Even though the band's been successful, particularly with its rendition of the Matt Redman worship song "Blessed Be Your Name," the past few years haven't been easy for Tree63. With a number of personnel changes, frontman John Ellis and Co. considered calling it quits. But, convinced of God's calling, they've pressed on, recently releasing Worship Volume One: I Stand For You, featuring some of their best worship fare. Ironically, the modern worship music is getting under Ellis's skin these days, and that was one of the things we discussed as he checked in from his native South Africa.

Tree63 has seen some changes in the past four years—changing lineups, changing styles (from pop/rock to more modern worship), and expanding families. How has it all affected you?

John Ellis: These last few years have definitely been trying ones. I've felt most tempted to resign and just throw in the towel more than ever during this time, and yet God keeps insisting that this is still what he would have me do. Who am I to argue? On one hand, the changes he's wrought have been dizzying and comprehensive, but on the other hand, I sense him refining and narrowing his call on my life to a clearly defined place. I still can't quite put it in words, but the bottom line for me is, when you're called, you're called. There's no getting out of it. I don't want to be Jonah.

I've heard recently that your founding drummer is back in the fold.

Ellis: Yes, and that's a profound relief. Darryl [Swart] was with me from day one, and he finally got to the point where he needed to go out and figure out what he wanted to do with his life. The two-year hiatus did him a world of good. I missed him, we all did, and it's just great having our brother back in the fold.

After all the changes for your band, was the success of "Blessed Be Your Name" even more exciting?

Ellis: Yes, it was exciting in many ways, and we're grateful for what the song achieved for us. But it was also a double-edged sword. Recording the song was a record-company decision, not ours. We love Matt Redman—he's been a friend and mentor for years—but Tree63 just isn't a cover band. If our biggest hit to date is somebody else's song, then we still have work to do.

With the success of the song, do you find that people prefer your worship songs to your other songs? And as a follow-up, do you think that the popularity of modern worship ultimately dampens creativity in Christian music?

Ellis: Yes yes yes! I absolutely believe that the modern phenomenon of "modern worship" dampens creativity amongst music-making Christians. Congregational worship music is an exact science, and only a few people are very good at it—and I don't believe I'm one of them.

Modern worship has become a unit-shifting genre of contemporary Christian music, and now everyone's in on it. As a result, that worship music becomes diluted. Funny enough, some of the best at it can hardly even sell their own product in the U.S.—Matt Redman and Delirious being two immediate examples. They're almost ignored, and yet they virtually invented the idea!

So what's wrong with modern worship songs?

Ellis: Worship songs have to appeal immediately to a cross-section of people that make up your average Sunday-morning church service. They can't be too innovative or sophisticated or artsy or moody, and they have to get an important point across very simply. There's little space for art or innovation—unless, again, you're Matt Redman. Or Charles Wesley.

The problems creep in when everybody and their mother jump in to cash in. I'm being horribly cynical, I know, but I see this happening all around me. The songs become insipid and lame, and hey, is Jesus really honored by that song after all? It's like Bono said at the Grammys one year: God sometimes responds, "No, please don't thank me for that song, I had nothing to do with it, and it wasn't written for me!"

And what's the fallout from all of this?

John Ellis is still going strong with his Tree63 bandmates Daniel Ornellas (bass) and Darryl Swart (drums).

Ellis: As a result of "modern worship," there is less room these days for artistic expressions of faith, music that wrestles with the realities of being a Jesus-follower, with the darkness we fight day in and day out in our personal lives. Christian radio also shoulders a big percentage of the blame: It conditions people to expect a very particular thing from Christian artists. "Safe for the whole family" can sometimes mean "shielded from reality." It's a shame that a record as amazing as Delirious's Mezzamorphis virtually killed them in the States. And have you noticed that there hasn't really been a phenomenon quite like [dc Talk's] Jesus Freak since, well, Jesus Freak?

People come to Tree63 shows to sing along to "Blessed Be Your Name." And then some of them leave as soon as they've heard that song, halfway through our set! We're much more than a "modern worship band," and I'm afraid that people might never really know that.

Then what's next for the band? Will you continue in a worshipful direction, or will you make more of that music that "wrestles with the realities of being a Jesus-follower," as you put it?

Ellis: Tough question. Not having had the benefit of a church upbringing, I don't feel all that qualified to write worship music like Matt Redman. But Tree63 can't build a career singing just Matt's songs. So something needs to happen. I've felt more and more over the years that CCM as a genre has become bankrupt, that there are some obvious reasons why all my friends who make "Christian music" don't actually listen to it. Still, life's just too short to be trying to resurrect a style of music: Tree63 is called to proclaim one thing only, and that is "Christ and him crucified." Whether that's "modern worship" or "CCM" or "Jesus-centered rock 'n' roll" is really beside the point.

However you define it, what's your favorite song that you've written?

Ellis: That's kind of like asking, "Which of your children are you most fond of?" Up until recently it was "How Did I Sleep?", the very last song on our much-dismissed Life and Times album (from 2002). That song sums up years of tears and frustration and loneliness, and yet it's so quietly celebratory too. My brother wept when he heard that. There's a new song on Worship Volume One that I really love called "Great Kindness." I write my best when I'm saying thanks.

You say Life and Times was "much dismissed." Why do you think that is? And why should people give it a chance now?

Ellis: Obviously, when faced with a "failure," you look first at yourself and assume the fault is with you. So I did all the agonizing and soul-searching, trying to own up to a "bad" record. I also tried buying into the "curse of the sophomore slump" explanation. But after a while, I also found out a few more hard facts about the marketplace at the time, the kind of record it was, etcetera, and I slowly started easing up on myself. It's a great record. It's our best one, we feel, apart from the new one. It's honest, it's real, it reaches across the great divide between believers and non-believers. Did you know that 8 out of its 10 songs were singles somewhere in the world between 2002 and 2003?

But with all that, I acknowledge that it isn't exactly CCM fodder. It's like it's from another planet. I think that possibly the burgeoning Tree63 fan base in the U.S. were expecting more of the same in 2002, and they got this other thing instead. So they stayed away in droves, as the saying goes. It failed to sell (only in the U.S., mind you) spectacularly. But it's an absolute success of a record. Sure, it's far from perfect; I could list 47 things I'd like to change about it. It's undeniable, though. What a pity. It still deserves a chance: it's dated well, and its themes are eternal.

Read more about Tree63 by visiting our site's artist page for them, where you'll also find our review of their latest album, Worship Volume One. To listen to sound clips and buy the music, check out Christianbook.com.

© Christa Banister, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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