Humble, funny and engaging are words that best describe Allen Asbury, who recorded the No. 1 hit single, "Somebody's Praying Me Through" on his 2002 freshman album of that name. Although the New Mexico native didn't expect his first endeavor to meet with such success, he found himself ministering to local churches, our nation's leaders and our military and their families for the past two years. Now Asbury has recorded his second album, Stand (Doxology Records), on which he co-wrote five of the ten tracks. Stand also features a new version of "Somebody's Praying Me Through," which includes testimonies of answered prayer. Asbury spoke with us about how God has directed his life and his work of encouraging the church.

What was it like growing up in a musical family?

Allen Asbury: Music is how God has allowed my family to express his love to others. My grandma, grandpa, sisters, mom and dad, aunts and uncles all sang. My family had a group, the Asburys, and we would travel regionally to sing. I was the only one on the high school football team who was also in the choir (laughing)!

Who were your musical influences?

Asbury: I liked Toto, Mr. Mister and Chicago. [Chicago's] Peter Cetera's voice was phenomenal. In Christian music, I listened to a lot of Whiteheart, Petra, Mylon LeFevre and Michael W. Smith. I think my all-time vocal mentor would be Michael English. He is one of my favorite vocalists.

You've gone from forest fire fighter to youth group leader to actor to recording artist. Tell me about the path you took.

Asbury: I went to Christ for the Nations Institute in Texas for two years, and I fought forest fires in the mountains of New Mexico in the summer. I went on to West Coast Christian College in California. Then I moved to Texas and became a youth and music minister.

Down the road was an amphitheater where they did the play,The Promise. I auditioned for the role of Simon Peter and got the part. I did this on Friday and Saturday nights and continued working at the church. When they took the show to Branson, I went and was there six years. There were two shows a day, six days a week, year round. Then I got signed by Doxology.

God makes each experience a stepping-stone to the next level. It's important not to skip levels or you'll miss the preparation for the next level. Fighting forest fires was a time to be alone with God and seek his will for my life. Doing stage acting took me places I never dreamed I'd be. All these things have brought me to where I am today. Sometimes it gets tough and the road gets long, but if you are fulfilling the calling on your life, then he makes the way.

How did you become the first artist recorded by Doxology Records?

Asbury: This was a God-ordained thing. It wasn't anything that man could have conjured up. When my wife and I were part of The Promise, a friend of mine found out that Mark Lowry was leaving the Gaither Vocal Band. He asked me to give him my demo tapes so he could get them into Bill's hands. One day, Bill Gaither called and he wanted to audition me.

Bill called me a couple weeks later and told me they weren't hiring me to be a part of the Gaither Vocal Band, but he wanted to talk about another opportunity. His friend Dan Posthuma was starting up a new label called Doxology Records, and they wanted to talk to me about being the debut artist. Bill is on their board of directors. I didn't even know the record company existed.

I had auditioned for what I thought was the Gaither Vocal Band, but I was really auditioning to be the debuting artist for Doxology Records. What I thought was going to go one direction went another. One thing led to another, and now here we are.

Did you expect the song, "Somebody's Praying Me Through," to become a big hit?

Asbury: When I first heard the song, I fell in love with it right away. I knew it was special and would be meaningful to people. Still, it blows me away that singing that song became a ministry to our military and their families. Man could not have directed the path that song took. It was a God-ordained thing. It is so humbling to me. It's easy to forget that fellow Americans are being shot at and they need to know that someone is praying them through. That song did that for a lot of people. I wish I could get it into the hands of every military person.

Can you share a specific instance where the song helped someone?

Asbury: I had sung the song at the Crystal Cathedral, where I remember going as a teen for a tour. To think I was onstage singing was amazing. Afterward, this lady came frantically running up to me. She held up my CD and asked me to sign it. She said, "My son is in Iraq. We haven't heard from him in several months, but we know he is still alive. I want him to know that his mother and father are praying him through. Would you please sign this CD for him?" I said, "Absolutely." I got teary-eyed signing it. It really put into perspective why I do what I do. I realized it's not about singing in big buildings in front of thousands. It's not about fanfare. It's about touching lives.

What was it like performing at the first annual Presidential Prayer Team Dinner?

Asbury: It was an unbelievable honor. I got to sit next to one of my NFL heroes, Kurt Warner, one of the New York Giants' quarterbacks. It made me wonder, "God, why me? How did this happen?" And then God reminds you it's not about you. It's about the message of a song that God wanted our leaders to hear so they would know that people are praying them through.

People thought you weren't a songwriter because you didn't write the songs on your first CD. What led you to co-write half the songs on Stand?

Asbury: I do write, but on the first album, Dan Posthuma had great songs waiting to be done for as long as eight years. I believed in those songs, in their message, and that they would touch lives.

This time, [producer] Don Koch made sure I was part of every aspect of the creative side of making the CD from songwriting to arranging to producing. I had the honor of sitting down with guys like him, Brian White, Michael O'Brien and Dave Clark. They helped me with my skills and brought me up to date. We collaborated on what we felt that God wanted us to express on this CD. It's really neat to see the creative process happen.

How did you come to do a song with Russ Taff on your new album, Stand?

Asbury: When Bill Gaither called to tell me I didn't get the part with the Gaither Vocal Band, he said Russ Taff got the part. I didn't even know he was in the mix. If I'd have known, I probably wouldn't have shown up (laughing)! I called my wife and told her I didn't get it, but Russ Taff did. When she hung up, she started to cry and pray. She really needed an encouraging word or song, so she turned on the radio. There was Russ Taff singing, "We Will Stand." She reached down and turned it off right away (laughing)!

Little did we know that later on, my sophomore project would be called Stand and that Russ Taff would come into the studio and record that song with me. I had requested that he do "We Will Stand" with me because it is such a signature song of his. It has a powerful, meaningful, timeless message. I felt like God put his approval on the whole thing.

Some critics are negative toward church-focused music, but you've chosen to sing for the body of Christ. Why is that?

Asbury: I don't lessen the ministry of those who minister to people who need Christ. But, we would be surprised if we knew what some of the people in our own churches are dealing with. They have needs, too. They struggle. They suffer. Life isn't fair to them, either. I feel called to minister to that group of people, to strengthen their walk with Christ, to let them know there is somebody praying them through.

You wrote your song, "It Belongs to You" for your wife, Heidi. How did you two meet?

Asbury: We met in church 12 years ago. She was the rodeo girl who lived on a farm and did barrel racing and calf roping. I was the singer, dancer and minister. She walked into my life and has been one of the greatest things that ever happened to me.

All her life, she lived in the same house. Now, she travels with me most everywhere. I'm thankful we can travel together. She does interpretive signing for some songs I do. She not only signs, but does a whole body movement that is very worshipful and beautiful. It's a way that we get to do this ministry together. I think it's important for people to see a married couple working together as a team.

For more about Allen Asbury, visit the man's artist page on our site. You can read our review of his latest recording Stand by clicking here. Visit Christianbook.com to listen to sound clips and buy his music.

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