Born on December 1st

"As long as there's breath in our lungs our story is still being written."

"My dad was a monster and I realized if the gospel could change that dude, the gospel can change anybody."

"What I view as worship now is certainly a little different than how I used to view worship. I don't see it as a verse in a chorus, on a big screen with words, like I used to. It's just trying to be as real as possible in front of an audience."

"I came to know Christ at the age of 13 during church camp at Glorieta, New Mexico."

"More than anything, whether it's my dad's fault or whatever, I wouldn't allow myself to be loved. I lived most of my life thinking that I was unlovable, that I was broken goods, or whatever."

"I just want people to not assume their story is over, especially when maybe they have somebody in their life that they've given up on or they think it's hopeless."

"When my father died of cancer in 1991, he left me with the assurance that he was headed to a better place. He used to always tell me that I was getting the raw end of the deal because I had to stick around here."

"My son, Sam, is 15 years old, and he's been a diabetic since he was 2. When you're a parent of a child with any kind of chronic illness, these things don't go away. You have a lot of good days, but some days you feel like you're losing bad."

"If you go to a Christmas concert, you take your wife on a nice evening, people are dressed up a little bit more, and it's definitely a sit-down event."

"As long as our heart's beating, there's a chance for us, or whoever that person is in our life, and I don't know how the story turns out, but I do know that no one is out of the reach of God, and that anybody's capable of change."

"12 years ago all I wanted to do was sing the right songs and get emotionally wound up, but now I realize my job is to make Christ the center of attention each night."

"The popularity's got its pluses and minuses, and there are many days that I would rather just be a Christian and not known at all, but that's not what God has called me to do."

"I've never met an artist who was at a certain level of spirituality offstage and then lowered it onstage."

"My dad would do horrible things to me, but I was so desperate for his affection and his approval that I would keep coming back."

"I think everybody's got someone in their life that they think is out of the reach of God, or unchangeable, unreachable, if you will, and maybe we think that way of ourselves sometimes."

"It's kind of scary making a faith-based film."

"I have one brother who's five years older than me and he was a huge part of my childhood."

"I've been through difficult times where it just seems like hope is nowhere to be found, but those are some of the greater moments where we run to Christ a little faster and hang on a little tighter."

"Part of the tradition of the Christmas season is every night my son and I hit the town and look for every Christmas light we can find. This is something my son absolutely adores."

"On Christmas Eve, it's my wife and my son and my daughter and I. We're home, and we open our presents together on Christmas Day, and then after we go visit the rest of the family."

"The song 'Even If' is incredibly special to me."

"I ended up living in fear for most of my childhood."

"I finally got the dad I always wanted and then he left. At 18, 19 years old, I was really upset and had to work through that."

"I think everyone, especially after the passing of a loved one, starts to hope that maybe there will be something better on the other side."

"Whether you have an abusive father or the most amazing dad ever, every son is trying to find their way out from under the shadow of their dad."

"Then, when my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I started to notice this crazy transformation, where he fell desperately in love with Jesus."

"God was always a refuge for me growing up."

"The only time I actually got mad at God is when my dad completely changed and was my closest friend, and then he was taken from me too soon."

"We try to do everything that we can to make Christ the center of attention. Our goal is to kind of broaden the definition of worship. I know that God has always used us as a forefront for people to draw closer to Him and get into His presence."

"I am just sitting back and trying to take in the idea that the God who created everything around us, He didn't call the mountains or the forest or the ocean to spend eternity with Him, but He called us."