Tony Cummings chronicles the fascinating musical and spiritual journey of Texas radicals the DAVID CROWDER BAND.

The success of Crowder's ministry led to other opportunities, like DC/LA events, Youth Specialties Conventions and participation in the college-friendly Passion movement led by a revered speaker Louie Giglio. "We cut an indie CD right around that time at church and I was so excited to present that to Louie after having so much respect for him," said Crowder. "I shared with him how passionate the church was over the songs and, quite naively, how they could possibly change the world. But he taught me a very humbling lesson. 'David,' he told me, 'these songs aren't your songs. They are from God and they are the Church's. Carry them with responsibility.'"

The David Crowder Band joined the second year that the Passion events began to tour American campuses. Remembered David, "That was my first step into their world. Our ministry connected with the heartbeat of what Passion was doing." The band ended up contributing a track to the compilation album 'Passion: The Road To OneDay' and a song to 'Passion: Live Worship From The 268 Generation'.

In 2000 Giglio formed Sixstepsrecords under the Sparrow Records umbrella. The David Crowder Band were signed alongside fellow Passion worship leaders Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall. In 2002 the David Crowder Band's 'Can You Hear Us?' album was released which led to a tour with Bebo Norman and his labelmates. Produced by Brent Milligan (The Elms, Tait), it contained a couple of gems, the rousing Crowder composition "Our Love Is Loud" and a haunting version of "Thank You For Hearing Me" penned by Sinead O'Connor. But it was the next album, 2003's 'Illuminate' which with such radio friendly anthems as "Revolutionary Love" and "O Praise Him" which really left its mark. At the time Crowder told CCM magazine 'Illuminate' represented a more "band-driven artistic approach with interwoven melodies," but the lyrics focus on humanity's ongoing grappling with light and darkness. "I'm hoping listeners can see the symbolism of God when 'Illuminate' is referenced and the whole idea of being pulled into light."

One surprise guest on 'Illuminate' was Jimmy Eat World drummer Zach Lind, who introduced himself to the band via email. At first Crowder didn't believe the messages were actually coming from Lind. "After a few emails it was unquestionably him. He told us our music was encouraging to him in his faith walk, was different from a lot of others out there and that he wanted to hook up next time he was in Texas," confirmed Crowder. "That time with Lind turned into a studio session where Zach was generous enough to lend his production skills to the song 'How Great'." Lind told CCM, "I just love the music he and his band create [and] I really believe in what they are doing, so that really motivated me to be a part of this new record. The circumstances of me and David meeting were just too bizarre and random. God had to be at work, so I just followed the lead."

The recording in 2004 of 'A Collision' gave the growing legion of David Crowder Band fans a rare glimpse into the recording process. Most of the album was tracked in Crowder's barn behind the Waco, Texas home. The barn, strangely, is the birthplace of Crowder's favourite beverage: Dr Pepper. According to Crowder, the barn was built in 1885 by Waco drugstore owner and alchemist Wade Morrison. And it was Morrison who debuted the drink at his store, a story the Pepper-loving Crowder loves to tell. During the making of 'A Collision', Crowder utilised the latest technology to document the entire process. "We checked in with weblogs and had four webcams running 24 hours a day for four weeks," he told CCM.

Challenged by the grandfather of one of his bandmates to record some bluegrass Crowder had a profound experience while writing songs for 'A Collision'. He remembered, "[During the summer of '05] when we were on the bus flipping through television channels, we came across an old rerun of The Wilburn Brothers variety show on the Rural Farm Delivery Network, as they announced, 'And now, Miss Loretta Lynn!' It cut from the brothers to a young Loretta holding a guitar. She opened her mouth and sang 'Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.' And her voice was in my head a month later when a close friend was diagnosed with breast cancer and told it was terminal. I decided the phrase Loretta Lynn used would open 'A Collision'. Then after we had finished tracking, I saw her backstage in Atlanta and she said to me, 'It's not that I'm AFRAID to die. I mean, I want to go to heaven. I just don't WANT to die.' And I knew exactly what she meant."

The devastation in the wake of 2004's tsunami which claimed 200,000 lives also moved Crowder in his songwriting and from one time of contemplation the classic "Here Is Our King" emerged. He pondered, "It is a difficult thing to observe the depth of our fall in such a vivid way. I mean, we know that things in the world aren't as God intended. But here is this thing that comes from the middle of the sea to bring devastation, and our minds cannot fit this in. It is the depth of our fall upon us. Even the ground under our feet is not right. The air we breathe is not right. Yet, the hope I have found in Christ miraculously expands. I believe that we are part of a bigger story unfolding. I believe that the rescue of creation has been coming toward us for a long time. I believe that, sure, there was a moment that I was found by this rescue and that I am rescued continually, but the even greater thing, the thing that expands in my chest in this moment, is that there is more coming! He is coming to set things right."

'A Collision' was, like the album's predecessor 'Illuminate', subjected to the remixer's art and both 'Sunsets & Sushi' (2005) and 'B Collision' (2006) received favourable reviews from critics who like a more electro vibe to their pop rock worship. But it was the publication in 2006 of Crowder's book Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die: Or The Eschatology of Bluegrass brought on by the death of his friend Pastor Kyle Lake which probably meant the most to Crowder. He said, "We chose bluegrass music as a means to discuss our grief and the resulting hope that is born out of it. This book is a study of grief. It is a book about the pain that absence can bring. It is about the sharpness of memory that eventually dulls into something we both fear and pray for. It is a book about dying. The kind of corporeal dying that everyone of us will one day experience and the kind of dying that must happen at some point before that moment of mortal death for true living to begin. Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die."

David is positive about future projects and judging from the quantity of fans accessing his website blog to learn the latest on 'Remedy' his new project will be another success. He said, "We feel it is a good, positive thing to bring quality musicianship to the forefront of worship leading. It was like, 'Let's bring creativity and art to it.' Because for me and the guys in the band, music is a wonderful, transcendent language of worship - the playing and singing and innovation are all a part of an absolute expression of worship."