Jimmy Mitchell, LifeTeen.com Charlie Lowell, Jars of Clay

LifeTeen.com's Jimmy Mitchell talks with Charlie Lowell of the group Jars of Clay.

Charlie Lowell is a man of many gifts, musical and otherwise. After thirty minutes on the phone with this long-time pianist and songwriter from Jars of Clay, truth and beauty struck in a new and surprising way.

I could only echo the words of St. Augustine as he wrote in his Confessions, "Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new!" Going into the interview, I knew of the band's heart for Africa and was eager to hear about it first-hand. I knew of their joy for teenagers and was excited to talk about ministries like Young Life and Youth Specialties. However, God gave both Charlie and me a gift as we laid bare our hearts - sharing our devotion to sacramental liturgy, our understanding of the communion of saints, and our deep and abiding love for Jesus Christ and His Church.

Over a Decade In

Though Charlie began classical piano lessons in the first grade, he learned to play music by ear while in a garage band at a Jesuit high school in upstate New York. By freshmen year at Greenville College, he began writing songs with Dan Haseltine (vocals), Steve Mason (lead guitar), and Matt Odmark (rhythm guitar), who together formed the now-famous Jars of Clay. Their name derives from the NIV translation of 2 Corinthians 4:7 - "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

Their self-titled debut came out on Essential Records in 1995, sold over two million units, and enjoyed several mainstream crossovers. With ten full-length albums now under their belt, Charlie happily claims, "A decade in, it's more enjoyable than ever." He believes that the most rewarding aspect of their career has been the constantly evolving relationship with their audience. Twelve years ago, AOL and the Internet age was hardly a reality in the average American home. It now allows the band to enjoy a give-and-take conversation with their fans through mediums like MySpace, YouTube, and discussion boards. Their career has exceeded every expectation, and Charlie quickly admits, "Some days it feels like we're just getting started."

Fade to Gray

With the release of their greatest hits album earlier last year, Jars celebrated a twelve-year commitment with Essential Records. With the hopes of entering into a new season with greater freedom and creativity, the band departed from Essential this year and began their own record company, Gray Matters. This idea of there being "gray" areas in life has been a recurring theme in Jars music from the beginning. In Charlie's words, "Life is not always black and white like we want it to be. It's not easy. It's messy. And I think God is in the gray, oftentimes, as much as we resist it. Relationships are messy, and that's when we press in, and we sit in the mess and ride it out... He gives us the strength to pull through."

Indeed the gray does matter. Five years ago, the band took their first trip to South Africa with the hopes of finding ways to better serve this impoverished, AIDS-stricken, and often forgotten region of the world. In an effort to help remedy some of these complicated issues, the band started Blood:Water Mission with a purpose to "find creative solutions for clean blood and clean water in areas of Africa that are affected by AIDS." The band was "tired of standing on stage and talking about problems half-way across the world" without touching them personally. In the past two years, they have raised enough money for over 330 clean water wells. They have high hopes for many more efforts to come, including the release of a new movie in February called Sons of Lwala. None other than Jars of Clay, of course, scored its soundtrack.

A Christmas Promise

They talked about it for a decade. They'd been promising it to their fans for years. With a new label and a renewed energy, the band decided to record Christmas Songs, which released on Oct. 16th last year. While they gave new skin to many holiday favorites, they also tried their hand at writing several originals, including two instrumentals with the hopes of evoking "that quiet, meditative side of the waiting, the Advent."

In an effort to find "some clever names that would evoke this waiting or this longing that we feel leading up to Christmas," the band began surfing the Internet. This whimsical experiment led Steve Mason to a website with names and biographies of saints. Quickly, the band discovered St. Cecilia and her patronage of music. Charlie described it as a "magical moment... we just felt like 'The Gift of St. Cecilia' is how we'll open the record."

The Language of the Saints

In the last couple of years, Charlie has become an Episcopalian and Steve has begun attending an Anglican church with his family in Nashville. With a heart for ecumenism, Charlie declares, "The language of the saints... is becoming more a part of our story." Having grown up Presbyterian, he began longing for a "quieter, more structured, more liturgical service" in his later years. As avid fans of authors like G.K. Chesterton, the band sees a beautiful equilibrium between the time-tested liturgy of the historic Church and the constant awareness of being in-tune and in-step with the Holy Spirit that flows from a personal relationship with God.

It is an exciting time for the Church universal. As a generation, we have an opportunity to pray for unity and pave the way for a great return to the fullness of truth. "What's sad to me is when our identity becomes in what we disagree on," Charlie says. "I think Jesus has given us so many things to agree on and to focus on and to make our priority. It's a daily challenge to bring it back to Jesus."

Indeed. Let us enter into this new year with joyful anticipation. He who saves is among us. Let us prepare our hearts and make way for the King who reigns!