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In your own words, who is Kevin Straine? I am a guitar player and singer who loves to jam and also thinks that there should be more than just surface level themes in music because it can be such a powerful force if wielded well. I’m California born (Sacramento) and raised (Ventura county and Inland Empire). I’ve been a musician for 20 years but still know that I have a lot to learn. I’ve been through university a few times and am in the process of raising a family. I’m a proud Seventh-day Adventist that takes our history to heart. I enjoy sharing with younger musicians how to advocate for themselves because often we are the only ones who do. When it comes to music, I'm not only interested in the song but the journey that brought it to life. I need to know lyrics, music, genre history, gear used, other musicians’ influences, where and how they grew up, how their experience fit with the people that supported them and also derided them, and what that spark was that made everything click. I’m into that because I think music should be purposeful and try to aim for a higher good, especially Christian music, where a moral standard mixed with great music can be an illuminating experience. You are both a recording artist and a worship leader. What is the dynamic like between those two different callings? Do you see yourself as more of one or the other? And do you find those two roles overlap a lot, or are they mostly separate for you? I never thought I would be an artist. Mostly my aspiration was to be a guitar player. I was content leading worship in my community and crossing denominational divides to try and see what other Christians were doing musically. Then God called me to put my own voice in the mix. I think of worship leading as a service and response to God in and for one’s community. The focus for the worship leader should be on the communal response of worship, not on the performative aspect of the music. Being an artist is using that talent as a unique reflection of all of the experience and inspiration that comes with it. Maybe they’re two sides of the same coin with different emphases. I know my calling now as an artist, but I’m content to support others and their communities if they need a worship leader. I think there can be a lot of overlap between artist and worship leader, and there certainly seems to be a connection for most people if the artist is religious in some way. I guess it depends on how those roles are viewed. A good thought exercise would be to think about how the Seventh-day Adventist church sees those roles. Then zoom out and think about how different denominations see them. Then different faith communities. For instance, for someone in the Greek Orthodox church, what I do with a guitar in my community for worship time (probably a CCM vibe) would not be how they would worship in church usually. But then I looked at a worship service like Jewish community of IKAR in Los Angeles, CA and they were singing a Beatles tune when I tuned in to their online service a while ago. Your most recent release is titled “The Riverside Response.” How has your location and/or community been a factor in inspiring your music? La Sierra University Church has been my home for over a decade and it’s a community that takes God seriously enough to question our own motives and thinking on an individual level to benefit the community in accordance with the Word. I cannot count how many times I’ve seen others be uncomfortable with a decision where God is moving and then, once prayer and discussion is over, support it enthusiastically. It’s not magic, but it is an intentional willingness to consider the question, “Am I wrong on this?” followed by, “What does the Bible really say about this?” The combination of intentionality and being willing to lay our egos to the side is so refreshing in a church, especially when that value is reflected in each echelon of church hierarchy. This is what happened when I was the lead musician there for a season. Some people were not excited about a young(ish) guy with an electric guitar leading music for the holy hour, but when we were able to discuss and try it out, they saw that their kids and grandkids were taking somewhat more of an active role in the community. In this, they saw the movement of the Spirit and recognized that they could at least tolerate it for a while. That lasted eight years and when it was my season to step down, I trusted God’s plan for what was next, even though letting go of the reins in the music ministry was frightening. Although my record stems from my community’s values, it’s actually a direct response to the Nashville Statement. When I felt called to write my second record, it was the night of my record release concert for my first album, “The Declaration EP,” and that chapter in my life had seemingly closed. For that first record I felt like I learned a lot in the process of making music on that scale. When the concert was over I was the last one awake in my house, all the lights were off and I reflected on the seeming finality and pride in what I had accomplished. I prayed, “God, I think I did what you wanted me to do. So if you need anything else, I’ll be here.” Then it came to me: Write music that tells the Christian church that we need to be treating the LGBTQ+ community better and more like God's children. So when I started to write music again, that idea was my north star. Then when I saw the Nashville Statement, it really angered me. I thought, “There is so much pain and hurt in the world, and these clergy members decide to do the opposite of what Jesus would do?” Christ’s ministry is inclusive and they made an effort to codify exclusion in this document. That’s when I knew what my record would be called. Not to mention I felt the anti-creedal nature of the founders of Seventh-day Adventism boiling in my bones! Who are your biggest musical influences and inspirations? As I wrote earlier, I just wanted to be a guitar player. For me, BB King, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Edward Van Halen were my main influences in jr. high up through high school. My mom also listened to a lot of Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith as well, especially on Sabbath mornings. The odd thing is that even though I listened to rock and blues growing up (not super popular for kids in the 90’s) when I wrote music, it never sounded anything like that. I think that I knew deep down that I had to listen to my own voice to see what came out instead of copying a certain style or feel of music. Interestingly, only on my latest release can you really hear many of those guitar players’ influence I cited earlier. Tell us about your gear. What are your go-to pieces of equipment for crafting your sound? My main acoustic is a Taylor 714 that I bought from Scott Reed (SDA cred!) years ago. My main electric guitar is a Fender Highway 1 Strat that I have dinged and modified a ton over the 17 years I’ve had it. It was my first brand new instrument and I’ve played it everywhere. Being that three of my main guitar heroes played Strats, I thought it was the one I should go with. I have a few essential pedals and an amp that sounds pretty good, but like Stevie Ray Vaughan reportedly said, “Tone is in the fingers.” Maybe it was said about him. For recording, I usually go in the box straight into a UA Apollo Duo to Logic for electric. Their Fender amp plugin is pretty great, but their preamps seem to be the secret sauce! I have a few AudioTechnica mics that I use with acoustic and an AKG Perception 200 that I primarily record vocals on. Some people are picky about gear but I’m not usually. Like Blaine Long told me once, “It’s about the message, not the medium.” Tell us about being part of the “Rainbow Faith” Spotify playlist - how that came about and what it means to you? I got a notification one day through Spotify that I was on a playlist so I checked and was touched to find out I was featured on that one. It’s a playlist of spiritual music by the LGBTQ+ community and allies. I’m so glad that it might give comfort to someone who is feeling at odds with who they are and who the church says God wants them to be. Last I checked, nothing can separate us from God’s love. What has been your most significant challenge and growing experience during the COVID-19 pandemic? A big growing experience for me has been trusting God’s plan first before delving into negativity and despair. I think that many people are in a difficult place like that right now because of what’s going on around us. At the end of June, I was laid off from a job that I loved dearly due to COVID-19 and the effect it had on my workplace. I made it a priority to trust God every day and to try and be grateful for what I do have. It’s not easy to do that, especially in a once-every-hundred-years pandemic, and I don’t always get it right, but a little reminder every day has been helping me immensely. Just this week, I was comforted when I found out that my son’s memory verse test was on Jeremiah 29:11. On top of all that, the music industry is closed for business. If I had lost my job under normal circumstances, I would’ve tried to book any concert available to me. Now it is very rare to have the opportunity to see and hear live music. This is why I’ve been doing what I call an #InstaMiniConcert every Wednesday at 9 p.m. over on my Instagram page (@kstrainemusic). I’m promoting the music and message any way I can because I was so busy with my last job that didn’t get it out there enough. So now people can join me in my garage (online!) for a small, bite-size set of 3-4 songs to close out the evening midweek. Last question - what one thing would you like to say to anyone reading this? It can be common to take verses out of context when it comes to the Bible. If one looks deeper, there are, what I refer to as, “kingdom values” that God calls us to. One of my favorite texts regarding these values reverberates all throughout the Biblical narrative: Micah 6:8. I think about this one a lot and what it means for me, my family, my community, and my world. I encourage everyone to do the same. What does justice, mercy, and humility have to do with me, my family, my community, and my world? And how are those interconnected? What does that have to do with love for the other in my life? And finally, how can I act in a way that lifts others and honors God? I try to keep this at the forefront of my thoughts and actions each day. To my LGBTQ+ friends, please remember that God loves you wholly and completely. For everyone reading, may God bless you and keep you. Be well. More about Kevin Straine Riverside, California, USA Adult Contemporary / Contemporary Worship / Inspirational Artist Links: Website - Facebook - Spotify - Twitter - Instagram

Forgiveness does not equal fondness. Forgiveness does not equal friendship. Forgiveness does not even equal fellowship. You don't have to be fond of people who have hurt you, you don't have to forget they hurt you, and you don't have to invite harmful people in. Forgiveness is only one part of opening the door for reconciliation, but it doesn't require us to delve into a relationship with unrepentant offenders. Some people you need to forgive may not immediately be ready for fellowship with you, much less ready for enduring friendship with you. Forgiveness is one thing, reconciliation is another. Restoration of the relationship requires both forgiveness and repentance. An unwillingness to respond with repentance is an unwillingness to restore the relationship. Acts 5:31 tells us both forgiveness and repentance are granted by God. If you're on the receiving end of someone's harmful actions, showcasing God’s love means displaying the gift of forgiveness God granted you. But, when you're on the offending side of this equation, as we all will be at some point or another, showcasing God's love also means displaying the gift of repentance God granted you. Reconciling with others and authentically fellowshipping after a relationship has been harmed requires both, but God grants us all we need to be restored. Extending forgiveness does not mean extending trust. For deeper wounds, even when someone says sorry, trust must be earned, and that takes time. Inviting people who have harmed you to resume relationship with you, when they have not changed their behaviors or shown themselves to be trustworthy, is an invitation to chaos. No one can pry God’s peace from our hands, but we can choose to give it up if we want to. If I invite you into my home, and you tracked mud everywhere, the next time you come to my doorstep, forgiveness opens the door to potentially rebuild a relationship, but this time, I'm checking to see if you have mud on your shoes. Forgiveness is the willingness to go to the door, and once you've healed enough, it's an invitation to a relationship if the other person has removed the muddy shoes. If you still see behaviors that would amount to muddy shoes, like drama, negativity, gossiping, shaming, or any other toxic behaviors, the kind, and loving thing to do, is to value the peace Christ paid for, and refuse to allow people to invade your space with muddy shoes. So why even go to the door? Why even consider extending a relationship, knowing the person who harmed us could have on muddy shoes and harm us again? We go back because we value the will of the father express through Jesus Christ: that we dwell in unity with one another because it reflects the unity of the Godhead. Forgiveness does not mean letting chaos in. Forgiveness is answering the door again, even if we have to wait for the other persons to remove their muddy shoes, to change their behaviors, and to be ready for a healthy relationship. This type of sustained unity requires repeated forgiveness. Unity can only happen by practicing the command to forgive over and over again, 70 times 7. To this end, the saying shouldn't be, “Forgive and forget.” It should be “Forgive and repeat.” This article was adapted from The Book on Forgiveness: Small Steps for Big Change.

It was during a summer in the middle of my time at nursing school. It had been a difficult week. In fact, it had been a difficult month. Actually, the whole summer had been difficult. Thus, I had slipped into my addiction of wasting time on YouTube to cope. This left me feeling like a failure. I could have spent my time a lot more wisely, but here I was sitting in front of YouTube like an idiot. Again. It seemed like a cycle I couldn’t break. Then, Sabbath came. I wasn’t sleepy, because unlike the rest of the school year the workload was a little bit lighter. I opened up YouTube. I scrolled past the time-wasting videos that I usually watched during the week. I didn't even think about it. Instead, I searched for something uplifting. I found some devotionals. I click on some testimonies. These things existed on YouTube? It was such a productive afternoon. My relationship with God was strengthened. I heard God speaking to my heart: “Yes, you can use your time wisely. On Sabbaths and every other day.” It was like a ray of light and hope in the darkness of my struggle in my Christian walk. For me, Sabbath is a day in which God can demonstrate how He can save and restore my life. He can make my life align with His will on Sabbaths and every day. Will you let God work in your life this Sabbath?

I pray you can see Jesus when you hear this music. Earlier this year, the Hip-Hop artist formerly known as Davis Absolute announced a re-launch of his brand and a re-shaping of his artistic identity. Ditching the more standard name format and adopting the acronym FLF (Flood Light Forever), the veteran Christian rapper began dropping a string of singles that pointed the way towards his new self-titled album. In spite of the name change, FLF may be a familiar face to many readers of The Haystack - having been featured under his previous moniker on well-known Adventist podcasts like Absurdity with Ryan Becker, as well as in some of our past content (streamed on our unfortunately defunct Periscope account). While the sonic textures of the music released in anticipation of the album have not been hugely different from FLF's previous work as Davis Absolute, there is a definite devotional and testimonial quality to both the lyrics and promotional content. The album itself features several audio samples from sermons. FLF, above anything else, seems to be thinking of his new music in decisively spiritual terms, not only for himself but also for his listeners. Just take these words from a post on his Facebook page this past July: The end goal of creating music and focusing on a mission of delivering Christian content has never been to 'make it'. The thought of getting a huge audience and following has crossed my mind and it's hard to say that it isn't tempting, but I'm reminded often by the Holy Spirit that the end result is souls saved and not monthly streams or social media followers. The reason I make music is to bring those listening into a deeper relationship with the Father through His Son Christ. If that isn't accomplished, than all is for naught–my efforts have been in vain. I pray you can see Jesus when you hear this music. For an artist like FLF, talk about "making it" and gaining a following is by no means hypothetical or hyperbolic. The rapper has been featured frequently on major Christian Hip-Hop site Rapzilla, and has collaborated with well-established names in CHH like John Givez, nobigdyl, Dru Bex, and many others. For an independent artist, all of these are impressive accomplishments. And yet, it seems FLF has determined that those accomplishments under his previous name are worth setting aside if his own name and success somehow get in the way of his presentation of his faith. What remains to be seen is exactly what effect his new material, in its totality, will have on listeners. But that much will be up to you to decide. The new album FLF is available now on all major platforms. FLF Album Tracklist: 1. Flood (prod. Daniel Steele) 2. Last Supper (prod. Khompono) 3. Anthem of the Valley (prod. Khompono) 4. Stigmata (prod. Wontel) 5. My Life (prod. Daniel Steele) 6. 22 (prod. Canis Major) 7. Wolves (prod. Daniel Steele) 8. Wide Awake (prod. Daniel Steele) 9. Revival (prod. Daniel Steele) 10. American Hebrew (prod. Daniel Steele) 11. Last Supper (Demo) (prod. Khompono) Artist Info: Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona Genre: Hip-Hop New Album - Website - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - YouTube - Spotify

“I am seeing a therapist.” First, it was a pastor that I worked with and looked up to. Then, it was a ministry leader who was a blessing in my life. Both of these men were taking the steps they needed to ensure their mental health. Today, we are finally seeing the importance of taking care of our mental health. But where do we start? How do find a great therapist to help us work through our mental health challenges? I sat down with my friend, Dr. K’dee Elsen, who is a psychologist to get some advice. 1. You hold all the cards Dr. Elsen says, “When choosing a therapist, the number one thing to know is that you hold all the cards.” It’s like dating—especially similar to going out on a first date. It may work, it may not. You aren’t married to the first therapist you see (although do give them an honest chance!). You have the right to vet your therapist until you find someone that fits and meets your goals. Of course, meeting your goals may be uncomfortable. You shouldn’t switch therapists because the changes you need to make are uncomfortable, or because they are actually challenging you to be a better version of yourself. Sometimes we continue “shopping,” not because we haven’t found a good therapist, but because we are avoiding settling with a therapist that is having us sit and stare into the mirror of change. It is also important to remember that, if you do settle with a certain therapist, you still hold all the cards! “I had a panic attack yesterday,” a close friend shared. We both work for a company that offers free mental health treatment. I asked her if she was taking advantage of it. “Yes, but I feel like she just listens to me. I don’t feel like we are going anywhere.” “Speak up! Voice your concerns.” I told her as I started to share insights from my interview with Dr. Elsen. While in therapy, it is important to always be open and honest with the therapist about your preferences, needs, and goals. If you think something isn’t working, speak up! If there is something you like and want more of, speak up! If—for example—faith is important to you and you would like to integrate it into therapy, tell your therapist! You are in control of your mental health care. 2. Choose the right therapy There is a myriad of therapy options out there, “Where do I begin?” Dr. Elsen emphasizes the importance of seeking evidence-based therapy (EBT). Through research, EBT is a treatment validated to be effective. Cognitive and behavioral therapies are among these EBTs and are change-oriented. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), one of the most highly utilized and effective, is not only an EBT but also one of the most biblical methods available. CBT addresses the negative thought patterns we have adopted and works to establish new balanced thoughts (as the Bible recommends, “bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”). CBT also attempts to reduce unhealthy behaviors and increase healthy behaviors. Dr. Elsen points out that thoughts often lead to actions and the things we do also mold our character and who we are. When looking for an EBT, Dr. Elsen points out the importance of considering what your main concern is. Are you struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, or something else? For example, if you are struggling with trauma, Cognitive Processing Therapy is an EBT proven to address and reduce trauma-related symptoms. You may not know what exact therapy you need, but remember—you hold the cards, So ask! 3. Ask for credentials I asked Dr. Elsen how we could tell if our therapist was using the right methods of treatment. “Ask!” she said. Now, that we know what kind of therapy methods are effective (EBTs!) we can ask how the therapist does treatment. “You could ask what type of treatment the therapist provides and what that type of treatment includes,” says Dr. Elsen. That way you can determine what to expect from therapy. You may not know exactly what they mean—but again—ask! “Dialectical Behavioral Therapy? What’s that?” Have them explain it to you or ask others. Also, go online and do your research! Remember to feel comfortable and empowered to ask for credentials. Ask what school they went to, where they did their training, and what their specialty is. Have they worked with people with your issues? Are they licensed? Ask these types of questions. Remember, you hold all the cards. 4. Pray It can feel overwhelming. “What if I don’t know the right questions to ask? What if I don’t feel confident to ask?” The ultimate key to finding a good therapist, Dr. Elsen says, “Is praying through it all.” She emphasizes that if we are praying for someone, God will lead us to someone—whether by word of mouth and personal referral or through your personal journey of seeking for one. The therapist may or may not be Christian or Adventist, but he or she can be used by God to help us work toward our goals. God will also give us the wisdom to know if a therapist is or is not the right person to continue sessions with. A great way to know if a therapist is from God is if is the changes you are making are leading to a closer relationship with God. A friend of mine named Damian*shared how God led him to his therapist. During the summer, he realized that he needed professional help to deal with the emotional and mental baggage that had been plaguing him from his past. One of his friends who was dealing with some similar issues mentioned that he was seeing a therapist and recommended him. Damian reached out to what would be a Godsend. His spirit-lead therapist helps him process his past. The progress is palpable in the weekly breakthroughs. Damian doesn’t feel misunderstood. There are no awkward silences. In the same way, God can lead you to a therapist that helps you move towards a healthier you. Finding a therapist may not be easy, so take your time and enjoy the journey. You’ll find the right person when you need it most. I hope these pointers will help you in your search. How are you taking care of your mental health? P.S. How do I know if I need a therapist? Stay tuned that's coming up next. *pseudonym Photo credit: Photo by Calum MacAulay on Unsplash

In your own words, who is Aren Bruce? At the core of who I am, I’m just a guy who thinks a lot and writes songs about those thoughts, hoping other people will chew on those thoughts for a while. Life comes at us so quickly with so many attractive things that we rarely take a chance to pause and reflect on what really matters at the end of the day. Because God has offered us life in the death of His son, we are both privileged and obligated to live in worship by humbling ourselves and serving others. My focus is to live that out, and music is a wonderfully creative vehicle for expressing such a focus. I’m also a weirdo of a husband to my best friend and a fanatic when it comes to anything involving either exercise or the outdoors. You have mixed elements of folk, blues, pop, R&B, and a bit of Jazz in your music. Is there any particular genre that you feel most at home in? It’s funny to admit, but I think the genre in which I’m most comfortable is the one in which I’ve written very few songs: jazz/soul. There’s something about the complexity of endless nuance in jazz that just fuses so well with the deep sincerity of soul. When I can find that balance in writing, I set up camp there and take a very, very long nap. Otherwise, I find pop/R&B to be the most comfortable. What kind of background do you have when it comes to music theory? Did you ever take lessons? I ask because you get fairly harmonically adventurous in many of your songs. I played various instruments throughout my childhood, from violin to piano to handbells and even the more refined kazoo. In the 8th grade I started guitar lessons for a year, then studied guitar in college again as a music minor. I was never very diligent when it came to consistent practice, but I would invest a lot of time in certain specific areas of interest. In addition to learning popular songs, teaching myself basic jazz chords and shapes provided me with tools with which I applied my knowledge of music theory. My understanding of theory, though, especially jazz theory, is very cursory, so I’d like to study the principles of jazz to better develop my compositional skills. Who are your primary musical influences? Growing up, I listened to a majority mix of black gospel and CCM artists. My mom was always blasting hits by Donnie McClurkin, Yolanda Adams, John Stoddart, and The Winans. I owe the special place Sam Cooke holds in my heart to my mom and her siblings frequently singing “Touch the Hem of His Garment” a cappella at family events. My dad has been a huge fan of Bryan Duncan and Steven Curtis Chapman, and that affinity rubbed off on me, so now I basically know all the words to all of their albums after 1995. We’d bump the Temptations, Average White Band, The Rippingtons, and a lot of world music like Gloria Estéfan and Salif Keita. When I started playing guitar, though, I stumbled upon the youtube content of an independent singer-songwriter, Gabe Bondoc, and instantly took to his pop/R&B style and lyricism. I play more covers of his songs than of any other artist, so I think it's safe to say he has been one of my biggest stylistic influences. Your songs on Take Time seamlessly drift between seemingly mundane, everyday topics and questions of spirituality. That can be a difficult line to walk for a songwriter. In light of this, can you talk about how you approach your lyric writing? As a lyricist, my #1 goal is to be as clear as possible while expressing myself as creatively as possible. With this in mind, I’ve found the use of nuance and plays on words to be the most instrumental in communicating simple concepts in a way that is neither too plain nor cliché, especially for songs that fall on the mundane end of the spectrum of life matters. For the deeper concepts, I actually try to simplify the lyrical delivery so that the weight of the message can be felt for what it is. It seems counterintuitive, but I find that a simpler vehicle more effectively communicates a complex message, and vice versa. One song on Take Time that really stands out is “Creation Sings.” It manages to be both light and energetic at the same time. Can you say more about how you wrote that song, and what inspired the particular musical choices you made there? The funny thing about this song is that it was a very experimental first step into working with a loop station. In my second year of college, I had just purchased the Ditto Looper, a single-channel recording device that allows the user to record an initial clip, then repeat that clip indefinitely while recording new musical layers over top of it. Because I only had one channel to work with, and I had lately been in the thick of worship leading, I felt pretty confident in using the G chord for the entire song. The layered harmonics and lead riffs you hear were largely my attempt to add as much harmony as I knew how to within the bounds of the mighty G chord. Despite maybe having too many layers, it still flows for a couple of reasons. The lead riffs are layered as 3-part harmonies to fill out the sound without taking up unnecessary rhythmic space, and each voice has its own varied syncopation that leaves appropriate breathing room while sustaining the energy of the song. I also LOVE latin percussion, so while the original version of this song starts with me slapping the back of my guitar, the recorded version involves both a bass cajon and bongo drums to vary the timbre and rhythms of the percussion. The words and theme largely draw from many psalms I’ve read, expressing a hopeful and bright gratefulness toward God for his creativity and perfection. On your Bandcamp, you mention that your album emerged during a time of intense transitions and changes in your life. You specifically mention the idea that these experiences pulled you out of “selfish versions of spirituality and philosophy.” Can you expand a little bit more on what that means, and maybe some of the ways that this personal growth is reflected in your music? As human beings, our tendency is to make everything about ourselves. Notwithstanding our parents’ efforts to the contrary, we often grow up feeling centered as the most important thing in our universe. Our opinions, our impulses, our dreams, our wants; every thought and action springs from a default selfishness that taints our entire outlook. While I understood and believed the concepts of putting God first and caring for others as He would, the transitional period between college and post-collegiate life brought hurdles and milestones that showed me even my faith had been compromised by that selfishness. I’ll share an honest example: While my grandparents were still around, I would limit the time I talked to them because I felt it was too hard to end conversations with them at a reasonable length. I genuinely felt that any period of time, no matter how short, spent in conversation with them was caring for them as God desired, because I was “busy” doing “important things”, yet I still spent some of my time on them. When I lost them, it hit me like a ton of bricks that caring for others means putting their immediate needs above your preferences and convenience. In marrying my wife and working different jobs, God was and is still teaching me that what he needs is not me doing nice things for people and reading my bible while I go manifest my best self, but me emptying myself completely. That way, God’s spirit has unhindered access to my heart and mind. The ninth track on Take Time, “If You Supply”, is an unfiltered expression of my coming face to face with how ugly and tiring my heart’s sin is, and my impatiently begging God to fix it yesterday. Can you tell us more about “Think Deeper Music”? Is that a label or brand for promoting your own music, or do you have any broader plans for that? Sure! Think Deeper Music is the name of my artist page on bandcamp.com. As of now, it functions as a bit of a brand, but more so a representation of my goal as an artist. The tendency of much art and entertainment is to keep the audience’s attention at the surface level, but because I believe Jesus will return one day to judge the world and claim His children, I want to encourage as many people as possible to think deeply about their values. To be honest, I haven’t thought too deeply (pun intended) about whether the phrase will be strictly a brand, or a label/platform for other like-minded creators. Deciding will (brace for pun) take time. Last question - what one thing would you like to say to anyone reading this? I would warn those reading this against the lie that only those with the most experience, resources, influence, or ability are most useful to God. God’s kingdom is not built on the work of the most talented people with the most connections and the most attractive presentation. It is built on the Spirit of God imparting knowledge and wisdom to the weak and the strong alike, to the confident speaker and her who stammers, to the social butterfly and the loner. If you are willing to humble yourself, what you have right now is enough, because what you might one day have will never be enough. More about Aren Bruce: Hometown: Takoma Park, MD, USA Genre: Pop / Soul / R&B Artist Links: Facebook - Bandcamp - Spotify - Instagram - YouTube

“White People Have No Culture.” Whiteness is a loaded term. In racial discussions largely amongst strangers, it can be important to define terms. When talking about whiteness here, it’s used as something related to but distinct from white people. There is nothing inherently wrong with being a white person. But being white in America comes with certain aspects needing to be explored by each white person. For ease of discussion, this white American experience can be called “whiteness." Take, for instance, a phrase you may have heard before, “White people have no culture.” There’s a certain level of humor conveyed in this phrase (even if it isn’t funny). If expanded on, someone might mention how rock was originally a black genre, or how white people like bland foods, or any number of ways in which white people lack a unique sense of culture. Like any stereotype, it’s based on a half-truth. The reality is, white people do have culture, many cultures in fact. However, we’ll miss out on the greatness of them if we can’t escape white culture—or whiteness. “This Day We Are Covered in Shame.” Before we can escape from whiteness, we need to acknowledge it. This is hard. It’s easy to feel like it’s a problem out there and not within me! I didn’t own slaves. I don’t use the N-word, even during songs. I have black friends. All those may be true, but the Bible frequently shares the idea of institutional sin. Whether it's a group sorted by ethnicity, location, time, or religion people groups are routinely held to account for the sins of the larger body. The prophets call particular attention to this. Here’s what Daniel, who by all accounts was blameless even while being watched by his enemies, has to say about Israel: “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.” Daniel 9:7-11 Notice all the “we, our and us” language? In our hyper-individualized American culture, this kind of ownership of national identity seems strange and foreign, but for much of history, and even much of the modern world, it’s a perfectly normal and healthy way of living. God seems to agree, as he routinely punishes and forgives entire nations for the actions of a few. Even if we aren’t the ones doing hateful acts, we all contribute in conscious and subconscious ways to the collective identity of our group. Maybe I don’t ever tell racist jokes, but do I let others tell them unopposed? Maybe I don’t even know it, but do I find myself less trusting of certain people groups? The concept of whiteness is that through historical cultural conditioning, white people have formed part of their cultural identity in the American experience, an experience built upon the backs of black slaves. If you’re unconvinced, at least give it some thought. Chew on it over the next several days. Read and listen to some black voices on this topic. Remember Where You Came From. Let’s say you accept my premise about this national identity we call whiteness. What does someone do about it? Very few want that kind of cultural baggage hanging around their necks. If you’ve ever heard a white person say, “Talking about race so much is exhausting,” you know what I mean. If you’ve ever heard a black person talk about white fragility, you know what this is. Yet it’s so hard to just put down whiteness. The reason stems from the fact that whiteness comprises a core part of our identity. You can’t simply just cut out part of your identity. The reason it’s often so hard for white people to start having serious introspective thoughts and discussions about race is because it pushes us and asks us to abandon part of who we are. It’s not so much white fragility, as if I could simply be tougher in the face of losing my identity. Rather, it’s more white emptiness, as I face the prospect of trying to reject myself. If we are to succeed in this inward journey we must find something to take the place of whiteness. We need a story about ourselves that is better than the one America has told us. The prophets also understood this. In appealing to the people of Israel they would often repeat the history of their people. The prophets would launch into these long sermons recounting the deliverance from Egypt, the settling of the Promised Land, and so on. In order to recover from national sin and lost identity as God’s people, it was important to recount where they came from and the God that brought them there. The same solution is there for white people today. Much of my ancestry is German. The Germans have a rich culture which has influenced me even as a born and raised American. Obviously it’s not all good. I don’t even need to clarify because we all know exactly what I’m referring to. As I’ve grown I’ve found a sense of comfort in my ancestral identity. I’ve learned about how my ancestors who emigrated from Germany to Russia dug holes in the ground to survive their first winter until they could build homes. I felt their desperation in the letters they wrote to those who left for America as Stalin began to systematically remove them from the earth. I watched in awe as Michael Ballack dragged Die Mannschaft to a near victory in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. I’ve tasted Kuchen and Knephla, dishes made by North Dakota Germans who came from Russia. I’ve found a cultural identity that allows me a foundation from which I can explore my white American heritage. Whether it’s Germanic, British, Scandinavian or elsewhere, white people from America have rich ancestral backgrounds to ground themselves in should they choose. God has been active among all peoples. If we embrace these traditions in place of the empty, soulless whiteness that gave birth to American exceptionalism and the body count it left in it’s wake, we might find ourselves in a place where we can comfortably discuss and grow from the trauma whiteness has inflicted on the indigenous populations of this continent and Africa. When we can do that from a safe vantage point, then perhaps we can begin to reassemble our white American identity into something healthy. At the very least, perhaps we won’t feel the need to borrow other cultures in place of our own. Whiteness may have no culture, but it doesn’t mean you don’t.

In your own words, who is Jordan Putt? I’m a musician, and I write songs about my personal experiences to help myself process them, and share in the hope that others will be able to benefit from that practice of reflection. Your socials list you as being originally from Canada, but where are you based now? And do you consider yourself a Canadian artist, or do you feel more rooted in your current location? I live in Orlando, Florida! Although I spent over half of my life and most of my growing up years in Canada, the longer I spend in the US, the more confused about my identity I feel. I’m a dual citizen, so I’ve always ended up being “the American one” amongst Canadians and “the Canadian one” when I’m in the US. At this point it doesn’t matter too much to me. Your Spotify bio says that you were born “at an extremely young age.” Can you elaborate on exactly how young you were when you were born, and whether or not you feel you have grown as a person since then? It depends. If you go by East Asian age reckoning, I would be born at the age of one, since they use ordinal numerals, but if you go by Western age reckoning, it would be the age of zero. Either way, it’s an extremely young age. Thankfully, I have developed many “adult characteristics and traits”, which has been extremely helpful in getting a job, using fine motor skills, and myriad other wonderful things. Your Bandcamp releases tell a more in-depth story of your development as an artist than other platforms. You especially have shown an affinity for old hymns. Can you talk a bit about what draws you to songs like Give Me Jesus, Come Thou Fount, How Firm A Foundation, and so on? I was raised in a fairly traditional church, and we sang our fair share of hymns. As a pastor’s kid, I moved around to a few different churches, and was exposed to different cultures and worship styles. I attended Weimar Institute from 2010-2014, which—for those who don’t already know—is one of the more theologically conservative self-supporting Adventist institutions. I think that’s where I fell in love with hymnody. One thing that I will always look back fondly on is being in a room of 50-100 of my peers, every single one of them singing enthusiastically. I think what makes old hymns so special to me is that the good ones have such a depth of meaning, words that you can continually draw life and encouragement from. I don’t mean this to the exclusion of contemporary music, but there is something that resonates with my heart within the poetry and theology of hymns that have stood the test of time. Honest To God came out in 2018 and seems to have been pretty well received. Can you tell us about any potential plans to release new music? I have a bunch of songs that I’m working on, all in varying stages of completion—but none of them are done. Between graduating from university, starting a job, and getting my feet under me, I haven’t had as much time as I once did to work on music, but rest assured I don’t plan to stop. Let’s talk about the track Opening. It’s the shortest track on the album, but also seems to be the most lyrically elusive. God figures pretty clearly and prominently in the words of the other songs, but on this track, you manage to paint quite a word-picture with only a few short lines. What inspired your writing on this one? Most of the best lyrics on Honest to God came to me while I was doing some kind of manual labor. I think I was mowing grass for Southern [Adventist University]’s landscaping department when I wrote that one. It was going to be part of something larger that ended up getting scrapped, but that one short stanza stayed with me. I think it encapsulates the themes of doubt, isolation, and feeling haunted by personal demons or sins that I deal with on the rest of the EP; but ultimately, the knowledge (even without the sensation) of the presence of God through those low points. There is a yearning, aching emotion present throughout Honest To God. It feels deeply personal. Can you talk about the relationship of your personal spirituality to your songwriting? Honest to God came out of a period of searching for answers. I was dealing with, and still deal with feelings of inadequacy, of distance from God, of being unsure where exactly I stand in relation to God, religion, and the world around me. The songs in Honest to God were born out of my attempts to process those feelings and make sense of them. They helped me understand that it’s okay to acknowledge that the Christian walk is difficult at times, that God understands those feelings and continues to draw me in grace and love toward a deeper relationship and understanding of Him. Your songs give voice to brokenness, pain, and particularly to the unique struggles of Christian discipleship. Do you have anything to say about the relationship between Christian spirituality and mental health? I think many of us have been [consciously or unconsciously] led to believe that if we’re not actively experiencing joy, or if we don’t always feel the “peace that passes all understanding”, there’s something wrong with us. It makes us feel like we don’t belong or that we’re missing something that everyone around us seems to have. We’re culturally conditioned to put on a face that doesn’t always reflect what is really going on in our lives. What we end up with is a group of people who are all so focused on looking spiritually healthy to each other that they’re unable to see that each person is struggling in their own unique way. As we are vulnerable with ourselves and with each other, we are able to truly fulfill the function of the church as a community of believers and the Body of Christ as we come alongside each other, encouraging and lifting each other up. For the genre you’re creating in, there’s a bit of a deceptive “lo-fi” aesthetic. What I mean is, on a technical level your production quality sounds really good. What was the production process like for this record? How was the production work split between you and David Siahaan? Any favourite moments from the recording process? Honest to God was, with the exception of the guitars on “Praise Interlude” (those were recorded on my iPad when I was in Korea in 2015), entirely recorded in David Siahaan’s room in Talge Hall at Southern Adventist University. The setup was pretty minimal, basically a couple MXL and Audio-Technica mics into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, recording into Logic Pro X. We didn’t do much in the way of sound isolation, so we just tried to mic as close as we could. All of the keyboard instruments were VSTs. David and I spent hours looking for free VSTs and plugins to make it sound as natural as possible. David made multiple emails to extend the free trial on the GoodHertz plugin bundle! As far as David is concerned, Honest to God couldn’t have happened the way it did without him. He really took on the project and took ownership of it just as much as I did, and that was such a motivating thing for me. I feel like he did most of the heavy lifting in the recording and production process, I brought the songs and he made the magic happen. Between the hours of mixing, guiding the string arrangements, singing background vocals (and writing his own vocal parts), his fingerprints are all over the album, and I owe so much to him as a friend and as a collaborator. Not to mention all the creative and design work that he did, creating all the promo videos, the ALBUM COVER, and working on organizing and planning the release party and show. I could write a whole essay on everything he did. He’s a gem. I think one of my favorite moments from the recording process was when we realized that we wanted to transition seamlessly from “Broken” into “For Me”. When we listened to it back for the first time and heard the transition from electric to acoustic guitar, and the little instrumental interlude that bridges the two songs, we got so unbelievably hype. That was one of many little moments that we knew we were creating something special. Honorable mention: recording the piano for “Benediction”, I played the first take and we basically said “well, that was really good, but let’s do a couple other takes to polish it up a bit.” but no matter how many more takes we did, nothing really captured the magic of the first one, and that’s the one you hear on the record. You performed alongside Aren Bruce. Any other artists or musicians that you’ve shared the stage (or recording studio) with who you think people should know about? Is this just about Adventist musicians? I have an internet friend named Noah Gray who makes music under the name Kerning. He has an absolutely wonderful album called Blue Springs, I’d highly recommend checking it out. I also couldn’t talk about other musicians in my life that inspire me without talking about Ben Mixon, who you can find on streaming services under Spacesuit or benjamin k mixon. I love all his music but especially his 2017 project “Pop Tape”. It’s great bedroom pop that deals with God, family, relationships, partying, and finding oneself in the world. People don’t necessarily always speak about folk music as a modern or current genre, and yet it seems that this genre continues to persist and evolve. What about the genre speaks to you? And can you talk a bit about what kind of impact you think folk music can potentially have within Adventism? This could probably be joked about, but in all seriousness, I think folk music’s greatest quality has always been its accessibility. It’s music that is primarily designed to carry a story or message, and the musical packaging that message comes in is usually simple and easy to digest. It also has appeal across lines of division around music style or worship style. As far as what draws me to it, I have been a fan of 60s folk revival acts like Simon and Garfunkel, CSNY, Peter, Paul and Mary, and their contemporaries since I was a child. In my teen years I was introduced to indie folk acts like Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver who all had a great influence on me as an artist. The Christian artists that I have been most drawn to over my entire life have been folk-leaning singer-songwriters like Andrew Peterson, Rich Mullins, Andy Gullahorn and others, who don’t shy away from tackling the whole gamut of human emotion as it relates to spirituality in their songs. What’s one thing you would like to say to anyone reading this? I often feel as though I have nothing of value to say. The process of making and sharing this album taught me that was not true. Use your voice, create, share, don’t be afraid to speak up or be vulnerable because you think you’re alone. You will find community, you will find others who resonate with your thoughts and experiences and value them. Don’t be afraid to take your doubts, fears, and questions to God. He can handle them. Don’t give up. More about Jordan Putt: Hometown: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada Current residence: Orlando, Florida, USA Genre: Folk Artist Links: • Bandcamp • Instagram • Facebook • Spotify •

In your own words, tell us who Evin Nazya is. Evin Nazya Musgrove … that’s me! I am an Indie-Alternative Singer-Songwriter and YouTuber, born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas, but most importantly, I am a follower of Jesus. I was raised in a stable, Christian home, being the youngest of three siblings. My parents have always been supportive, encouraging my siblings and I to explore our strengths, interests, and creativity. It wasn’t until I truly committed my life to Christ in April of 2018 that I was convicted to cultivate my craft and share it with the world, and I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my life! The purpose of my content is to simply inspire through personal experience, both visually via YouTube and lyrically through my music. Whether that be sharing about my journey with God, my passion for health and fitness, what it’s like being a full-time college student, or lessons I’m learning as I navigate through relationships, both platonic and romantic. Your YouTube channel is a big part of your social media presence. Do you consider yourself first as a YouTuber or as a musician, or equally as both? I definitely identify more as an Indie Artist rather than a YouTuber. My YouTube platform is really a space where I connect with my listeners by filming live songwriting sessions, breaking down the lyrics of my songs, and singing live. My channel is also an outlet to share practical, Godly advice with my generation about various concerns, especially as I prepare to be a Life Coach in the future, and achieving my Ph.D. in Psychology. Since you are on YouTube, is there any of your music videos that you would consider your favourite? What was it like shooting that one? Hands-down, my favourite music video to film was for my single, “Simple Things”. I worked with the talented, Joshua Martin (@ joshuamartinstudios) on this project back in April of 2019. The meaning behind “Simple Things”, to slow down and be fully present in every single moment, paired with the calming and nostalgic visuals directed by Joshua, make this project #1 in my book. I was truly at peace during the entire process, and felt deeply connected to my creativity in a way I never had before. Your music is simultaneously hi-quality and low-fi. What is it about a low-fi aesthetic that appeals to you? While I wouldn’t consider the main style of my music to be Lo-fi, my first ever ep “so this is what it’s like”, released on November 30th, 2019, is heavily Lofi-inspired. I was drawn to the simplicity of this genre’s sound after consuming it so often during my college study sessions. The minimalistic sound of Lo-fi serves as the perfect template for experimenting with various tunes during the song-writing process. Fun fact, I often find myself unconsciously writing songs while (supposedly) studying, as I listen to one Lo-fi playlist after the next. It actually makes studying rather enjoyable. It was only fitting that I develop this habit of mine, fully, through creating my EP. You have expressed online at various times that you haven’t been using autotune or other vocal pitch correction software, and that is very evidently true from just listening to your music. Can you talk a bit about your reasoning behind that choice? Truthfully speaking, I have always been offended by “I thought you used autotune” comments on my music, simply because I’ve always associated autotune with rappers or pop-singers whose vocals sound overproduced to cover up their natural vocals. I am flattered, however, when people almost always say that even after hearing me sing live, my voice sounds “naturally autotuned”, haha. Personally, I prefer to practice vocal techniques that wouldn’t require me to correct my pitch using autotune. Additionally, depending on the style of song, for instance, an Indie-Pop song, I’m fine with my vocals being a bit less crisp to resemble a more laid back, live vibe. With that being said, I respect those who do use autotune. It makes perfect sense. Songs on your EP so this is what it’s like deal with an interesting combination of commonplace young adult concerns like friendship, dating, dealing with parents, feeling lazy, and so on, with questions of spirituality and God. You walk a really fine line between “sacred” topics and “regular life.” How do you strike this balance, and is it intentional? This is definitely deliberate. It was never my intention to be listed in the Christian/Gospel charts, simply because I enjoy writing about everyday life issues in addition to my love for God, specifically.  I’ve noticed that when artists within the Christian genre branch out to create more “secular” music, for instance, just a positive love song, they get flack from their fans for not talking exclusively about Jesus’ love. Personally, I believe that speaking on life topics like laziness, parent-child issues, friendships, and dating, are all important for a Christian. While not all of my music discusses God directly, each of my songs always reflects my Christian character, and that’s the goal. You were recently nominated for an Elevation Award in the Bahamas. Congratulations on that! How does it feel to be recognized so early in your music career? Yo, honestly, I did NOT see that coming! The Bahamas is rather small in comparison to other countries, so it’s more common to recognize raw talent once we put ourselves out there. I never realized how important it is to me to be recognized amongst my own people, though, as I’ve always been so focused on international exposure. Being nominated for the Elevation Awards as Best New Artist, here in my home country, is definitely humbling and has allowed me to connect with other Bahamian creatives. Are you connected to any local music scene in your area? Have you found yourself networking at all with other Bahamian artists that you might consider your “peers”? Yes, I have connected with Bahamian DJ’s, Gospel and secular artists on my island, New Providence. As it relates to my own peers, not so much. There aren’t too many musical artists my age that take it as seriously or the message they put out is not aligned with my Christian beliefs, hence my hesitation to collaborate with such individuals. There are far more content creators, rather than artists within my age group, that I am inspired by and collab with. You have a really wide variety of content on your YouTube channel, everything from devotional topics (“Make Jesus Smile” series) to personal fitness. If you could, would you ever consider going more “full time” with this kind of media ministry? This is a question I’ve considered over the last 4 years of being on YouTube, and the answer is no, I wouldn’t take on YouTube full time. As I said earlier, my calling is in music and character building, rather than strictly media. I thoroughly enjoy creating visual content, but only as a hobby. I truly believe that my YouTube channel will serve as a business marketing tool for my future Life Coaching career, where people will be able to taste what it would be like to sit in an actual therapy session with me. I also plan to continue to build my artist platform for as long as I live. I’m confident that it will be the perfect “side hustle'' in the future. What one thing would you like to say to whoever is reading this right now? To the readers, most specifically, Creatives of all kinds, always create for yourself rather than for an audience. Allow me to explain. Creating for myself ensures that I am 100% confident in my message and actually believe in what I’m saying. The moment I create content based on the “hype” or what I think will gain the most traction, the less authentic my craft becomes, and the less motivated I am to create. When you wholeheartedly believe in your craft, naturally, the appropriate audience will follow, and for the Christian Creatives, having an audience who believes in your character, and hence, your craft, will ultimately result in more souls won for Christ. More about Evin Nazya Location: The Bahamas Genre: Alternative / Indie Pop / R&B Artist Links • YouTube • Spotify • Apple Music • Instagram • Twitter • Support and Listen to Evin Nazya Here:

In your own words, tell us who Haynza is. Haynza is a Christian artist who loves singing, writing and producing music. My birth name is Haynes, but I release music under my artist name Haynza because I wanted something that was a little more unique and that wasn’t already taken by anyone. I make music that directs the listener to the deeper things in life, to the unseen realities of the world we live in, and ultimately, to God. Describe your creative process a bit. Do you produce/record your own music, and if so what’s your gear setup? My creative process is never exactly the same. It’s a bit random actually. Sometimes the melody comes first, then the lyrics, and then the production, but at other times it’s the complete opposite. I record and produce all of my own music from my bedroom studio setup that includes an iMac, two monitors, a MIDI keyboard, a condenser microphone, a little mobile audio interface, and of course, Logic Pro X. What is your local music scene like in Australia? Are there any specific circles you belong to, or any specific artists you’d consider your musical peers? The local music scene for my niche (Christian music) here in Brisbane Australia is quite unsaturated, if not completely non-existent. Unfortunately I don’t belong to any specific circles and there aren’t any specific artists I’d consider my musical peers here where I live. This is one of the reasons I decided to make an independent record label called Salvage Records. I release all my music through that label name, and although I’m technically the only artist at the moment, I plan to actually get it started properly in the future with the help of like-minded and talented individuals who also see this gap in the music scene where I live. That being said, I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to connect with many artists over the internet who have the same niche as me. However, most of them live in the US. How far do you want to take your music? Is this a hobby or a career for you? As far as possible! Yes. I definitely want to make a career out of this passion of mine. I’ll admit that sometimes it does feel like a hobby (especially when things don’t seem to be going as far as you’d hoped), but all I know is that God hasn’t given me these gifts and abilities for me not to use them in amazing ways. Have the events around COVID-19 affected your journey as an artist at all? Honestly, this whole COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t affected my journey as an artist that much at all. All of my music is exclusively online and I make it all from home, so if anything, being in quarantine has given me more time to focus on my craft. Well, that’s a silver lining anyway. Your composition style seems to involve a lot of dense vocal layering. Is there any specific reason or inspiration behind this? I love that you noticed that! Yes, there is a reason, and it’s because I just love vocals. I’m a singer first before anything else, and so singing has always been my first love when it comes to music. My parents managed a singing group when I was growing up in the Solomon Islands, and so I think that’s where it all started. I’ve always enjoyed listening to songs that have dense vocal layering and so that’s why I do it in my songs. After all, I make songs that I’d enjoy listening to. Tell us about the process of making your recent album, The Fall To Grace. The process behind making my debut album The Fall To Grace was quite effortless if I’m honest. The whole project is a result of my decision to fully surrender my life to Christ, and so these songs just poured out of me. The content is very testimonial too, and so I didn’t necessarily have a theme or anything in mind. As I intentionally started walking with the Lord every day, I couldn’t help but sing about what I was experiencing. In regards to the technical process, I was blessed to be in a place as a producer where my stuff was able to sound somewhat professional. These songs were definitely not the first songs I’d fully produced by myself. It took me years of trial and error, as well as collaborating with those who were way ahead of me in terms of production skills to be able to produce something like this body of work. What’s the best feedback you’ve gotten yet on this album? The best feedback I’ve received from someone who listened to this album is that it sounded legit. I’ve had people say that they were pleasantly surprised by the quality and how professional it sounded despite being made purely by me in the comfort of my own bedroom. It’s rewarding to hear that kind of feedback because I put so much emphasis on the quality of my work. God deserves nothing but the best. And that’s not to say that I’m just absolutely the best, because I definitely have a lot of room to grow as an artist. That being said, I always strive for nothing but the best and so getting that type of feedback is super encouraging. You released an EP in 2018 called The Fall which you subsequently took down for reasons related to your personal convictions. Can you explain what that decision process was like and why you ultimately made that choice? Did any of that music that was taken down end up being re-used or re-purposed for your album? Yeah so I released an EP at the beginning of 2018 that I’d worked on the year before (in my senior year of High School) and ended up taking it down a few months later due to my own personal convictions. While a lot of hard work and money went into making those five songs (the whole project was funded and I worked with a professional producer), the decision to take it down was really easy to make. After fully surrendering my life to Christ, I knew that I had to because I didn’t make the EP from a place of ignorance. I mean, the title itself is ‘The Fall’ and I wrote these songs as a progression, subtly comparing Lucifer’s fall to my own fall (I would’ve never said it out loud, but lowkey that’s what I thought lol). I had my eyes set on a worldly music career and everything that comes with that, and so the EP had kind of like a coming of age theme that marked my ‘fall’ into the things that were to come - to the depravity that I was about to jump right into. I knew that keeping it up would be a stumbling block for me, and so at the time there was no other option. I did, however, use a few of the songs in the album trailer for The Fall To Grace, and so I was happy that they were still useful to represent the journey from The Fall to The Fall To Grace. Thematically, TFTG has a lot of inspirational content focused on God’s love. But it sits right alongside songs about loyalty to God and spiritual warfare. Can you talk about that contrast and what inspired that for you? That’s a great observation - I think there is going to inevitably be spiritual warfare when we realise God’s love and accept it. And I’m just keeping it real. Sometimes I feel like the church doesn’t acknowledge the spiritual warfare that comes with seeking the Lord, when it’s like bro we really out here. It’s good to focus on heavenly realities, but it’s so important to acknowledge that the struggle is real. The Bible certainly doesn’t shy away from talking about the reality of spiritual warfare, and so I don’t think we should either. So yeah, I feel like my music comes from a place of acknowledging the struggle is real, but also acknowledging that God is too! And at the end of the day, it’s all about the hope God provides us in Christ Jesus despite anything the enemy throws at us. How much live performance have you done? Can you share any special memories or stories from live performances? Any plans for future shows? I wish I could say that I’ve done more, but I’ve only really done a handful. In terms of any special memories or stories, I think back to when I first performed the first single from The Fall To Grace called Lost In Your Light at my church, and also when I performed Your Love at the concert evening at the end of the South Queensland Big Camp. Those were pretty cool. Last question: What one thing would you like to say to anyone who is reading this? One thing I would like to say to anyone reading this is that God is good. Whether you’ve grown up hearing that every weekend or not, really get to know what that means because once you understand its implications, you’ll never turn back, trust me. More about Haynza Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Genre: Alternative-Indie / Hip-Hop / Pop-R&B Artist Links: • Website • Instagram • YouTube • Twitter • Facebook • TikTok • Support and Listen to Haynza Here:

Last time we asked: Is God really just an insecure bully? Doesn’t it seem a little selfish for a God of unselfish love to ask us to worship only God? Which brings us to our next question: What really is worship, anyway? Worship is a two-part word, like leader-ship or companion-ship, formed from the combination of worth and ship (from the Old English sciepe, meaning shape, state, or condition). Basically, to worship is to give or recognize the worth of something. The truth is: We’re worshiping all the time! Whenever we prioritize something with our time, money, energy, or affection, we are attributing worth to it, and therefore, by definition, we are worshiping it. The things we invest in or orient our lives around demonstrates - both inwardly and outwardly - what values we align ourselves with and what we worship. Some of these values are life giving and some are life stealing. To be honest, I don’t always choose the life giving ones. Sometimes I find myself aligned with little gods and idols who steal the life I really want. A few years ago, there was a Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit that came through Philadelphia. In addition to the scrolls, there were other archaeological finds from ancient Israel. The most fascinating display was a collection of little idols found in Israelite communities. It was almost humorous but mostly tragic that a people who worshiped the infinite Creator God had stooped so low. I took out my phone to take a picture and thought how ridiculous it seemed that people would have something which they had manufactured themselves, something small enough they could hold in their hands, and worship it! I see the irony now, but I’m sure many others around me, also on their phones, were thinking the same thing. Maybe we don’t have little figurine idols anymore, but it's still so easy to get stuck aligning ourselves with things that just don’t even matter. Maybe for you, it isn’t your phone, but we all have something. For example, I often get lost on YouTube for hours. It begins with looking up a recipe for dinner, but it ends with videos about heavy metal cats or cats flushing toilets (If you click on those links, please come back! Don't get lost in the void! And why does it always end up with cats on the internet?). I have to ask myself, "Did I really want to spend that much time on this?" There are so many things, even good things, that we waste too much time on. Or maybe for you it's spending way too much money on the latest luxury item that really only improves your life by 0.0002%. Maybe it's when we side with pride instead of admitting we're wrong, or make it more important to be right than to be forgiving, or choose convenience and safety instead of kindness and trust. These are all little idols we hold in our hands and align ourselves with, instead of looking up into the bigger picture of life. And this is why I think God asks us to worship God. Because if worship is a question of alignment, of what we value or don’t value, and if you, like me, sometimes find yourself out of alignment, then how can we truly live a holistic, integrated life? The beautiful thing is that worship reminds us of who we are and who we want to be. When I worship God, not just as one of many gods in my life, but as the one above all others, I realign myself, not just with the values I want, but with the God of love, the God who empowers the way of living I long for. I’m re-centered, re-focused. When I worship God first, it enables me to truly see the worth in others and in myself. When I love God first, I’m empowered to love others better. This brings us to some practical questions: how do we worship, and what does worship look like? In Deuteronomy 6:6-9, it says: “These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” This is spoken in the context of worship and the teachings of God. What we’re talking about here are practical, everyday ways to stay focused and aligned with God. These are common ways of worshiping God through all our choices, big and small. Yes, worship includes weekly gatherings, but there is so much more! Worshiping God with all our heart, soul, and strength means worshiping God with our entire life. Not a church life over here and a work/play/school life over there, but an integrated, whole life where all we think and do is aligned with the values of love. Worshiping God can look like the things we like or share on social media, the way we vote in elections, the jokes we laugh at or don’t. Worshiping God can look like spending time during our busy schedule to sit and listen to someone who needs to talk. It can look like cheering for and supporting those who don’t normally get to be in the spotlight. It can look like being an ally to the marginalized and mistreated. Praying for a homeless man is worship, and so is taking him to dinner and getting to know him. Singing songs about the God of justice and mercy is worship, and so is educating others about the justice problems in our country or doing the work of mercy for those in need. Reading our Bibles is worship, and so is going to work or school or playing in a way consistent with loving God first, and our neighbors as ourselves. All of this is worship. So back to my earlier question: is God more than just an imaginary friend? Does God actually do anything? For me, the answer is yes. What God does is clear to me in the way worshiping God brings my life into alignment, in the way it connects me to God, and to others, and to myself. I see what God does in the way worshiping God empowers me to walk in the way of life-giving, not life-stealing. Sometimes we think that worshiping God means God only wants all from us, but really it means God wants all for us. God wants us to have the most life and love possible. May we live every day in worship, in all that it brings us, in all the ways it reminds us who we are, and in all the ways it empowers us to love.

“Nothing in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness…” John MacArthur said, “our forgiveness of others and God's forgiveness of us.” Why is he so loud? I wish this statement were a little less true. But, it’s hard to deny a truth that penetrates so deeply into the secret corners of your life. Forgiveness draws open the shades and pulls the covers off of pain we'd rather nurse in the dark. If I need the forgiveness of others, that means I've made a misstep. It requires me to be humble, to admit I'm wrong. If I need to forgive someone else, I'm forced to acknowledge that I've been hurt, and even worse, that I can be hurt again. So unforgiveness is a defense mechanism. it helps us build the wall between ourselves and our offenders. It helps us feel justified in remaining angry at the people who’ve hurt us most, and it protects our pride, so we don't have to address the depth of brokenness we've felt or dealt to others. But if you have been harboring unforgiveness, whether you feel unintentionally stuck or because you don't believe the other person deserves your forgiveness, I can predict at least one thing about your life: you are exhausted! That was me. I was exhausted. But if the enemy can keep you waiting, he can keep you wounded. And if keeping you offended keeps you from being effective, your enemy has already won. An excellent therapist had the nerve to ask me if I had forgiven the people who had harmed me. “Of course not,” I shot back. “They haven't asked for my forgiveness!” That began a journey of rediscovering God's grace, a grace I couldn't earn and didn't ask for. I was waiting for the people who hurt me to ask for my forgiveness. I was waiting for an apology I still may never get. And so long as I waited, someone else had power over me. Someone else could decide whether or not I would move on. But when Christ was on the cross, he prayed, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” He prayed this prayer without their requests for forgiveness. In the next breath, they were casting lots for His clothing. They were not repentant. They did not ask to be forgiven. They did not apologize or show remorse. You can forgive without their apology. You can be free without their apology. You can move on without their apology. And you can heal without their apology. You may never get the apology you deserve or desire. But you do not need their permission to forgive. You do not need their permission to be set free. You don't need the apology. You want it, and so do I, but I promise you can thrive without it. This article was adapted from The Book on Forgiveness: Small Steps for Big Change.