If you're after a Christian music album and it's not a new release, there's only one place to go, Crossways Records, run by Diane and David Causon. Mike Rimmer reports.

Diane and David Causon

It doesn't take long for new devotees of CCM to realise that Christian music has decades of history and a recorded output big enough to fill 10 aeroplane hangars. Yet in Britain locating older releases or import albums is a monumentally difficult task. It's hard enough to get retail outlets to carry adequate stocks of the flood of new releases let alone expecting them to consider the minority interest requirements of back catalogue. Whether searching for old vinyl from the Jesus music era, deleted heavy metal albums, classic black gospel or that elusive Leslie Phillips CD, most fans finally find their way to a pioneering mail order ministry, Crossways Records, run by Diane and David Causon out of Lea-On-Sea. Since the mid '80s, Crossways massive photocopied lists have been THE primary means of finding an old Christian music album be it the Swan Silvertones or Harry Secombe. With album prices starting at £2.99 Crossways have also long been the way of expanding a record collection without breaking the bank.

In the past Diane and David's house and garage have burst at the seams with thousands (69,000 at the last stock-take and counting) of new and second-hand albums. Now, after years of pioneering mail order slog, Diane and David are finally set for expansion. Crossways is in the process of opening a Christian music shop in Westcliff-On-Sea. Crossways' legendary mail order service will still be the cornerstone of their business but now browsers will be able to come from all over Britain to look through rack upon rack of Christian music of every vintage to locate sought after items, investigate obscurities and find bargains.
Meeting Diane Causon is like a date with a whirlwind. Her passion and enthusiasm are infectious and story after story spill out. It's easy to enjoy her openness and admire her determination and down to earth approach to life. It's all the more incredible when you consider Diane's background and some of the challenges she has overcome.

Culturally, she is an amazing mix as she describes it, "I'm Heinz 57. I'm Cherokee Red Indian Mexican Irish and I was born in India. My mother's a Catholic and my father's a Protestant. As a child I could never understand why I couldn't go to church with both of them. I had this impression, being brought up in the Catholic nunnery, that this God I believed in was this awesome person who would stamp on you if you didn't listen to him. But I realised as I got older that the Lord I love and the one who's looked after me all these years - and getting to know him happened when I was 25 - was not an awful person but he's a person who loves me for me. Warts and all!"

It was a crisis in Diane's life, and the music of Elvis, which acted as the starting point of her spiritual journey. Diane remembers, "I was married to David and we had two children. David hasn't always been very well. At 25 I was told he had a year to live. I had two children, a mortgage, a sick husband and did not quite know where I was at. The one person you turn to is the one person who's going to help. And the Lord came to me in music. I was' playing 'How Great Thou Art' by Elvis Presley. David was having an operation to have his insides removed because he had cancer. Thank God he's still here. But the Lord came and touched my heart that night. It was then that I realised I'm not in charge of my own life."

Diane describes how her life slowly changed as she opened up to the Lord. "I became less aware of me and of how we were going to manage. I became more aware that my life was actually looked after. The thing that came to me was 'His eye is on the sparrow' therefore he must love me so much. That night made my whole life change upside down where I could face anything that came because he was leading me."

Salvation gave Diane a new strength to face her struggles but it also gave her a puzzled husband who observed the changes in his wife. Diane recalls, "He was only 27, after a major operation he had to live for the rest of his life with a colostomy bag. He couldn't understand this happy soul who was cheerfully looking after the children and had a real zest for life! I nagged him to give his heart to the Lord. He never did, not until three years later when the Lord spoke to him."

For years Diane has worked as a successful businesswoman and currently she helps others who are setting up small companies. She describes her day job, "I'm a business counsellor for the Essex Training And Enterprise Council. Caroline, who works with me, and I have a vision for the smaller businesses. They don't get any help with legislation, information or training. I talk to small businesses and tell them that we're here if they need us."

Establishing Crossways Records was born out of a desire to do something meaningful with her life. After 25 years of marriage and a successful career, Diane found there was still something missing. She remembers a defining moment that shook the Causons into action, "I woke up one morning, looked at David and we realised we didn't know each other. We'd grown apart. But we had two things in common -our faith and our music. We decided, having come through so many things together, that we would try and make it work. We went to see James Cleveland in concert. In the interval people were saying, 'What's he done before?' and that gave me the idea. I thought I'd go and export-import."

She decided to save up and go to America. It took the couple three years to save the money to travel there because they wanted to do it in style. David and Diane, being original Teds, wanted to visit some of the rock'n'roll landmarks of their heroes. They researched the gospel music business in America and found plenty of people who liked their idea and were willing to help, as Diane describes, "People in music shops said they would send us stuff. I came back raring to go. Before I went, the big boys in Christian music in this country had said to me that it wouldn't work. So back I bounced to them and said I was here to stay!"

Diane found opposition in this country from some of those already established in the Christian music business. She describes some of the struggles, "When I first started Crossways Records I had a vision where I felt the Lord was leading me. But some Christian gentlemen said, 'But you're a housewife. It's not going to work.' I jumped up and down, saying that I wasn't going away! People wouldn't let me open an account or supply records. I thought, 'Hang on, we're all doing the Lord's work. We should be trying to encourage each other to spread the Word.' That's how I overcame all that because of the character I am. In business you have to stand up and be counted."

An illustration of the strength of Diane's character comes from her trip to America. Walking in Memphis in the famous Beale Street she was mugged but instead of giving in, she challenged the mugger, shaming him for his actions and eventually sat down and talked with him about Jesus and tried to minister to him concerning his own needs. The mugger ended up apologising to Diane! Her approach to business seems simply to reflect her own passion for life, sense of justice and courage to go for it.

Having established the vision for a mail order company, the next challenge was to persuade the bank to give her finance for a non-profit making company! Diane laughs as she remembers, "I had to convince him that I wanted an overdraft facility. He said that he didn't understand. I told him I wanted to tithe my money and try to make CDs and records available to young people. He said he'd have to think about it. He phoned the next day to say, 'You've got it!' We've had to put a lot of our own money into setting it up but the help we've had has been excellent. Then we thought we could run a mail order service from home. Over the years we've built up a rapport with a lot of people."

The first support Diane received was from Birmingham BBC radio presenter Frank Stewart who interviewed her on his programme in 1989. From there, Crossways Records' reputation grew, particularly in the black community where they were frequently invited to sell albums at concerts. The mailing list has grown for their mail order catalogue and now the Causons will be launching their own shop. Diane explains, "We've been wanting to open a shop where we can have fellowship. We're saying to young people that there is a place to come to hear what they want to hear. Come to Crossways Records is what I'm going to say and have a listen."

The shop includes a nice loud sound system, so you'll have ample opportunity to hear the music. There are also plans for video facilities so that you can see as well as hear your favourite music. This is an exciting new phase for the Causons whose dedication to Jesus and passion for the music has led them to this unique ministry in serving fans of Christian music.

Diane describes herself as, "Nearly 50 years old going on 17." She's a remarkable woman with an energy that would shame people half her age. Her spirit of perseverance is impressive. Six years ago she was burdened to pray for a double fronted shop with office and warehouse space and an upstairs flat for a shop manager. Six years she continued to pray and now that vision has been fulfilled. The shop opens on November 2nd with a day of special events planned and much celebrations that God has yet again rewarded the faith of this extraordinary woman.