Interview w/ Jason Wisdom, Former Frontman for Becoming the Archetype

Stories about Christian musicians defecting and losing their faith have become all too common. Jason Wisdom can testify. Not that Jason has gone MIA, but having been in the belly of the beast, recording albums and touring with a popular Christian death metal band, Jason has firsthand experience of the toll that touring and celebrity can have on ones faith. Which is one reason why Jason recently joined RYFO, a non-profit outreach to musicians. After learning a bit about this unique ministry and Jason’s story, I invited him to discuss a bit about his background and experience, the Christian music industry, and his involvement with RYFO.

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MIKE: Thanks for visiting, Jason! Can you tell us a little bit about your musical background?

JASON: Sure. From 1999-2011, I was the lead singer and bass guitarist for musical group that came to be known as Becoming the Archetype. I was privileged to record 4 full length studio albums with BTA, play concerts in almost every state in the U.S., complete two tours in Europe, one in South Africa, and do a handful of shows in Mexico and Canada. I continue to be amazed at the way our music is reaching people.

MIKE: You’ve recently joined the RYFO staff. According to their Mission statement, RYFO is “Working to create movements of discipleship among musicians who are outside of the local church.” Can you tell us a little bit about RYFO, how it serves musicians, and why you decided to be a part of their group?

JASON: RYFO had a huge impact on me while I was in the band. We stayed with RYFO host homes while we were on tour. Not only did we receive the basic necessities that are so important to bands on the road–a place to sleep, food, showers, laundry etc–we also developed relationships with the host families that were priceless. They became homes away from home. Before we found out about RYFO, we were always scrambling to find a place to stay, and that usually meant that we would sleep in the van, a nasty hotel room, or on some stranger’s floor. RYFO served me when I was a musician on the road, and I am really excited to join on the other side now to help serve others.

MIKE: You’ve joined the RYFO team as a Discipleship Coach. Can you explain exactly what being a Discipleship Coach for musicians entails?

JASON: My role with RYFO has a lot to do with the unique skill set that I posses. After I left the band, I went back to school, got a bachelors and masters degree (currently working on a doctorate) and became a teacher at a private Christian school. I love learning and challenging people to think for themselves. So, my role with RYFO is a synthesis of my background as a musician and as a teacher. My job is to create resources that will equip people to more effectively communicate the Gospel to musicians who are disconnected from home, family, friends, and the local church. That doesn’t mean writing cute little pamphlets for them to hand out at concerts. No. I want to help people reach bands right where their needs are. What are they struggling with? What tough questions are they asking that no one is answer? What issues are they passionate about and looking for someone to come alongside? What misconceptions about Christianity do they hold and how can these barriers be broken down? My desire is to train people to be effective in impacting the culture backstage. It won’t do to simply have them show up and pass out Bibles. They have to understand the culture, and know how to talk to people so that the conversation doesn’t get stalled out by the use of superfluous “Christianisms.’

MIKE: On your Facebook page, you recently posted an article about one of the co-founders of the popular Christian band the Newsboys who is now professing atheism. You wrote, “If you think stories like this are out of the ordinary in the ‘Christian music scene’ you are wrong.” I’m usually pretty skeptical of stories like this. From my perspective, it’s trendy to criticize evangelicals. Many of these types of testimonials seem exaggerated to make Christians, Christianity, and particular Christian sub-cultures look lame. Why should I take this story, and stories like it, more seriously?

JASON: I agree with you that stories like this tend to shoot up to the top of the pile, not necessarily because they are an accurate representation of how things are, but because they make good headlines. At the same time, I can tell you from my own experience that stories of musicians giving up their faith on the road are entirely common. I wouldn’t necessarily say that the number of “faith casualties” is higher for artists than for any other demographic of young people, but I think the unique challenges of the backstage environment often expedite and amplify the experience.

MIKE: So do you think there’s something inherently dysfunctional about the Christian music scene? Are the number of “faith casualties” indicative of something wrong with the industry or just evidence of individual instability, laziness, or lack of accountability?

JASON: I wouldn’t say there is anything different about the Christian scene as opposed to the secular. That is, other than the fact that there is a lot of artists who are “Christian in name only,” having abandoned their faith, but still needing to continue selling albums to a Christian fanbase. But that is a symptom, not the sickness. I think all musicians deal with similar struggles. Like I said before, I think there are unique challenges to the life of a musician particularly out on the road. Most fundamentally, there is an inherent disconnection that they experience–from home, friends, family, the local church and just life in general as the rest of us know it. I have said many times that being in a band on the road is a lot like being married. They have to learn to live together, get along when things aren’t going well, make decisions together, manage money together, deal with problems together etc. Just like marriage tends to bring our faults out into the light, being in an isolated environment with the same group of people for long periods of time can intensify the things one is struggling with. That includes questions and doubts about faith–which are perfectly healthy, but become especially hard to deal with when there is no real opportunity mentoring or accountability. On top of that, musicians are generally going through an unnatural cycle which swings from the extreme of receiving tremendous amounts of praise (on stage) feeling very alone, uncertain, and exhausted (backstage). The downside is not entirely unlike the experience of someone going through withdrawals from a mood altering substance. What is more, and I am sure you know this as a writer, the artist culture in general does not have a favorable view of Christianity and the Gospel. Artists, and musicians are no exception, often feel like they are on a fundamentally different trajectory from the Church, which they tend to view as stuffy, boring, uncreative, and stuck in the past. All of that, and I have not yet even made mention of the many, more predictable, struggles of life on the road–the sort things that fit into the “sex, drugs and rock and roll” category. Most fans of music only see what goes on under the lights, and they would be surprised to know that backstage can be a very dark place indeed.

MIKE: What would be your advice to a Christian musician to avoid becoming a “faith casualty”?

JASON: Just some thoughts, in no particular order. Doubt your doubts and question your questions. Realize your own weaknesses and need for accountability. The other people in your band were never meant to meet all of your needs, and if you lean on them for that, you will crush each other. Dig deeper into your faith, into Scripture, and into prayer when times get tough rather than assuming that you already know everything and that it just doesn’t work for you anymore.

MIKE: You also run an apologetics site called Because It’s True. How do those two passions intersect?

JASON: I am a Christian because I am convinced the evidence demonstrates that the historic Christian worldview is true–it accurately describes reality. I love challenging people to consider the evidence for Christianity and confront tough questions. But more than teaching people what to think, I am interested in helping them learn how to think. That is what I do at becauseitstrue.com. That fits perfectly with my passion for music, musicians, the music industry, and the culture at large. Artists are looking for answers just like everyone else. But they are typically not in a position to access those answers for any number of reasons. On top of that, a lot of them hit the road right after leaving high school, and their experience/understanding of Christianity is unfortunately very shallow. With RYFO, I hope to use my passion for apologetics to impact the culture of the music industry.

MIKE: What are some ways that people can help support RYFO and its ministries?

JASON: First of all, we need prayer. Secondly, we are always looking for people who can minister to musicians by opening their homes. They can visit RYFO.org for information on how to join our host home network. Third, RYFO is a non-profit organization. That means that our ministry is made possible by the generous gifts of people who share our vision to see the culture of the music industry transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. For information on how to support my work for RYFO, people can visit becauseitstrue.com/donate.

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Thanks for taking time to visit, Jason! If you’d like to learn more about Jason and his ministry endeavors, can visit his website. Or you can visit the RYFO blog to learn more about becoming a Host Home for touring musicians or to support this uniquely needed ministry.