On the Front Lines
Despite the barriers and dangers, Russ Lee has taken his music and his ministry to the U.S. troops in Iraq—twice.
by Andy Argyrakis | posted 2/14/2005
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Blue-eyed soul singer Russ Lee is most often thought of as a recording artist, first with Truth, then with NewSong and most recently solo. But throughout that whole time, the vocalist has also been extremely committed to outreach and evangelism through the mission field, particularly with World Vision. As a WV spokesperson for over 15 years, Lee has traveled the globe, including visits to Iraq in 2003 and 2004 to affirm soldiers and spread the gospel. It wasn't easy to get through all the red tape of traveling, nor was war soil the safest place to visit, but the results were uplifting to all parties involved. In this interview, the world traveler shares those heartwarming experiences, encourages Christians to step beyond their typical territory and touches on his new greatest hits collection Pictures On Mantles.
When did your attraction to missions first form?
Russ Lee The seed was planted when I was in Truth and we were in Europe around the time the Berlin Wall fell. At that point Communism became obsolete, but there was still poverty and oppression. People were standing in soup lines and potato lines, living in poverty even though they weren't in a third world country. We did a concert in a village outside Moscow and we were given a pile of potatoes with flowers stuck in them as a thank you. We wound up having them cook them and pass them on to the whole community, which was a chance to touch people's lives beyond just singing songs. At some point inspiration must translate into perspiration if it's going to be ministry. We're called to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and I wanted to use my life to be an outlet through which others could be impacted.
How did those desires transfer into your time with NewSong?
Lee I joined NewSong when they were touring behind a record called All Around the World. The funny thing about that title is even though the guys had been all over America, they'd never been overseas on a missions trip. Not long after I came in we found ourselves giving concerts and then outreaching in Russia and soon the Dominican Republic. We held revival meetings and sought to be a blessing to the families we came in contact with.
How did Iraq come into the picture?
Lee Doug McKelvey, the guy I wrote "Live What I Believe" with, has a brother-in-law that's a chaplain overseas in a division of the U.S. Army. That division was told they were going to get to come home in August of 2003, then it was pushed into September and later they were told it wouldn't be until after the holidays. As a result, the troops were not able to spend their holidays at home, which became a real challenge in the moral department. I was asked if I'd be willing to minister close to Thanksgiving, and I was all for it.
What was your travel experience like, given the war and increased security?
Lee Even the fact that we made it on a plane was a miracle because we did not have all the proper paperwork in time. Yet God just walked us through customs in Kuwait at a time when security was high and even diplomats turned us away. Basically, a solider from the U.S. Embassy met us at the gate when we arrived and said there would be a 50/50 chance that we'd be in a plane in a couple of hours heading toward Germany because we didn't have what was needed to enter the country. All we had was an invitation from the U.S. Army and a letter from a commanding officer and not even a visa, so it didn't look good. But the whole time I had a peace that surpasses all understanding about this, and we just waited and waited until it was our turn to be dealt with.
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