Pillars of Faith
Rob Beckley and his Pillar bandmates want to help fans to focus on God—and help guys break free from porn. Beckley knows the problem well. He's been there.
by Andree Farias | posted 6/28/2004
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Pillar's new CD, Where Do We Go From Here, asks a vital question. It's a reference not only to the band's short-lived mainstream experience—Geffen (Blink 182, The Roots, The Cure) had signed Pillar, only to give them the cold shoulder and then drop them from the label—but also to more personal issues for the band, particularly frontman Rob Beckley. Now back with Flicker Records, Pillar is rocking louder than ever, but they're also making important statements—including taking a stand against Internet pornography. Beckley, who struggled with a porn problem not so long ago, is now encouraging others to seek help. Christian Music Today recently sat down with Beckley to discuss the band's crusade to help guys deal with their "dirty little secret."
From left: Noah Henson (guitars),Lester Estelle (drums), RobBeckley (vocals, far back), Kalel(bass)
Your new album is about being pulled in different directions by people who always tell you who to be or what to do. Is that your story, or is it meant to help those who are going through this?
Rob BeckleyBoth. A lot of the themes in this record are a direct response to personal events, but we're also telling people, "Be who you're called to be." Many times we're going to fall short of earthly expectations, but we're ultimately accountable to God. God has different expectations of me than he does for someone like Bill Gaither, or somebody who has a different view of how to reach people. But we're all told to go out and reach people.
Can you really "reach people" from the stage in a concert? Or does real "reaching" happen one-on-one?
BeckleyThe band is made up of four individuals. Our individual calling is to bring the gospel to people. We can't really minister to people from stage, especially if they don't want to hear it. Our goal each night is to earn respect from people in the crowd to the point where they'll inquire about our music, talk to us after the show, and ask us questions. So what comes first? Obviously, it's Christ. But when we're a band on stage, we're trying to earn the love and respect of people, to create an environment where God can move.
There's always going to be somebody who thinks we're doing it wrong. We recently received an e-mail from a guy who was really disappointed because, out of five bands on stage, nobody really talked about God. You could tell the guy was pretty bitter. He said he needed Christian music to be edified, and he needs us to speak about God to be edified. But to me, looking anywhere other than God, the Word, and fellowship in your own church is wrong. We're not out there to feed.
Are you afraid people see Christian music as gospel? Isn't that a dangerous mentality?
BeckleyDefinitely. I told him, "Man, if you want Christian music to edify you, you're missing out on so much." That's a huge problem within the church: lack of discipline in studying. You have to approach things for yourself. You can't just listen to Pillar or Relient K and be edified. We're not theologians. We're not any type of authority on the Word of God. There are people that have the misperception that as soon as we get on the bus on the way to our next show, we read our Bibles 24/7. Our calling is to be musicians, and music is what you get when you come to see us.
What's the story behind the new song, "Dirty Little Secrets"?
BeckleyWe have a couple of friends in California that run a website called XXXChurch.com [a site that helps Christians break free from pornography]. When they first started, "Dirty Little Secrets" was one of their catchphrases. I love what they're doing. So we took that phrase and I wrote the lyrics with the stuff they do in mind.
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