Future of Forestry's Eric Owyoung (far right) found grace and healing in the aftermath of a divorce through, of all things, a tree.

When promising worship band Something Like Silas hit the scene in 2004, things were looking good for them, riding on a wave of critical acclaim and opening on tour for David Crowder Band. But internally, the band was coming apart. Lead singer Eric Owyoung and his wife (who played keyboards) were going through a divorce—a situation that forced them to pull the plug on their gigs, and eventually the group itself. After a period of soul-searching and reconnection to God, Eric was inspired to pick up the pieces and reform the band, this time under the moniker Future of Forestry—a name inspired by an obscure C.S. Lewis poem. In this interview, Owyoung discusses this new creative period, the dynamic of divorce, and how a giant tree—of all things—helped him feel loved again.

Future of Forestry rose from the ashes of Something Like Silas. Why start a new band under a new moniker?

Eric Owyoung: Something Like Silas was known and marketed as a worship band.As Future of Forestry, we're broadening our sphere of influence by making an album that is being marketed in both Christian and secular venues.It's giving us a greater opportunity to express art and faith in a variety of places. It feels a little closer to my heart and gives me a lot of freedom lyrically to write whatever God is doing in my life. In terms of touring, we are commonly doing clubs and concert venues as well as leading worship.

On your former band's website, you state your band is moving into a new creative direction. What direction is that?

Owyoung: I'd say that new direction has a lot to do with lyrical content.The songs on Twilight are a bit more about life experience, venturing into more vulnerable territory. In the end, the freedom in the lyrics made way for more musical freedoms in the album too.

Is worship music still a part of what you do as a band?

Owyoung: Yes, we do lead worship in traditional settings. However, what I think is special and unique about what we do is taking the essence of worship into a non-church environment and letting go.A song like "Sanctitatis"—which has only a few phrases of singing and is a liturgical phrase in Latin—is a worship song at the core, but most people wouldn't perceive it that way because it doesn't fit the traditional mold of a worship song. We can let that song rock out in any secular environment, and that's something I'm passionate about—seeing God's presence touch people in a non-religious environment.

Is there a soft spot in your heart for your older material?

Owyoung: To be honest, not really. It's like when you're in photographs of your past— every once in a while you look at them and you go, "Oh, wow," but you don't look at them everyday. I'd be concerned if somebody did that, if they kept living in the past. We're inspired artists and writers—what's happening now, what's current. For me, that's today.

You went through a divorce in 2004, and your ex-wife was a key member in your former band. Did this season prompt the beginning of this new band?

Owyoung: It's definitely a part of a lot of things—why we changed the name, why we started a new entity. But I don't think that's the sole reason. There were a lot of changes going on in my life at the time, and that was one of the biggest changes. Our band member configuration changed a lot. Because of that change, we questioned whether we were the same band or not. The divorce that we went through was a definite part of that change. But I don't think there's a huge connection in saying that that we changed the band because I got a divorce. Definitely not.

How did audiences take to the news of the divorce?

Owyoung: I try to be really careful and deliberate about asking God when is the right time to talk and not to talk about that [in public]. In general, I want to be available and open to talk about that, because it's pretty much a taboo subject and experience to go through. You definitely feel a sense of judgment. But it's also one of those things that's so present in the church. It's one of those subjects that can connect you to people on a first-person level.

Not only do I need to talk about it, but others as well. Obviously, I don't go around at our concerts talking about it all the time. It's not really the time and place to do that. So it's rare the opportunity that I'll actually bring that up from stage.

How can a couple that spends every waking moment together—singing together, touring together—end up in a divorce?

Owyoung: I think that there's a little bit of a façade out there about marriages like the one that I had. If the couple is touring together or they're in ministry together or they're on stage together, people kinda see that as this magical thing and assume that there's some deeper level of intimacy or special relationship, as opposed to those who tour without their [spouse].

I think connections in marriages are based more on choices. Some couples are separated because one of the spouses is regularly out on the road, and yet they can be completely united and intimate with each other—they're able to deal with the circumstances that they have. It's different with every couple.

Husband-wife duo Over the Rhine once told us that investing more time and effort in their career almost ended their marriage. Would you say that's what happened in your case?

Owyoung: The two of us were definitely pursuing musical careers, but at the same time, I think a lot of people looking for answers to why we divorced summarize it by saying that we focused on music too much. That's not the case. I don't relate our divorce to music or to ministry. We're always learning. We always make mistakes in life, in relationships. I think a key in any relationship is to continue to choose each other. That's what will help a marriage grow.

So what went wrong?

Owyoung: I really want to stay away from anything that has to do with our relationship or our reasons for divorce. What I think is most helpful for people to focus on is what happened after the divorce—my experiences in dealing with that and how God restored my life.

Okay, how did you cope afterwards?

Owyoung: Obviously I was completely alone—so empty, so searching. We say that marriage is when two become one. The flipside of that with divorce is that one becomes not just two, but two halves. And I really felt like I was not whole—that I was somehow half of a person. It was a real time of searching for me, especially with the circumstances being so public.

We were on a David Crowder Band tour, and then suddenly we were off it. We were playing at church in San Diego, and suddenly we weren't. Our band was inoperable during a four-month period. There was so much emotion. When a couple goes through a divorce, there's already enough emotion within themselves. But then family makes it a really intense experience, and on top of that, you involve church, your fans, and all these people through MySpace and e-mails asking, "What's happening?" There were so many voices that I just wasn't able to hear any clarity of God's voice about what to do with my life or where to go.

So what did you do?

Owyoung: I told my pastor I needed some time, that I was going to turn my phone off and just take a trip so that I can search for God's voice and try to understand what he's saying to me in these circumstances. My pastor was all for it and even financially supported me, because I wasn't working during that time. I told everyone that I was leaving, and I didn't know where I was going. I got in my car, bought a down blanket, and said, "OK, God, I'm going to get in my car and I'm going to drive up the northwest coast. And wherever you want me to stay, I pray that you will provide for me. Wherever you want me to go, I'm going to hear your voice there."

I ended up in the Redwood Forest. I was just going to keep driving through, but there was this intensity of God's presence there that was almost frightening. I couldn't drive through that forest without getting out and absorbing whatever was there. I sat down among these huge trees; many of them existed around the time that Jesus was walking this Earth. And I looked out and just felt the presence of God falling on me and refreshing me.

Laying my hand on this tree, I thought about how it had seen ages and ages, years after years of change. It had a timelessness to it, and I saw that God—in all of his strength and all of his wisdom—had been watching, knowing, and most of all, understanding. I felt the love of God when I laid my hand on that tree, a confirmation of his love that I'd never experienced before that moment.

You spent months of alone time with God. What personal issues were you working through?

Owyoung: Questions of, "Am I lovable?" and "Am I chosen by God?" Not "chosen" in the religious sense of being called by God, but rather in the sense of questioning whether I was a child of God, that I was loved by God. I had been talking about his love for a long time, but I'd never been challenged in a way that forced me to ask myself, Wow, do I actually believe what I'm talking about? Because there I was, half a person and broken to the core, wondering if God truly loves me—if he truly cares and if he's truly there for me.

You recently remarried. Was it hard to love again? To feel lovable?

Owyoung: Not at all. God had done so much in my life to teach me about his love, that he filled me up with this desire to love. It was just pouring out of me. Through his Spirit, it was very easy to love again.

Now to feel loved, that's been difficult for me, and a journey in my marriage now. I think that anybody who has been through a divorce carries the wounds with them. For me, I have needed my wife through this marriage to constantly be reminding me of her choosing me, of her trusting me. Had I not gone through a divorce, maybe it would be easier for me to do those things. But what matters most is that my wife does believe in me and she's constantly reminding me of that and walking with me through that process. The vulnerability that I've had in sharing about my past marriage and involving that experience with my new marriage, has been what has brought her and I together. It's bonded us. She's been a real rescuer in my life—a real point of God's touch in my life.

Was it difficult to trust the idea of being married again?

Owyoung: No. I guess if I had just married the next person, marriage would be terrifying. But Tamara and I have known each other since childhood. We were really good friends all through high school. But then when we went off to college, we didn't talk to each other for years. There was almost a decade of not connecting any more. It was a relief to connect with her after I was divorced and to share my story with her. That friendship was rekindled and over a period of time, we fell in love. It seemed very natural and easy, actually.

You mentioned the wounds of divorce. Do you believe that they might eventually heal?

Owyoung: I think they already have, though it's something that continues to heal every day too. Divorce is part of my past—it's something I can't deny that's part of me. And it's still relevant to my life. Even though it's been years past the divorce, I'm still talking about it now. I don't know where the specific point of healing was to move on. But I know that I'm past it—that God has brought me through so much.

For more about Eric Owyoung's new band Future of Forestry, check out our site's artist page. Read our review of the band's album Twilight by clicking here. You can listen to sound clips and buy their music by visiting Christianbook.com.

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

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