Recording artist Shaun Groves released his debut album, Invitation to Eavesdrop, in the summer of 2001. His first radio single, "Welcome Home," won a large fan-base, landing atop the radio airplay charts for four straight weeks and helping Groves score six Dove Award nominations in 2002. After touring the past two years with artists such as Bebo Norman, Jars of Clay, and Jennifer Knapp, Shaun's now preparing to re-enter the studio to record a sophomore CD. This time, though, he's offering ChristianityToday.com readers the chance to tour the process, everything from songwriting to studio time to marketing to photo shoots. This "invitation to eavesdrop" will let you see the business and the art of making music in a whole new light.

I recently heard a mainstream music "superstar" say, as he reflected back on his rise to fame and fortune, that success was like being on a mountain top – the air is thin, the roads narrow and winding, and one wrong step can send you back where you came from. Success wasn't all that he thought it would be because once on the summit, he couldn't stop looking down. He couldn't enjoy the view for fear that at any moment he would fail and come tumbling down like Icarus with melted wings into the valley of obscurity.

Some days I too am petrified by a fear of failure - a sophomore slump. Sometimes I'm uncertain of my every decision, unsure of my next step. But most days I'm just grateful for the climb I've had so far: hearing my music on the radio for the first time; seeing my name alongside those I admire most on a list of Dove Award nominees; touring with Bebo Norman and learning far more from him than I thought I needed to know about kayaking; the art of making biscuits, and the joy of sweet tea; playing music for all kinds of people in all kinds of places – even Wyoming; traveling with my favorite Christian band of all time, Jars of Clay; learning that their love of music is matched only by their love of family, faith, new shoes, PlayStation, and the iPod. And, of course, perhaps the greatest part of the ride so far, the platform and ability to speak with thousands about what matters most to me.

And while looking back and taking in the view of my recent past with all its first-time experiences and pleasant surprises, I'm tempted to think I'm on the mountain's peak – as my mainstream counterpart did. But a close friend of mine – the kind of friend who shoots straight even when it hurts – recently looked me in the eyes and said, "You have not arrived anywhere." Strange comment. But I knew what he meant. I knew what he saw in me. He saw, mixed with my fears about the future, the ever-present complacency that infects me after being told I'm successful time and again. Thinking you've attained success, no matter how it's defined, can cause a person – can cause me – to get lazy, too independent, and prideful. And while I was fearful of not taking the right step, this feeling that I'd "arrived" at the top of the world had made me stop stepping altogether. I was too afraid and too content to move at all – petrified, riding out my past successes and avoiding any future failures. My friend knew this and so he warned me not to let yesterday's triumphs or tomorrow's steep inclines deter me from moving skyward in obedience and submission to God today. What accurate observation and sound advice.

So, though my first CD was a success to some, I'm trying not to think on that too often or accept anyone else's measure of that success. I'm trying to keep my eyes on the road ahead without the road behind affecting my every move. And you, if you come back here from time to time, will follow those steps and hear my thoughts, struggles, plans, and decisions in the days ahead while the folks at Rocketown Records and I create the follow-up to my first project.

Why would you want to follow us and this process so closely? Well, I hope as I give you the play-by-play to shed new light on many aspects of the music industry and how, if at all, it intersects with music ministry. I want you to understand who the players are in the story of this record and what our priorities are in its making. I hope to reveal some skeletons in Nashville's closet while at the same time making known some of its heroes and lesser-appreciated victories. There's so much that takes place in the production of Christian music that is never discussed, and I'll try to shed light on every previously darkened corner of this maze for you. I hope you will better appreciate and understand both the art and the artists — and the God of both — in the end.

Sure, I'm a little afraid to describe the view from here for you, but I know I'm not at the top of anything and that my life isn't all that different from yours really. I haven't arrived yet, and I guess that journaling the next leg of my journey upward week after week will continually remind me of that. It will remind all of us that no one is always certain of which steps to take, about how to climb this mountain we're on, and that that's why we need its Maker.

See you again soon.

Shaun

Stay tuned for part two of this series in mid-March. In the meantime, you can read more about Shaun Groves by visiting our artist page for him. Click here to read our review of Invitation to Eavesdrop, and pick up your own copy of it at Musicforce.com.

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