I’m standing outside the Dallas Zoo, watching the premiere concert, kicking off Jars of Clay’s current album If I Left the Zoo. The music is edgy and the lyrics are both fun and deep.

Incredible, I tell myself. They’re just four typical guys . . . and today they’ve became one of the most sought-after acts in Nashville. What’s it like to walk in their shoes?

Steve Mason, Matt Odmark, Charlie Lowell and Dan Haseltine — the four guys who take their name from 2 Corinthians 4:7 — have sold more than 3 million albums to date. They deliver a raw, earthy sound with lyrics that draw listeners to life’s more important issues.

Yet the guys aren’t taking themselves too seriously on their current release. “We wanted to get in touch with the spontaneity we had on our first record,” Steve told me during an interview at the zoo. (How appropriate, right?!) “That was a time when we were making music just because we were having fun.”

Come join the rest of our conversation and learn more about Jars of clay’s music, as well as what God is teaching these guys.

Breakaway: So, you guys got your big break by winning a music contest? Tell me about that.

Charlie: After we finished a demo, we sent it to the Gospel Music Awards (GMA) Spotlight Song Contest and ended up winning. That was the beginning of everything. After we won, people began approaching us. We started getting a lot of positive feedback. So we sent out our demo to the industry.

Matt: We got a lot of calls to our pay phone on our dorm floor at Greenville College. We eventually put up a sign by the phone that read, “If anybody calls regarding Jars of Clay, take down their number.” School ended three weeks later, and we all moved to Nashville and signed with Essential/Brentwood Music.

What was it like to go from four unknown guys to one of today’s most sought-after music acts?

Dan: We’ve been treated to lots of free meals from record companies, which has been great! Actually, we’re really thankful to all the people in the industry who have helped us with some critical decisions — like which record label to choose, who to tour with, stuff like that.

Steve: I’m both exited and scared to death. There’s a huge responsibility that comes with being in the spotlight. As a group we’re trying to keep each other accountable to God. We want to make this a lifestyle ministry — to make sure what we say on stage is what we’re living out daily.

Charlie: We find ourselves more humbled than egotistical. Seeing the response of people in the industry and other musicians we look up to who have commented on our music makes us feel honored, unworthy and very blessed.

Matt: God didn’t just call us to fame. He put us in a position where attention is being drawn to us so we can refocus it to Him. That’s what we’re all about.

Your music gets a lot of secular airplay, and you even sometimes tour with mainstream bands. What would you say to someone who criticizes you for crossing over?

Charlie: We take a lot of comfort in the way Christ related with those He encountered. He spent time with the gross people — those others didn’t want to be around. He spoke in parables and got people to ask questions and struggle with hard issues. Christ’s example is something we try to relate to and follow.

Steve: We grew up with a certain type of ministry ideal — how someone should present the gospel, how people are to make a decision, pray a prayer and come to Christ. Through the past few years, I’ve been radically changed in terms of my worldview.

Everything we do with our lives is ultimately worship of God. We pray nightly that each concert will be a venue for God to move, that His Spirit will accomplish awesome things and continue to surprise us in how He chooses to work outside of our own expectations.

In one particular case, a guy heard our CD at a party and it provoked some questions for him. A friend of his ended up pulling him out of the party to explain the gospel! Let’s talk about If I Left the Zoo. What’s different about this album from your last one?

Steve: It has a lot more of our personality. With our last record, Much Afraid, we put together a project, but it didn’t speak to each of us individually in terms of who we are. The goal on this one was to give it character. This was the most enjoyable and difficult record we’ve made.

Dan: The concept for the album came about in Decorah, Iowa. We were there for a spiritual and writing retreat. We took our pastor with us and had a great time. We wanted to take stock in our relationships and what was going on in our spiritual lives. When we started writing, we began to see the vision for what we wanted.

What’s up with the title? Why the whole zoo concept?

Dan (with a smile): Think Dr. Seuss!

Now I’m even more confused!

Charlie: Actually, we found a picture in a stock book of an elephant whom we have affectionately named Agnes. We bought the picture for the album cover and then had to come up with a title.

We had the name If I Ran the Zoo, but found out it was a Dr. Seuss book. We wanted something light-hearted instead of significant and deep and came up with If I Left the Zoo.

Steve, despite all the ups in your life, you’ve certainly had your share of downs. Describe one of your biggest struggles.

Steve: It was when my folks divorced. I was a freshman in high school, and it really hit me hard. I began to question a lot of stuff my parents had taught me — especially their faith. I remember thinking, Mom and Dad are Christians, but they still got a divorce. What’s happening here?!

It just didn’t make sense to me that two people who shared their faith in Christ and lived a Christian life couldn’t reconcile their differences. My youth pastor helped me through it and got me back on track with God. Before I had my talk with him, I had taken my questions to the wrong people, which had sent me in some confusing directions.

Amazingly, that experience actually ended up putting “wheels” on what I believed. Through high school and college I learned to make my faith my own — not just the faith my parents told me about.

What encouragement can you give teens dealing with their parents’ divorce?

Steve: Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions about your faith and your identity in Christ. God understands. Above all, seek older people who can instruct and mentor you. My youth pastor came from a divorced family and wrestled with a lot of issues because of the divorce. His firsthand knowledge helped me.

Charlie, what were some struggles you dealt with as a teen?

Charlie: I went to a small high school, which made it impossible to just fade into the cracks and blend in. But that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I didn’t want to witness or take a stand for my faith. You could say I was sort of a chameleon. I would sort of change a little bit for each group that I hung out with.

Today, I regret that. There’s nothing weird about being a Christian. We need to stand confidently for what we believe, and take advantage of every situation.

Aside from handling the struggles you described, what are some key life-lessons that you want all Breakaway readers to understand?

Matt: Don’t beat yourself up trying to obtain a level of perfection that’s simply unobtainable, and don’t get caught in a performance trap. Jesus already paid the price for your sins. Accept His forgiveness and commit your life to Him. He’ll take care of the rest.

Dan: We are sinners saved by grace. Understanding grace is something I’m just starting to grasp. I grew up not really understanding my freedom in Christ and how it’s freely extended to me. That goes along with trying to live life through the week and then on Sunday feeling really terrible because I messed up this week. Jesus doesn’t give us a license to sin. But He wants us to come back to Him when we blow it. He’s standing there with open arms.

Charlie: I’ve discovered that it’s only when we arrive at a state of brokenness when we have gotten to the point of trying to do it ourselves and realized how utterly we have failed, that we realize how badly we need Christ. It’s a painful process, but I think it is a necessary one in every Christian walk. The bottom line: God is faithful to us even in the midst of fear and pain.

Inside Three Favorites
By Dan Haseltine

“Famous Last Words”

This is a serious look at the ways we procrastinate in our dealings with others and, more importantly, our relationship with God. When will our time run out? Who will we have lost the chance to love and be loved with?

“I’m All Right”

We look at denial and its grip on those who believe everything is fine — even though the life they live holds no joy or purpose.

“The River Constantine”

Here’s a tune that’s actually our prayer about the Holy Spirit. Using the image of a river, we paint a picture of something both totally inviting and unsafe at the speed and strength of its current. Our desire is to be overtaken and carried by such a force.