Lamont Hiebert (2nd from left) and his band, Ten Shekel Shirt

Ten Shekel Shirt made a big splash with its 2001 self-titled debut and its huge radio hit, "Ocean." The band recently released its sophomore project, Risk (INO), and is working on a worship project due this spring. Proceeds from that project will benefit the International Justice Mission (IJM), which combats injustice and abuse against children around the world. We talked to Lamont Hiebert, the band's chief songwriter, about the new music, the craft of writing, and the ministry of IJM.

Tell us about your new album.

Lamont Hiebert: We moved over to INO Records, and we're doing a couple albums back to back. First was Risk [which released in August]. We love the tunes on it and we're really excited about people hearing it.

Next spring, we'll release a worship record. The proceeds from that project will go toward supporting an organization rescuing sexually exploited children in countries such as Thailand, India, Cambodia, and others. In doing so, we'll be sort of linking our vertical and horizontal love for God.

Talk about some of the songs on Risk.

Hiebert: I think there's always an element of worship and dialogue with God in my songs—even though there aren't not too many on this current record you could stick up on a wall and sing in church as we had with the last record.

Some of the themes start with the first song that says, "I'm allowed to live to make the Maker smile." Sometimes Christian life seems like drudgery. But I love the way Galatians 5 says the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness. It goes on to say, "Against such things there is no law." I love the twist on that, and I wanted to say that I'm allowed to live and that it's a privilege. Being a follower of Christ is a privilege. It's freeing.

Another song is about the recent deaths of my mother and brother. It's many people's favorite song on the album. There's just something honoring about remembering.

The first radio song is, "Cheer Up." It's sort of inspired by Romans 8, about all of creation waiting for the sons of God to be revealed. It's such a cool concept to think that creation is waiting for us, for Christ in us to come alive and for the incarnation to continue through us. So that's a song about dreaming big.

How would you describe your own songwriting style?

Hiebert: For me, concept is everything. I don't spend a lot of time practicing my chops on guitar, or my chords on the piano, or even going to vocal lessons. I'm sure all those things would be helpful in making me a better musician. But for some reason, I spend countless hours chewing on concepts—reading, praying, and dialoguing about concepts.

Songs that don't give me anything new or put a twist on an old thing, those songs do nothing for me. If I can find a concept I love and can live and die for, then the melody and chords usually come pretty quick.

What are some of your past songs you're most proud of?

Hiebert: I'm really proud of "Ocean." It's a fun worship song that feels great, and we still love playing it live. In regards to a concept, that song is about the idea that creation inspires us to worship God. That's not a new concept, but I like to think that's a good reminder. Some people in California and Florida tell us that they listen to that song every day.

Another song is, "Meet with Me." Some people say worship is all about God. Other people go to a service and say to God, "Give me more of you." Truth is, I think both are right. I think we should come in a way that we're giving to God, but he's a loving God who wants to give to us. So, "Meet with Me" is about a relational God. The lyrics say, "I'm here to meet with you, come and meet with me. I'm here to find you, reveal yourself to me." And, "As I wait, you make me strong. As I long, you draw me to your arms." I just wanted to get across the concept that getting together to worship is a two-way thing.

What does the new music allow you to do?

Hiebert: As a band, we love to spend time with unchurched people. I try to write songs in a language where somebody could walk in off the street and feel comfortable joining in. But with the new record, it's a different level. One song is about death, another is about beauty, and others are about being in a hard place.

A lot of the new songs reflect the fact that we want to give the right word in the right season. Whether we play in a church, college, or in a club, we want to play the right thing for the right setting. So we're playing a lot of the new songs in some clubs where we can inspire people who are a little further from God than you might typically find in a church. We want to inspire them to try to find out what God is trying to do in their lives.

We like the songs on Risk. Musically, there was really no rhyme or reason why the songs came together as they did. But they simply sounded great. I love the vibe of the record.

Tell us more about the beneficiary of your upcoming worship project.

Hiebert: I could talk about forever about it. I've always been ticked about the abuse of women and children, especially sexually. God had been putting it on my heart over the years, so I've tried to see how I could get involved. I ended up finding the coolest organization on the planet: IJM, or International Justice Mission. They go in and rescue kids from brothels and sweat shops. They have lawyers and investigators who are possibly the new wave of missionaries.

I think more Christians will get involved with justice issues in the future. They can work on rescuing the oppressed and standing up for the rights of orphans and widows, more so than we have in the past.

In what ways are you involved with IJM?

Hiebert: I've done conferences with the leader of IJM. I took a trip to Thailand and saw the horrors of children and heard terrible stories of them being chained to their bed at nights. But I also saw the amazing times of when they were rescued, and we got to play some worship songs with these girls. They rescue kids as young as five years old. It's amazing to see these people who minister to them afterwards. Music and worship is a big part of that.

We asked the leaders of these safe houses what would bring healing and wholeness to the kids. They said it's when they get to sing and worship God. It does something to them that counseling and other things don't do. [Ten Shekel Shirt recently returned to Thailand to do more ministry with IJM.]

My role is to raise awareness and resources for those who are already doing this stuff. We're not reinventing the wheel. A lot of people don't know that 1 million kids a year are forced into prostitution. That's something we as Christians should stand up against very strongly.

How?

Hiebert: Information is available at the IJM website, also at a site I started, http://jfci.org (Justice for Children International).

You can learn more about sex slavery and the mission of IJM in this article from Christianity Today magazine, as well as this interview with a sex trafficking survivor. For more about Ten Shekel Shirt and their music, visit our artist page for the band, where you'll also find reviews of their albums, including Risk. Visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips and buy their music.

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