral part of what we do. A lot of songs that we write, maybe not directly from a Scripture verse, they usually always come out of a quiet time of reading the Bible and praying. That’s our prayer. Our prayer is always, “God, give us Your words. What do You want Your people to hear?” That’s directly rooted in reading the Bible and having that time.”
Q – Can you give us an overview of the album?
“Our hope is that when someone listens to our record, they are left asking questions that maybe they didn’t have before listening to the record. Our prayer is that, in some way, God will connect with people through the music. There are themes throughout our record. I think faithfulness is one of them. Honesty is one of the themes because whenever we write, we try to be as honest as we can about the joys of being a believer and about the hard times, the doubts, and the fears. Overall, I would say hope is one of the overall themes as well.”
Advice and Insight
As Mike and I talked, you could hear the sincerity in his voice about what he believes and what the band has been called to do. I asked him a couple of insight questions to see what God had revealed to him.
Q – Why is honesty so important in Christianity today?
“If it’s not honest, it’s not Christianity in my opinion. So many people get caught up in the trap that the church is a place to put up the mask, to put up the guard. One of the things I love about my community here in Nashville and my home church, the theme is that we have to be honest and real with each other for God to be able to make a difference in our lives. If we’re not honest with ourselves and we’re not honest with each other and the Lord, then there’s so many things that we get caught up in just as fallen human beings that keep us away from our Creator. As hard as it is to be truly honest with your friends and with your community and the Lord, it’s absolutely essential.”
Q – What is your favorite passage of Scripture and give us some insight as to why you choose that one?
“I’ll give you two. There’s one verse that MIKESCHAIR has taken as almost a mission statement. It comes from 1 Corinthians 13, and it’s basically verses 1-3. It says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, and didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Then it goes on to say that we can have all these gifts but if we don’t have love, then it means nothing. That’s basically what we base everything we do on. Is this adding to the noise or is it love?”
“Then, another one. We have a song on our record called “Let The Waters Rise” and it’s actually our latest single that just came out. There’s a verse in John, John 16:33, that says, “In this world, you’ll have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world.” Lately, that’s the verse that’s just been really encouraging me. This life isn’t perfect and there are things we’re going to have to go through being in a fallen world, but the fact that Jesus has already overcome the world just brings so much hope to me and hopefully others.”
Mike assured me that they will be out on the road in 2010 and will be ministering to people. Their music is touching lives in ways that they never thought possible when they were sitting in that dorm room at Belmont University, but they found that being honest with people can have a great impact. Their message is one of hope, a message that we all need each and every day.
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