The Newsboys' John James: Then & Now

[00:00:11] The Newsboys

[00:00:12] The Newsboys

[00:00:13] I'm sure you know the Newsboys.

[00:00:14] You may not know, the Newsboys have been around a long time.

[00:00:17] Band members have come and go but there's a core of original guys from Australia.

[00:00:22] I don't even know if they have...

[00:00:23] I don't think they have anybody from Australia anymore.

[00:00:25] But the first guys, strong Australian accents.

[00:00:28] They're driving around the country doing their music.

[00:00:33] And the lead singer at that time, and co-founder is John James, who not just from the beginning,

[00:00:39] but was at the whole band's roots and rise, I guess is an easy way to say that.

[00:00:45] He helped shape the sound, the legacy of the band during those early years.

[00:00:49] They captivated audience worldwide with his energetic performances and unforgettable Australian voice.

[00:00:57] But behind the fame and the success, John ended up facing some personal battles

[00:01:02] that ultimately led him on a transformative journey.

[00:01:07] And he's been out of public view for a while.

[00:01:10] He's back and I'm excited to have him and hear about his story.

[00:01:15] Welcome, my friend.

[00:01:16] Good eye Ken. How are you, mate?

[00:01:18] I'm very good. It's good to see you.

[00:01:20] It's good to be here.

[00:01:22] Yeah, we were just talking about a clip I sent you.

[00:01:25] Nostalgic times.

[00:01:26] I was telling you, I think the clip I sent you was me talking to you and the original band members in 1992.

[00:01:34] Crikey, mate. We were so much younger then.

[00:01:37] I couldn't even imagine.

[00:01:39] I couldn't even look 30 years ahead. That's 30 years, right?

[00:01:43] Yeah, we were so much younger and I think I was about 60 pounds lighter too.

[00:01:49] Oh man.

[00:01:50] That was a long time ago.

[00:01:51] So it's good to see you now.

[00:01:54] And what I'm interested to know the origins of not just the news boys,

[00:02:01] but how did you come to faith and then end up coming to America from Australia to do what you guys did?

[00:02:08] Yeah, well my family background had no real, I guess, authentic foundation of faith.

[00:02:14] We were a pretty broken dysfunctional family.

[00:02:17] My family was divorced, really painful divorce when I was very young.

[00:02:21] I never grew up with my sisters or my brother and we were each sent to live with different members,

[00:02:29] family members, different homes.

[00:02:30] And there wasn't really a lot going for us in regards looking from the outside.

[00:02:37] You would probably look at my family, probably look at my life as a kid growing up and think, man,

[00:02:42] there's no hope there.

[00:02:44] But at the age of 15, I had an encounter with Christ and I was influenced and introduced to the Gospel for the first time.

[00:02:54] I had no idea what that meant, but I started this journey of, I guess, walking towards the kingdom of God.

[00:03:01] But at the same time, in another part of Australia, my biological dad,

[00:03:06] that was the individual that totally decimated and destroyed our family emotionally, mentally, physically,

[00:03:16] left our family scarred mentally, emotionally, physically for years.

[00:03:22] And at the same time when I had this encounter with Christ in another part of Australia,

[00:03:26] my dad had the most incredible road to Damascus, so to speak, experience with Christ

[00:03:32] that absolutely, fundamentally and powerfully transformed his life.

[00:03:39] And with this new incredible grace and mercy and forgiveness in Christ,

[00:03:44] he led his new wife to the Lord.

[00:03:47] That's my stepmother.

[00:03:48] Then he flew to where we all lived in Australia and we hadn't seen that man in years, Ken.

[00:03:53] And he had the audacity to lead his ex-wife to the Lord.

[00:03:58] And that's my, you know, that's my mom, her new husband.

[00:04:03] That's my stepfather, influence him for the kingdom.

[00:04:05] Then he influenced all my sisters and my brother for the Lord.

[00:04:11] Several of them are pastors of wonderful churches today in Australia.

[00:04:14] And my dad went on the most uncontrollable rampage like he's a crazy man,

[00:04:20] leading my immediate but extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins to Christ.

[00:04:26] And it's just so bizarre because the very person that was responsible for utterly destroying my family

[00:04:33] was the very person that God uses a vehicle to bring a message of hope,

[00:04:39] founding Christ and it was just amazing.

[00:04:42] So what was your encounter at 15?

[00:04:45] I was walking home from school one day, minding my own business.

[00:04:49] I wasn't really contemplating the meaning of life.

[00:04:52] To be honest, I didn't really care.

[00:04:54] And on the way home, I somehow connected with this guy in the street.

[00:05:00] He pulled up in his van and he just started talking to me.

[00:05:04] And he was inviting me to this coffee shop that he was starting up.

[00:05:09] And at the time, I just thought it was some coincidental encounter

[00:05:13] with some random stranger in the street in the middle of nowhere in the outback of Australia.

[00:05:19] But little did I know that was the first of many encounters.

[00:05:23] And little did I know that through that random stranger,

[00:05:26] I thought the Kingdom of God was on a collision course with my life.

[00:05:30] And in the next several months as time progressed,

[00:05:34] that gentleman actually went on to become such a powerful influence

[00:05:37] and short term mentor in my life that introduced me to the Kingdom of God.

[00:05:43] And it's a course of my life forever.

[00:05:47] Yeah, that's amazing. It's amazing what one.

[00:05:49] I mean, that's not what he was doing wasn't in front of stadium

[00:05:53] singing and having kids screaming and something exciting.

[00:05:56] Yeah, he's just reaching out to the street.

[00:05:59] But look at the impact someone can have on it.

[00:06:01] Yeah, what what is bizarre years, years later,

[00:06:04] because his influence on my life was only about six months.

[00:06:08] And then I moved away and never saw him again.

[00:06:11] But years later, I tracked him down

[00:06:14] and I was able to track him down in a coffee shop in Brisbane, Australia.

[00:06:19] And he had no idea of what happened to some kid

[00:06:23] that he mentored, opened up his fridge, his home

[00:06:27] in convenience, his life to to adopt me and mentor

[00:06:32] this kid from the street, so to speak.

[00:06:35] And I began to share within the miracle of the journey with the newsboys,

[00:06:39] the millions of people we've been able to reach.

[00:06:42] And you know, I'm I'm I'm crying.

[00:06:44] He's crying because and I just honoured him and thanked him.

[00:06:47] I said, mate, if it wasn't for you caring enough

[00:06:50] to reach out with your faith to to mentor and impact

[00:06:54] some dysfunctional, uneducated, snotty nose kid.

[00:06:58] Man, I wouldn't be here today.

[00:07:00] And every one of those people that I've been able to reach

[00:07:04] for the kingdom of God, I believe you share in that.

[00:07:07] And because your simple heart, simple willingness,

[00:07:11] mate, to to share the gospel and the love people.

[00:07:14] It was it was the most amazing experience for me,

[00:07:17] just reconnecting with him years later and sharing the journey

[00:07:21] and the story that happened and was the result of he stopped one day

[00:07:26] to reach out to a kid in the street.

[00:07:28] And how did the newsboys?

[00:07:30] How did you meet the other guys?

[00:07:33] I was at a friend from school.

[00:07:36] I think they were having a birthday party.

[00:07:38] OK, so it was some party at their home

[00:07:41] and I actually met Peter Ferler and he was a friend of our mutual friend.

[00:07:46] It was through that friendship that I met Peter.

[00:07:50] It was only very briefly, but we kind of connected.

[00:07:53] And then a little while down the down the road

[00:07:58] through that friendship, they asked me, you know,

[00:08:01] to be involved with the newsboys because

[00:08:04] the band hadn't really formed as a newsboy.

[00:08:07] It was just Peter, our original guitarist and original bass player,

[00:08:11] just jamming in a jam room.

[00:08:13] And so I through the friendship, I kind of elected myself as the lead singer.

[00:08:17] I thought, you know, Crocky, how hard going to be?

[00:08:19] We're not working for NASA here.

[00:08:21] It's not rocket science.

[00:08:23] So we literally just started literally can just in a garage, made a bunch

[00:08:28] of young guys, writing really cheesy music and annoying the heck

[00:08:32] out of the neighbors every Saturday.

[00:08:35] And that's literally how the band started, you know, and who would

[00:08:40] have thought that we'd eventually go on to become one of the, you know,

[00:08:44] all time biggest Christian bands in the world?

[00:08:47] Yeah. What would you do to leave Australia and come to the United States?

[00:08:52] Well, there wasn't a lot music wise in regards to faith in Australia.

[00:08:57] Back then, Australia never really had a big Christian music industry.

[00:09:02] It was virtually unexistent.

[00:09:04] And so, you know, America is the capital of the universe, mate.

[00:09:10] And, you know, especially with the emerging and an exploding

[00:09:14] to Christian music scene.

[00:09:16] So we thought, man, let's just go to America.

[00:09:20] It's not like we had tours, booked and contracts.

[00:09:24] And we had all the connections.

[00:09:25] We had nothing.

[00:09:26] We literally just a bunch of kids with a dream hopped on a plane

[00:09:31] and flew to America.

[00:09:32] And that reckless abandonment that we were just willing

[00:09:38] just to step out of the valley and go for it.

[00:09:41] Yeah. And that's literally what we did.

[00:09:43] You know, it's not like we had everything organized and lined up, mate.

[00:09:47] We fly by the seat of our pants, just came to America.

[00:09:50] That's literally what we did.

[00:09:52] Yeah, that's great.

[00:09:54] And then once you were here and you started making albums

[00:09:57] and they started taking off.

[00:09:59] Oh, well, eventually after after a lot of really bad albums.

[00:10:05] What would you say was your like launch point or some songs or the time that really?

[00:10:13] I think on the not it the not ashamed album.

[00:10:16] Yeah, I think the band, I think we had the ability in us to write the music.

[00:10:24] We were like any young band.

[00:10:25] We were growing and discovering, you know, we around other incredible

[00:10:32] artists and bands where you learn and grow if you're willing to learn and grow.

[00:10:37] And I think our turning point was with the not ashamed album

[00:10:41] and and the song not ashamed.

[00:10:45] Yeah, when when that album came out and that song not ashamed,

[00:10:51] that was a that was a real tipping point.

[00:10:53] And that song, the not ashamed really went on to become one of the all time sort

[00:10:59] of, you know, synonymous hits from the newsboys.

[00:11:02] Those early days are song not ashamed.

[00:11:04] And that was a real tipping point.

[00:11:05] But it didn't happen overnight.

[00:11:07] Like I said, we did several albums that that weren't really good.

[00:11:12] But we were growing.

[00:11:13] I think what connected us and carried us was the enthusiasm and the passion

[00:11:19] and the crazy antics and the excitement of our show.

[00:11:22] You know, our music was pretty bad, but man, people had the best time

[00:11:26] in our concerts and our shows.

[00:11:28] It was it was it was just it was kind of like Monty Python met, you know,

[00:11:34] the Goonies or yeah, it was just it was crazy.

[00:11:37] And we were crazy because we just we loved what we did.

[00:11:41] And and looking back now, you look back at a lot of stuff

[00:11:44] and you think, oh man, that was so cheesy.

[00:11:47] But that was the newsboys.

[00:11:49] We were we were fun.

[00:11:51] We were crazy.

[00:11:52] We were reckless.

[00:11:53] We we were out there and amongst all the cheese, there were some gems in there.

[00:11:59] You know, amongst the ridiculousness, man, we use that platform to

[00:12:04] passionately share Christ.

[00:12:06] We were never embarrassed or intimidated or I felt like, oh, this is a bit awkward, man.

[00:12:11] We we were just we we would just passionately always use that platform

[00:12:16] to share a message of hope found in Christ.

[00:12:18] Right. But the Not a Shamed album, that's what broke for us.

[00:12:22] And then the next album, The Going Public started an incredible

[00:12:26] you know, years long relationship with the creative genius of Steve Taylor.

[00:12:34] Who wants to be partners with him, you know?

[00:12:36] And and that was the most incredible marriage between Steve

[00:12:40] because, you know, those who know the history with the music industry

[00:12:45] would know that Steve Taylor was one.

[00:12:49] He was ahead of his time and with his quirky satire

[00:12:53] and and cynical perspective on life and his crazy videos.

[00:12:57] There was something that just jowled and connected with Steve Taylor.

[00:13:04] And we did when I was at the band, that was my last three albums.

[00:13:07] I did the the the the what was it?

[00:13:12] Actually, it was two albums I did with Steve.

[00:13:14] It was The Going Public and then The Take Me To Your Leader album.

[00:13:20] And that's after that album.

[00:13:22] That's when I left.

[00:13:22] But I did two albums with Steve Taylor.

[00:13:25] And by that time, it was just a tsunami, mate.

[00:13:29] You know, things were going from strength to strength

[00:13:31] to nomination, to awards, to number one songs, to sold out arenas,

[00:13:38] to to really just seeing incredible heights of success and fame

[00:13:44] and influence, you know, which what you only dream of as a young band coming up.

[00:13:50] And then what? What happened?

[00:13:53] Well, well, I often share this now

[00:13:58] when I have the privilege of speaking.

[00:14:02] Success, whatever that looks like.

[00:14:08] Fame, the lifestyle,

[00:14:12] having all your dreams come true is amazing.

[00:14:17] But it has the ability to really shine a light and expose defects in your character.

[00:14:24] And people sometimes ask me, are you anti fame and success

[00:14:29] and money and all of those things?

[00:14:32] Are you anti those things?

[00:14:33] And I say absolutely not.

[00:14:36] Whether you have a little or a lot in life,

[00:14:40] their incredible blessings from God that we can use as a tool

[00:14:44] to do a lot of good in the word.

[00:14:47] Those those things aren't evil identities out to destroy you.

[00:14:51] The problem was my foundations

[00:14:54] and my character that under the scrutiny of

[00:14:58] of the lifestyle and living the dream, I severely fell short.

[00:15:06] Somebody said the other day and I love the quote.

[00:15:08] They said, you can have a really successful ministry in America,

[00:15:14] but at the same time have a really lousy walk with the Lord.

[00:15:18] And we live in such an industry that celebrates success and fame,

[00:15:26] which I'm the first to step up and applaud somebody that's worked hard

[00:15:31] and they've been able to use their platform to do incredible good.

[00:15:35] But for me, it exposed those weaknesses in my character

[00:15:41] that I didn't diligently repair.

[00:15:46] But unfortunately, I allowed them to even those

[00:15:49] those cracks in my character to get even bigger.

[00:15:53] And I began to cut anchors from my life

[00:15:55] that we all have the keepers connected to what's most important in life,

[00:16:01] especially as a follower of Christ.

[00:16:02] And there were three anchors that I cut from my life

[00:16:06] that were detrimental to just, you know,

[00:16:09] bringing down the kingdom of John James.

[00:16:12] You know, personally, I have no judgment in any arena when it comes to.

[00:16:20] I think of an extreme example of people who would judge Elvis Presley for

[00:16:25] the substance or women or whatever.

[00:16:27] And I think, have you ever been in Elvis Presley shoes where nobody would say no?

[00:16:31] Yeah.

[00:16:32] I was always thought, you know, I would never be

[00:16:35] if I would follow a call, but I'd prefer not to be in the pastor of a church.

[00:16:39] I always felt like I would fail them or because I'm so human.

[00:16:44] Yeah, that it reached some level of responsibility

[00:16:48] and it's easy to point fingers.

[00:16:50] But the more visible, the more influential you are,

[00:16:54] the more you're attacked, I think, in the harder the pressure is

[00:16:57] that you're under scope.

[00:17:00] People don't realize.

[00:17:02] Yeah, I think that's so true, Ken.

[00:17:04] You know, we all want success.

[00:17:08] You know, who doesn't want to be the best in your field?

[00:17:12] Whatever your business endeavours, whatever your dream, whatever you put the hand to.

[00:17:16] Cricky, I want the best for my children.

[00:17:18] I want to see them succeed in life and achieve more than I ever did.

[00:17:23] We all want we all we all want the success.

[00:17:26] But do we really understand the flip side of it?

[00:17:30] Well, if success does come, what sort of pressure

[00:17:34] does having your dreams come true put on your sexuality,

[00:17:39] on your character, on your marriage, on your ego,

[00:17:44] on on your ideology, on who you are as a person.

[00:17:48] What sort of pressure living on that pedestal

[00:17:52] of influence and success and fame, what sort of pressure does it

[00:17:56] fundamentally put on the person and how does it change a person?

[00:18:00] So if we don't talk about that side, we all crave success

[00:18:04] we all promote success and we all champion that.

[00:18:08] But what about the flip side of it?

[00:18:11] For me, you know, I said a moment ago

[00:18:13] the three anchors I cut from my life, you know, those three anchors were

[00:18:18] to balance out that lifestyle, the absolute importance

[00:18:21] of my intimacy and daily devotion to God.

[00:18:25] The other anchor for me, I cut from my life

[00:18:28] was the importance of my marriage and my family.

[00:18:31] You know, I'm out saving the world and saving everyone else's marriage

[00:18:35] and family and right under my own roof, I'm losing my own family,

[00:18:38] my own marriage, you know.

[00:18:40] And the third anchor for me was honestly

[00:18:45] honestly and authentically staying

[00:18:48] connected to a local church community.

[00:18:52] Having people in your life that you're accountable to,

[00:18:55] that know you warts and all,

[00:18:56] that love you enough to get in your face and be real, you know,

[00:19:01] you don't need people on who you're accountable to that are on your payroll.

[00:19:07] That you pay them nice fat checks every week.

[00:19:10] They're not going to rock the boat, you know, you you honestly need people

[00:19:13] in your life that love you enough to get in your face.

[00:19:16] Yeah. And bring you to accountability and expose an area

[00:19:19] that may be a blind spot or you're ignorant to and and I look at,

[00:19:24] you know, there's many anchors for me.

[00:19:27] Those were three things that I cut from my life and and, you know,

[00:19:31] and sometimes we find ourselves in a mess or a shipwreck in life

[00:19:35] and we're like, crikey, how did this happen?

[00:19:38] How did I ever get here?

[00:19:40] It's like, dang, it's not rocket science.

[00:19:43] Yeah. You know, at the look back in the last year, the last six months,

[00:19:48] the foundations and the anchors that you've cut from your life

[00:19:50] and you wonder the choices you've made and you wonder,

[00:19:54] dang, how did I get here?

[00:19:56] Yeah. Steve, this is accurate to you.

[00:19:59] I mean, I think it's easy to sit and ask for John James testimony

[00:20:02] and then almost force you to talk about moral failings.

[00:20:06] And I only do that because I know what's a more powerful

[00:20:10] testimony is you glowing right now with a powerful ministry.

[00:20:14] So it's it's a good story to tell.

[00:20:17] But at the same time, we're not talking about a lead singer of a band

[00:20:22] and became a mass murder.

[00:20:23] We're talking about a very narrow where in most of society,

[00:20:28] literally it's nothing.

[00:20:30] But you're talking about a Christian market

[00:20:32] that puts expectations in there and rightly so.

[00:20:35] But then a very popular group that has the influence over lots of youth

[00:20:42] and youth pastors bringing their kids.

[00:20:45] And then it becomes probably a private question

[00:20:47] between band members or whoever.

[00:20:49] And is this an appropriate lifestyle or channel that we're going down

[00:20:56] in this context, where in almost any other context.

[00:21:00] Yeah, it would be somebody's own business.

[00:21:02] Own business. Absolutely.

[00:21:03] And the fact is, like you said at the top end of the show,

[00:21:08] the responsibility we have as ministers of the gospel.

[00:21:13] Right.

[00:21:14] Whether see people, I'm a people there,

[00:21:16] but I'm not a minister of the church.

[00:21:18] Yeah. But as soon as you have a platform where you are talking to other people,

[00:21:24] whether it's social media, whether we if you're going to,

[00:21:28] if you're going to put yourself on the radar and even if you're not on a radar,

[00:21:32] we have a responsibility to who we are.

[00:21:36] You know, the scripture talks about live a life worthy as citizens of heaven.

[00:21:44] It's not rocket science.

[00:21:46] And and, man, I tell you what, I found something can it is easy

[00:21:52] to be great from a platform when the lights are on and you're on stage.

[00:21:56] But behind behind closed doors when the lights, camera action,

[00:22:01] you know, what sort of ask my wife?

[00:22:04] What sort of husband am I?

[00:22:06] What sort of what sort of father?

[00:22:09] You know, when the lights not on, when you're in your own private little

[00:22:13] world, are you still a reflection of what you preach and what you sing about?

[00:22:20] And do you find this amazing?

[00:22:21] Now there are charlatans that so I was a Christian music

[00:22:26] DJ and VJ for several years, almost 10 years.

[00:22:29] So I knew a lot of the artists or I had been.

[00:22:31] I knew what they were like off the stage and on the stage.

[00:22:34] And many of them I admired at this day, some of the best Christian people

[00:22:37] I've ever met. Absolutely.

[00:22:39] I was involved in it and got involved because of that.

[00:22:42] When I got to get to know a little bit, some of the newsboys are even like

[00:22:46] Audio adrenaline before they had a radio hit when they were right out at Kentucky College.

[00:22:50] These guys were so on fire and sincere.

[00:22:52] I'm like, I want to help the world know these people.

[00:22:55] Absolutely.

[00:22:57] So having said that, there's there's true and authentic.

[00:23:02] And sometimes there's not.

[00:23:03] There's record deal people and that can sing and maybe they're

[00:23:07] not the best to be on the platform.

[00:23:09] But do you find it amazing that even if, let's say you're out on

[00:23:14] and you have a stadium full of youngsters and that there is,

[00:23:18] like, let's say the newsboys, a real gifting and anointing happening

[00:23:24] and ministries happening and you are drawing people to Christ.

[00:23:27] That's all real.

[00:23:29] Even when you walk off the stage and maybe kind of have fallen

[00:23:33] into a duplicity life, it didn't make the other not real.

[00:23:36] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:23:38] I'm I never cease to be amazed, Ken.

[00:23:41] Even today, I had so many people come up to me and say, hey, you don't you don't know me.

[00:23:46] But back on this tour, back in this time, I was at an event,

[00:23:51] newsboys that went and I was going through the most difficult time of my life

[00:23:55] where I was ready to give up on life.

[00:23:57] And that night through your music, through what you guys did,

[00:24:00] God, through a life jacket, a hope.

[00:24:03] And I'm just constantly blown away and humbled,

[00:24:07] mate, because I can remember that season of my life that they're talking about.

[00:24:12] Personally, I was a mess.

[00:24:14] But how God is still able to use for a season broken vessels.

[00:24:22] And to some degree, there's some degree, Ken, that we're all broken.

[00:24:26] But the power of the gospel is that

[00:24:30] God has called us as ambassadors of followers of Christ, not to remain broken.

[00:24:37] We, hey, we, you know, we're constantly being renewed,

[00:24:40] hopefully into the image and likeness of Christ.

[00:24:43] Am I there yet?

[00:24:45] If it depended on me being totally Christlike, dang,

[00:24:48] I don't think none of us have qualified then to ever do anything.

[00:24:51] We most all give up.

[00:24:53] Yeah. But I don't say that as a justification.

[00:24:55] I say we're mindful of the responsibility we have to walk towards being

[00:25:01] an authentic representation of Christ.

[00:25:05] But I'm amazed, mate, how how how God for those years,

[00:25:10] even when I was struggling in his mercy and grace

[00:25:13] because of the gifting and the talent and the platform that we had.

[00:25:18] God used this powerfully, mate.

[00:25:20] Sometimes people ask, well, were you were you never authentic?

[00:25:23] And I said, man, I passionately, I passionately was so authentic

[00:25:30] with everything we did.

[00:25:32] But on that life's journey, I lost my perspective.

[00:25:35] I began to compromise my foundations and over a period of time.

[00:25:40] It never happened overnight.

[00:25:41] Eventually I got to a place where the foundation was so messed up.

[00:25:48] And I think also, Ken, you know, isn't it crazy where you can get to a place

[00:25:55] of being so good at what you do that whether God shows up or not,

[00:26:00] it doesn't matter because we are really good.

[00:26:03] Man, you want to experience.

[00:26:05] We'll put on a show with the music.

[00:26:07] Man, you'll have tears.

[00:26:09] You'll have goosebumps.

[00:26:10] You'll you'll have the most incredible encounter.

[00:26:14] But whether God's there or not, it doesn't matter

[00:26:16] because we are so good at what we do now.

[00:26:20] And sometimes I think we can be prone to that even today in the whole music,

[00:26:24] especially in the in the music industry, the Christian worship thing

[00:26:28] where whatever that looks like, you know, we we are so quick

[00:26:33] to promote somebody and put them on a platform

[00:26:37] and give them a stage and a microphone because of talent.

[00:26:40] Doesn't matter if they don't have the character or the integrity.

[00:26:44] We promote if you if you look amazing,

[00:26:47] if you look like you're, you know, off a GQ worship magazine

[00:26:51] and and you got you can sing and play, man, you are fast track.

[00:26:55] You're you're at the top of the totem pole now

[00:26:58] because we love to promote gifting and talent.

[00:27:01] But it doesn't matter about the character.

[00:27:05] I think there's a broken this and I could be wrong about this

[00:27:09] that only a true believer with a calling

[00:27:13] that feels like they have failed, that calling can feel.

[00:27:19] Meaning there's broken homes.

[00:27:21] We're all broken people, people and their lives out of brokenness

[00:27:26] that are and not believers.

[00:27:28] But I think there's a

[00:27:29] and maybe you can tell me if it was true in your life or not.

[00:27:32] But there's a brokenness of self failure,

[00:27:35] or just your personal walk with God that I was supposed to be here.

[00:27:40] And now. I'm nowhere.

[00:27:44] Don't you think that's a deeper hurt?

[00:27:51] Because I think for a believer,

[00:27:53] you have like a call, a mission to go forward,

[00:27:55] and then you feel like you've stopped it yourself.

[00:27:58] And now there's no more forward, even though it's not true.

[00:28:01] That's where your mental state is at.

[00:28:03] Well, well, well, the guilt of that.

[00:28:05] Mate, when I lost my career with the band,

[00:28:09] but I also came to the shocking realization

[00:28:12] that my whole sense of value and identity

[00:28:15] was wrapped up in the newsboys who I was.

[00:28:18] It's John Jaynes of the newsboys.

[00:28:20] And now that was taken from me.

[00:28:23] My identity fell apart.

[00:28:25] And it spiralled.

[00:28:26] I lost my first marriage.

[00:28:28] And the years after the newsboys, man, for a long time,

[00:28:33] I carried the incredible burden of guilt

[00:28:41] and regret and shame.

[00:28:44] And I had to rediscover

[00:28:48] the power of the cross again

[00:28:51] and the power of God's forgiveness and mercy of grace.

[00:28:56] You know, I got to a place eventually

[00:28:59] where I could accept that God forgave me.

[00:29:03] I think I even got to a place

[00:29:04] that my family forgave me to some degree.

[00:29:10] But mate, to forgive myself,

[00:29:12] I felt like all I deserved was to do penance

[00:29:17] for the rest of my life.

[00:29:19] And how dare I ever hope or dream

[00:29:24] that God could smile at me ever again

[00:29:28] or pick me up.

[00:29:30] And so coming to terms with that,

[00:29:33] you know, there are still times now that my wife,

[00:29:37] my new wife, obviously, Tanya,

[00:29:41] man, she has to, at times,

[00:29:42] man, she has to help me out

[00:29:44] because I still carry sometimes

[00:29:48] the weight of regret and guilt.

[00:29:52] But I'm realizing more and more

[00:29:55] that I can't change the past.

[00:29:58] And there will always be consequences and scars

[00:30:02] of the past.

[00:30:04] But now I've been given

[00:30:06] the most incredible gift of a second chance in life.

[00:30:11] And I have a choice now

[00:30:13] with the amount of years I have left Ken.

[00:30:16] I don't know how many they are,

[00:30:18] but obviously, God's not finished with me yet.

[00:30:20] The type of life I'm going to live now.

[00:30:25] For a season, it's like I was knocked out of the race

[00:30:29] and disqualified from the race.

[00:30:32] But God in His mercy picked me up

[00:30:36] and breathed hope and healing and restoration

[00:30:39] and strengthened me and said,

[00:30:42] keep running.

[00:30:44] And so often in chrysidum,

[00:30:48] in church circles,

[00:30:50] we feel we're only qualified

[00:30:52] if we can shout about this God of the mountaintop,

[00:30:56] where we all live on the mountain

[00:30:58] and our lives are all perfect

[00:31:00] and we're all clothed in white

[00:31:02] and none of us have messed up

[00:31:04] and we live this euphoric lifestyle.

[00:31:07] Well, I believe He is God of the mountaintop,

[00:31:09] but I believe He's also God of the valley,

[00:31:13] the storm, the shipwreck, the mess.

[00:31:16] And there was years, mate,

[00:31:18] where I had to go back to the desert to die.

[00:31:22] I mean, I had to die.

[00:31:25] And if I know anything about dying to self,

[00:31:27] self does not want to die.

[00:31:30] We are wired to self-preservate, mate,

[00:31:33] to self-preserve, mate.

[00:31:35] We will kick and scream

[00:31:38] all the way to the grave.

[00:31:40] As toxic as our life can be,

[00:31:43] we want to hold on to life

[00:31:45] but to begin to die,

[00:31:48] die,

[00:31:50] to be hidden in Christ

[00:31:51] and to take up your cross

[00:31:52] and die daily.

[00:31:56] That's hard,

[00:31:57] but that's the journey and the road we're on.

[00:32:00] But, man, I love what you said, Ken.

[00:32:02] You hit the nail on the head.

[00:32:03] I think life and the enemy has

[00:32:07] has hindered and taken out

[00:32:10] so many protocols

[00:32:12] that feel the guilt of regret and shame

[00:32:16] that they fail God.

[00:32:19] Yeah.

[00:32:19] And they messed up.

[00:32:20] And I truly believe part of my story is,

[00:32:24] man, God is passionate about calling the protocols home.

[00:32:28] You know, I did, I was,

[00:32:29] I am I beaten up a lot more now?

[00:32:31] I, if ever I write a book one day,

[00:32:34] I'm going to call it,

[00:32:36] learn and to walk with a limp

[00:32:39] because I am continuing to race.

[00:32:42] But, man, I walk with a bit of a limp now.

[00:32:46] Yeah, but you know what it gets me through, John,

[00:32:48] is that when I think of what I thought my calling was

[00:32:52] and maybe I failed it and why didn't I got to here

[00:32:55] and then I went to here and why am I here in life?

[00:32:57] This wasn't the path that I thought.

[00:32:59] Yeah.

[00:33:01] But then I remember that at that first calling

[00:33:04] or that first success,

[00:33:06] God knew I was going to be here

[00:33:08] and that I was going to fail.

[00:33:10] Yeah, incredible.

[00:33:12] He knew the failure

[00:33:13] before he gave us the success.

[00:33:17] Which means like for me or for you,

[00:33:20] this was your journey.

[00:33:22] This is like today is your destination.

[00:33:24] You're not living a plan B.

[00:33:28] There's only plan A

[00:33:30] and it was factored in your success and failing

[00:33:33] because you wouldn't be the man you are today

[00:33:35] without that valley.

[00:33:37] Yeah.

[00:33:38] What's amazing exactly, Ken, what you said,

[00:33:40] you know, for years

[00:33:43] I used to think that I was the star of the script

[00:33:46] of my life story being written.

[00:33:49] That was all about me, me, me, you know,

[00:33:51] the incredible acts of John James as it wasn't even the

[00:33:55] newest boys. It was the new boy.

[00:33:57] You know what I mean?

[00:33:58] And I used to think I was the star of my script

[00:34:00] but now looking back, I'm like crikey, mate.

[00:34:04] I was never the star.

[00:34:06] It was it was always about him.

[00:34:10] And I was just blessed to be a supporting actor

[00:34:14] in the movie.

[00:34:17] But the movie, the script wasn't just about the news boys.

[00:34:23] And once that ended, the book's over.

[00:34:26] Thank you for coming and watching the movie.

[00:34:28] End of story that it was just a chapter

[00:34:31] of an ongoing story

[00:34:34] that tells of the testimony

[00:34:37] and the faithfulness of God.

[00:34:41] Our lives, you know, it's all about him

[00:34:46] and his goodness.

[00:34:48] The full circle, John, is that you're now the man

[00:34:51] that would take the time to invite somebody

[00:34:53] to a coffee shop and mentor him when nobody's watching.

[00:34:57] You know?

[00:34:59] Yeah.

[00:35:00] Yeah, I had to settle that in my heart.

[00:35:04] You know, when the Lord started to put us back

[00:35:08] on the radar again and brought us back to America,

[00:35:12] it's almost like if I never ever saw my name

[00:35:16] up in lights again, never filled arenas

[00:35:20] in the biggest conferences

[00:35:21] and be with all the five-star VIP churches

[00:35:24] on the five-tier circuit, preaching circle.

[00:35:29] If God chose to bring me to little,

[00:35:33] out of the way little places

[00:35:36] with maybe two people here in a coffee shop,

[00:35:38] 10 people in the little country church

[00:35:40] where no one goes to, if that was the quote of that God said,

[00:35:45] that's what I've called you to do now,

[00:35:48] would you be content with that?

[00:35:51] And the biggest struggle I have was saying,

[00:35:54] yes Lord is my own ego

[00:35:57] and my old sense of I'm destined for greater things, Lord.

[00:36:02] Well, the greatest thing is being willing and obedient.

[00:36:06] Right.

[00:36:07] See what, you know, we live in a culture today.

[00:36:11] Well, how many followers do you have?

[00:36:14] What's the size of your ministry?

[00:36:17] What's the biggest show?

[00:36:18] How many units have you sold?

[00:36:21] And all of that determines, wow, you're successful,

[00:36:25] you're this general in the kingdom.

[00:36:27] Well, what about the person

[00:36:28] that will never have their name in lights?

[00:36:31] Will never be the guest speaker at these whose conferences?

[00:36:34] Will never be performing at the dove awards?

[00:36:38] They are so not on the radar,

[00:36:42] but every day of their life is well done.

[00:36:45] Well done, good and faithful servant.

[00:36:47] It's like, man, I love being off the radar

[00:36:58] and doing what God's called me to do off the radar.

[00:37:01] And there's even a part of me today where, mate,

[00:37:06] I get so nervous about the journey

[00:37:09] if God is wanting to some degree put me back on the radar.

[00:37:14] Because, mate, I'd be happy to live the rest of my life,

[00:37:17] serve in the Lord whatever way,

[00:37:19] mate, totally in obscurity and off the radar.

[00:37:23] Yeah, so what are you doing to catch people up?

[00:37:27] What are you doing today?

[00:37:28] Well, I finally got my visas to come back to America.

[00:37:35] I've been living here permanently now since 2014.

[00:37:42] My wife and I, we travel speaking in drug and alcohol rehab facilities.

[00:37:48] We were just in a wonderful facility last weekend

[00:37:51] just outside of Tallahassee, and we do that.

[00:37:55] I speak full-time in public schools.

[00:37:58] I absolutely love that.

[00:38:00] Put me in a gymnasium filled with 700 rowdy, dysfunctional,

[00:38:05] unchurched kids in a public school.

[00:38:07] And I'm in my element, mate.

[00:38:09] It's so exciting to see what the Lord does.

[00:38:13] We've been blessed to work with the military.

[00:38:17] Recently, God's opened up with several

[00:38:20] military abasuses around the country,

[00:38:23] working with the military and their spiritual resilience program,

[00:38:26] which has been absolutely just life changing for me.

[00:38:30] The most incredible, humbling experience.

[00:38:33] What kind of message is that for the troops?

[00:38:36] The military brought us in to deal with one of the issues

[00:38:41] that is a problem and that is suicide.

[00:38:46] Suicide, alcoholism is rampant.

[00:38:52] Post trauma mentally, mental anxiety,

[00:38:57] mental depression, the last the second last base we were just on.

[00:39:01] And we're talking about these issues the week we're on that base.

[00:39:04] One of the drill sergeants shot himself committed suicide,

[00:39:09] bringing a message of spiritual resilience, of hope,

[00:39:12] of helping the troops, the young men and women

[00:39:17] deal with what I call re-entry.

[00:39:20] You've spent millions of dollars training these troops

[00:39:24] to function and survive in deployment.

[00:39:27] But the military hasn't done a good job of helping these same men

[00:39:31] and women do re-entry, of coming back.

[00:39:35] How do I come home from that?

[00:39:36] And now I'm a husband.

[00:39:38] I'm a father. I'm just a regular guy, a regular girl.

[00:39:41] You know, and that's been the most amazing

[00:39:45] experience for my wife and I

[00:39:48] to have the privilege of partnering with the military,

[00:39:51] with their spiritual resilience, being really humbling

[00:39:54] and exciting.

[00:39:57] But probably the most recent bombshell for me

[00:40:02] is the new album.

[00:40:09] You know, what's that going to sound like?

[00:40:11] Or what is it sounding like?

[00:40:14] After 27 years, Karate, can you believe that?

[00:40:18] I don't even know what it sound like.

[00:40:19] Is it like the old style, young news boys?

[00:40:22] Or is it like a Michael Buble on an outback kind of like action?

[00:40:28] Oh, mate.

[00:40:30] When I finally said yes to this journey

[00:40:33] because for 27 years, I said no, mate.

[00:40:37] For 27 years, I said there's no way in the world

[00:40:41] that I will ever, ever sing again.

[00:40:43] And that's been my life.

[00:40:45] And I also believe, I guess, the lives of the enemy.

[00:40:48] If there was a gifting ever in that area,

[00:40:51] that gifting is so dead now.

[00:40:55] Even the thought, you know, I've done nothing with music.

[00:40:58] I mean, I've been written.

[00:41:00] It's not like I kept my foot in the in the pond in the Nashville.

[00:41:03] I mean, that area, Ken, was so dead.

[00:41:07] Forget Lazarus in the grave for three days.

[00:41:10] I mean, it's 27 years, mate.

[00:41:13] Right. So if you'd said to me, Ken, six months, seven months ago,

[00:41:17] we'd be talking about this.

[00:41:18] I would have laughed and said, mate, you need to get some serious

[00:41:22] counselling. You got issues. No way in hell would that ever.

[00:41:26] I would have been happy to go to my grave as a missionary

[00:41:33] and never have sung again.

[00:41:35] When I came back to America for last years,

[00:41:39] I said, God, I'll do anything for you.

[00:41:41] I'll go anywhere you want me to go.

[00:41:44] I'll do anything for you.

[00:41:46] But don't ever ask me to sing because I can never do that again.

[00:41:50] So to be in the studio, you know, we're about two thirds of the way

[00:41:54] through the album.

[00:41:56] The first the first time standing in that recording booth

[00:42:04] with the headphones on and that mic in front of me, mate.

[00:42:12] Oh, surreal.

[00:42:14] Yeah. After every session in the studio, I kid you not, mate,

[00:42:18] I would walk out to my car, get in my car and break down and ball like a baby.

[00:42:24] It's like is I can't even you.

[00:42:28] And that's why we call the album God of the Second Chance.

[00:42:33] This this album is nothing

[00:42:38] to showcase the incredible brilliance of John James that was always there.

[00:42:44] This album, mate, every day, man, I was in the studio yesterday.

[00:42:48] We were cutting some stuff and, mate, I just start tearing up and crying

[00:42:51] because it's incredible sense of God choosing to breathe on this dead area

[00:42:58] of my life and bring it back.

[00:43:01] You know, it's not like, you know, a couple of months ago when this started

[00:43:06] and it was like a damn burst, a dam burst like a tsunami, mate.

[00:43:11] And I began just writing uncontrollably.

[00:43:15] You know, I had to buy musical instruments.

[00:43:18] I have nothing. I haven't even sung that.

[00:43:21] I mean, and I started writing uncontrollably and my wife had me out exercising,

[00:43:27] mate, I had to drop like 30 pounds to try to get in the shape.

[00:43:31] I haven't sung. I had to go back to several months of singing lessons.

[00:43:35] I haven't sung nothing and seeing these songs come together

[00:43:40] and then being in the studio, I'm like, oh, mate, but I got to tell you,

[00:43:45] whether the album's awesome or people think it's rubbish.

[00:43:50] The miracle for me, mate, isn't the fact that I lie awake at night thinking,

[00:43:56] oh, I wonder if I'm going to get a Grammy nomination.

[00:43:59] I wonder if I'm going to win another double award.

[00:44:02] I have another one hit song.

[00:44:03] I have no idea.

[00:44:05] The miracle for me.

[00:44:08] Is one day now, if ever I'm talking to people, whether it's in front of 10

[00:44:14] people in a little church and I can say to the folks,

[00:44:17] I love to sing you a song that I wrote a while ago

[00:44:21] that speaks about dealing with this pain in this area of my life.

[00:44:25] And then just to sing it at that moment, mate, for me,

[00:44:29] that'll be and the Grammy goes to John James.

[00:44:33] You know what I'm saying?

[00:44:35] And it's been stylistically.

[00:44:37] Oh,

[00:44:43] I can say this because I'm a little bit cheeky and being a former newsboy.

[00:44:47] I can say this.

[00:44:48] It's kind of like old school newsboys when the newsboys were cool.

[00:44:53] I love your Mike Tate.

[00:44:55] Don't get offended.

[00:44:56] What I mean is it's like

[00:44:59] it's like the songs I think similar to the shine breakfast.

[00:45:07] Take me to your leader era.

[00:45:10] Yeah, there was a follow up album on all those songs.

[00:45:15] That's how it feels.

[00:45:17] The newsboys now is a great band, but it's a different band.

[00:45:19] It's a totally different band.

[00:45:21] Totally different.

[00:45:22] And that's the funny question.

[00:45:23] You know, I was talking to somebody in radio the other day.

[00:45:28] Probably not.

[00:45:30] I could be wrong.

[00:45:31] You can correct me, Ken.

[00:45:32] Most of the lane of the music on Christian radio today is congregational worship.

[00:45:39] It's like a lot of the music.

[00:45:41] If you're not in that lane of congregational worship music,

[00:45:45] there's really not a lane for you back in the time when I was with the newsboys.

[00:45:51] You had congregational worship, but there was another lane to reach people who don't

[00:45:57] normally listen to Christian radio or listen to the Southern Gospel or

[00:46:03] adult contemporary.

[00:46:04] There were bands like Newsboys, DC Talk, Audio Adrenaline.

[00:46:09] That's what Steve Taylor stood out.

[00:46:11] It was so he was even cynical against the church and the music was so weird.

[00:46:16] It was awesome.

[00:46:17] Exactly.

[00:46:17] There was that lane that and that's why we connected so well with young people

[00:46:23] and even young people out of the church.

[00:46:25] So the lane I'm in with this new album is like made I've stepped straight into

[00:46:31] that lane of why God called us to America in the first place back in back then

[00:46:37] originally was to write music that connected with people who aren't in that lane.

[00:46:43] And again, I say, hey, praise God for that lane.

[00:46:47] But I think the kingdom of God should be more than one lane

[00:46:51] to reach people through through the creative arts.

[00:46:54] And so that that's what it like.

[00:46:57] And you know, the album, I think I sent you to cover

[00:47:00] of the album and that's cool.

[00:47:03] And the title, you know, God of the Second Chance,

[00:47:06] which is the title track of the album.

[00:47:08] Mate, I have no idea what the Lord's going to do with this.

[00:47:12] And I look forward.

[00:47:13] We're close and probably in about two months time having, you know,

[00:47:17] the tracks ready to be mixed down and mastered.

[00:47:20] We've cut all we've cut all the lead vocals.

[00:47:23] It's like, oh, I can finally sleep at night now.

[00:47:26] And we're doing just BGVs and some instrumental changes and stuff.

[00:47:30] But we are on the home straight, mate.

[00:47:32] And hopefully a couple more months and we're done.

[00:47:35] God of the Second Chance.

[00:47:37] And I have no idea what the Lord's going to do with this, but

[00:47:41] it's pretty awesome, you know.

[00:47:43] How can people help you?

[00:47:46] They could go to your website.

[00:47:47] You can tell us what that is.

[00:47:48] Is it for sure when your album comes out to check that out?

[00:47:52] You're doing speaking engagements.

[00:47:54] Would it be if they see a venue for you like check out your website,

[00:47:57] a place you might fit in?

[00:47:58] Are you actively with the we don't even put out?

[00:48:02] I don't even put out tour.

[00:48:03] I'm not on any social media at all, mate.

[00:48:06] OK.

[00:48:07] Actually, I just came into the new social media recently.

[00:48:10] I have a website now.

[00:48:12] So the viewers and listeners can probably be pretty impressed.

[00:48:14] They got a MySpace account.

[00:48:16] A website. Yeah, I got a website, a Wix website.

[00:48:20] So my wife and I have had that for a while now.

[00:48:23] We don't even put our schedule on there, mate.

[00:48:25] But you can go there to find out, you know, there's contact information

[00:48:30] and different stuff.

[00:48:31] I did put on there the miracle of the album we're doing, which is which is just bizarre.

[00:48:38] I you know, mate, I don't know your feelings on this, Ken, but

[00:48:41] you know, when we started the album,

[00:48:43] I'm no rich rock star anymore.

[00:48:46] I'm a missionary.

[00:48:48] That's like, OK, God, we're going to have to fund this.

[00:48:50] And we did them.

[00:48:52] I've never done anything like this in my life, mate.

[00:48:55] I even felt really awkward.

[00:48:57] We started a GoFundMe page.

[00:49:00] And I'm thinking, no, it's going to want to get this.

[00:49:02] People are all I'm going to get is abuse emails.

[00:49:05] You know, mate, I was blown away.

[00:49:08] Yeah.

[00:49:10] People get on that social media.

[00:49:11] You got to get on there.

[00:49:12] We're going to tell people how you even contacted me.

[00:49:15] So I was a boomerang, mate.

[00:49:16] I threw a boomerang in your direction.

[00:49:18] You did. It was so random.

[00:49:21] I must have went on that website when I started this about two years ago.

[00:49:25] So I don't know early on I was looking for people.

[00:49:27] You know, I kind of have the same thing on a lower level as I stopped doing.

[00:49:31] I walked away in Nashville.

[00:49:32] I was on that way of 88.1.

[00:49:34] And I was going I was in queue to be the first country music television host

[00:49:38] before they had hosts.

[00:49:40] They were just running videos.

[00:49:42] And I just had this feeling like, you know, that life's not for me.

[00:49:44] I didn't get into this to be a country music host.

[00:49:48] And and the spinning record was DVDs.

[00:49:51] I mean CDs at that time.

[00:49:52] And I'm like a train monkey can do this.

[00:49:54] And every 15 seconds, I have to say welcome or something with music city.

[00:49:59] And I kept saying motor city.

[00:50:00] I'm not even good at this anymore.

[00:50:02] I just felt done and I went and started working with a handful of youth

[00:50:06] in a church for like 125 bucks a week in Michigan.

[00:50:09] And I felt so fulfilled and I rebooted a different career.

[00:50:13] Come on.

[00:50:14] So I stopped after

[00:50:17] after going to college broadcasting school 10 years of being

[00:50:22] in the Christian music industry on this side of it, I just stopped,

[00:50:26] walked away 1995 and it was a couple of years ago.

[00:50:31] I'm just on my couch and I just felt this overwhelming

[00:50:35] to get up and start talking to those people again feeling.

[00:50:39] And it was overwhelming.

[00:50:42] So it's really strange to actually be sitting here kind of behind a microphone

[00:50:48] again, talking to a news boys from that era.

[00:50:52] And so the story is I just start looking up those era.

[00:50:56] So it's like John Schlitt of Petra.

[00:50:58] I'm making a list of people I could probably get in contact with.

[00:51:01] And I'm like, oh, what are there's the news boys?

[00:51:03] I knew Michael Tate, you know, and I used to interview Kevin Smith.

[00:51:07] All that. What's that guy up?

[00:51:08] I started looking at what are these people up to?

[00:51:11] And you crossed my mind and I must have run across your website

[00:51:15] and then found that email address, sent a note and forgot about it.

[00:51:19] Because that was like so like a year and a half ago, two years ago.

[00:51:23] And then I let people know.

[00:51:24] So then randomly, I don't know, it was a Saturday morning or something,

[00:51:28] you call totally out of the blue.

[00:51:31] I don't even remember sending that email.

[00:51:33] No, I really know you.

[00:51:34] And you sounded like a fake recording.

[00:51:38] You could have easily said you could have said, hey, this is a crocodile hunter.

[00:51:43] Catch my movie on whatever it sounded.

[00:51:45] You're like, crocky mate.

[00:51:46] I'm like, this doesn't even sound real.

[00:51:49] But you know, I'm John James of the news boys remember me?

[00:51:52] And my response was, yeah, do you remember me?

[00:51:55] I was so confused how this conversation was happening.

[00:51:59] That was funny.

[00:52:00] Old school phone call.

[00:52:01] That doesn't happen much anymore.

[00:52:03] You know, it wasn't a text.

[00:52:04] It wasn't an email.

[00:52:05] Yeah, who would have thought, mate, the different seasons and chapters like

[00:52:08] here I am with doing I never in my wildest dream.

[00:52:13] If this is if this is part of what the Lord wants to do now,

[00:52:17] you know, I turned 60 a couple of months ago.

[00:52:20] I'm like, crikey God, you couldn't have done this like 25 years.

[00:52:23] I'm 60 now.

[00:52:25] And then somebody said to me, oh, you're going to tour.

[00:52:28] I nearly broke down in a nervous sweat.

[00:52:31] And I'm thinking, crikey mate, tour.

[00:52:34] Man, I can't fit in the McGee clothes anymore.

[00:52:36] I'm going to have to go on stage and stretchy pants, track pants or something.

[00:52:39] You know, it's so it's so just wasn't part of my script.

[00:52:48] But I'm at a stage in life.

[00:52:50] Honestly, just God, this is so beyond me.

[00:52:54] But if you want to do this, I'm I'm going to trust you.

[00:52:59] Well, that's the thing.

[00:53:00] It is part of your script.

[00:53:01] We just don't get to read ahead.

[00:53:02] Yeah, we need to read ahead.

[00:53:03] We will get and so.

[00:53:06] But it's been awesome.

[00:53:07] You know, God's blessed me with my producer.

[00:53:10] The guy that's producing the album is my best friend, another Aussie for over 30 years.

[00:53:16] I might and he's actually at the church.

[00:53:19] He ended up at the same church I am at at the moment in Florida.

[00:53:23] His background, he was one of the

[00:53:25] the pioneers at Pioneer, the Hillsong Church in the early days.

[00:53:28] And with Darling Czech and all of that.

[00:53:31] And and he was at the most when they were just a small dinky church,

[00:53:36] seeing those first formative seven or eight years.

[00:53:39] And then and then he left Hillsong and went to be with his cousin.

[00:53:43] I don't know if you've heard of him in Australia,

[00:53:44] but they pioneered planet shakers in Australia.

[00:53:49] And one of the most gifted creative people I've ever met in my life.

[00:53:53] But he's my best mate and him and I have been together and traveled the world.

[00:53:57] So he's he's producing.

[00:54:00] He's the producer on the album.

[00:54:02] And he gives me such a hard time in the studio.

[00:54:06] But I love him. He's my best mate.

[00:54:08] Well, hey, it's been a pleasure.

[00:54:10] Let's have you back on when that album's out.

[00:54:13] Hopefully soon, mate, in a couple of months and folks can if they go to the

[00:54:18] website, you may have to translate, mate.

[00:54:20] If they go to the website, I reach USA dot com.

[00:54:25] That that's where they can see the information about the album and the

[00:54:29] ministry and everything.

[00:54:31] All right, great.

[00:54:32] Hey, it's been a pleasure, John.

[00:54:33] Bless you, mate. Have a brilliant day.