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W ith more than 3 million albums sold, it's pretty clear that the guys in Jars of Clay know how to make great music.

So when they played a song demo for Dennis Herring, the producer of their brand-new album, If I Left the Zoo (due November 9), they figured he'd like it.

And he did. Well, sorta.

"It's a song called ‘Can't Erase It,'" says keyboard player Charlie Lowell, "and we really liked our demo tape. We thought it was a good rock song. When Dennis heard it, he liked it, but said it sounded like a lot of stuff on the radio. He suggested some changes."

And more changes. And still more changes.

"We came up with four or five different arrangements that were very far from what we originally had in mind," says Charlie. "Dennis wanted to remove us as far as he could from the initial sound on our demo.

"It was a pretty uncomfortable process. We were kind of asking, ‘What's he trying to do with us? I liked this song a week ago, and now I hate it.'"

As it turned out, the producer was right all along. The end result was a song everybody loved.

"Yeah," admits Charlie, "it's a much better song now than what we started with."

That process—of change, discomfort, and, finally, a better result—illustrates what the band has been through since its second album, Much Afraid, was released two years ago.

All four band members—Charlie, lead vocalist Dan Haseltine, and guitarists Steve Mason and Matt Odmark—have grown in their faith since the days of Much Afraid, a title that represented their feelings at the time.

Back then, Jars—riding the huge mainstream success of their self-titled debut album—had been playing in bars and clubs, touring with secular bands and visiting places worlds apart from the Christian faith.

All Jars wanted to do was take their songs of hope to a hurting world. But they caught flak for it—especially from other believers.

The guys were confused. And hurt. And, yes, much afraid.

That's how they felt when they headed into the studio to make their second album. They felt intense pressure to make a great record, but they were afraid to take too many risks, musically or lyrically.

"We were motivated by fear," says Steve, "a fear of making someone unhappy. We're people pleasers, and we didn't want to offend anyone."

Adds Dan, "We still wonder what other Christians think of what we're doing. But we're at a point in our career and our faith where we're a lot more confident in our decisions.

"We've had to take a long, hard look at what we do, and we feel very strongly that God is calling us to build relationships outside of the church, and to be salt and light in places where Christian music doesn't normally go. And what that means is moving ahead and not looking back —and just praying and hoping the church will understand."

When Jars went into the studio last spring to start recording their third album, the fearfulness of those Much Afraid days was a thing of the past. This time around, the guys were much more confident—and ready to take a few risks.

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