Selah
Those Old Rugged Hymns
The power and depth of hymns haven't been lost, but they are making a comeback

by Michael Herman

I recently sat down with Curb Records recording artists, Selah, and learned more about their ministry. As I listened to what is happening in the lives of the group members, and the way God is using their talents strengthen his kingdom, it only made sense to let them tell you more about themselves.
So here's less of my description of Selah, and more of their words to help you get to know how hymns are a tool they use bless their listeners, and how their ministry has grown in God's perfect timing.

Background: No one knows the importance of family relationships better than brother and sister Todd and Nicol Smith. Both extraordinary vocalists in their own right, Todd and Nicol grew up in a musical family that lived together, sang together and traveled together through most of their childhood.

Extending that musical heritage, Todd and Nicol have now joined close friend and phonomenal pianist Allan Hall to record their first album together as Selah, which means "to lift up your voice in praise." The trio's chosen name is a perfect fit with their album, Be Still My Soul, a collection of the group's favorite hymns performed in their own unique and impassioned style …

CO: Tell us what God has been teaching you recently in your lives.

Alan: "This past year has really been wild. It is a dream come true for me to be able to be out travelling and playing music for people. I've always wanted to do that since I was a little, little kid. Especially when the songs are something we can leave with the person that can help them out. That fills me up. When I play piano, that's when I feel like I'm best communicating with people. If I feel like I'm giving [the listeners] something, like they're going away with something from me, that's when I'm filled.

Todd: "Probably the biggest thing I've learned again this year is patience. As far as 'doing music,' and particulary when you're dealing with a record deal and the business side of things, people ask us, 'What do you need in order to make it [in the industry]?'. One thing, and the big thing people need, I need, is patience. That's one thing I don't have a lot of, but have been forced into it because this album was supposed to come out a year ago. There's been delay after delay after delay, and it's been a very discouraging thing. But we've been able to see what God's been doing and how he's been preparing us. We've been preparing whether it's an interview like this or an appearance at a bookstore. I remember the first time we went to a bookstore signing event. I was so uncomfortable. My first interviews were the same way. But God has his own plan. There's a saying, 'God is rarely early, never late. He's always on time.' But it sure seems like he takes his time so often. I need to be reminded of it again and again, that he is in control. He's above every circumstance, above everything, he's still able to carry us through. For example, there was someone who we were really hoping would help manage us a year ago, and it fell through. A week later we met Brian and Mitch who now manage us.

Nicol: "Time and time again I see that God isn't going to spare anything; he'll use whatever it takes to get us to a point where we'll come to him and want to know him, even if that's accomplished in desperation. There will be times when he's all we'll have.

"We have a very close family, and moving to Nashville forced me to have a relationship with God where before I could rely on my family to be the backbone of what I believed. My relationship with God had to become its own 'beating heart,' so to speak. It's been great because I've been able to see so many different sides to him that I didn't know of before. Before this time, it was about God the policeman waiting to bop me over the head with a bat, but now I can say, 'You know, I don't like this circumstance, but I do know for sure that he wants what's ultimately best for me.' I know these things aren't happening for God to make me angry or frustrated. In the long run, as long as I'm trying to do what I feel he is telling me to do, that's where I'm ultimately going to be happiest. People might say that my peace comes from having a record released that was really successful, but no amount of that can replace the peace that comes from God in your life.

CO: Who comes out to your concerts?

Todd: "One thing that's been totally amazing about this album is that it hits such a wide spectrum. People ask us what our demographic is, as far as an age group. And I can remember two churches we played at, and they were predominantly an older group, then we went to play at this youth group in Indiana. There's probably only one time when I've prayed harder than I did going to perform for that youth group, and that was when my dad and I were on a hippo hunt when I was a little sixth grader. Well anyway, on the way to the youth group, I was thinking, 'We are gonna get tomatoed for doing hymns for youth … they're gonna hate us, why did we agree to do this thing?' But they were into the music and with us the whole time; it was great to see. That doesn't mean that everywhere we go people respond, 'That was awesome!'. But it's also great to see how there are people our age and then people in their 60's 70's and 80's who really accept this music.

CO: Any more concert stories?

Todd: "I remember one time, there was this man who was about 75 years old who came up and talked with me after a show with tears in his eyes. He said, 'I haven't heard the song It Is Well for so many years. My grandpa used to sing that to me. It wasn't about this man being touched by my voice, it was about the hymn bringing back memories for him of a wonderful time."

Alan: "We did a concert, and this teenager came up after and he said, "Man, that 'It Is Well song' … did you write that?'. We wish we would have written something like that. But I loved that it was new to him, and it resonated with him, it moved him. It's so cool to be able to open up the hymnal and to tell him it's right there for him, and there are more like it."

CO: What elements of the album are special to you?

Alan: "The album is full of hymns, and they're special to me. I grew up learning to play piano with these hymns. I didn't really know any contemporary Christian music until college. I knew who Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith were, but I didn't know a lot those artists. So hymns have always carried me through, that's what I've always known. Sometimes it seems like [hymns] have been pushed aside. I'm all for both choruses and hymns, but so often the hymns are just swept aside. There are many times when I've gone to a church and didn't know a single song they were singing, and that was a part of the service that I could not participate in as I tried to learn the words, but it just wasn't the same to me. Hymns are so good, that's why they've lasted so long."

CO: Is there anything you've learned about God since you've made music your career?

Todd: "It's just amazing that God chooses imperfect beings to reveal himself when he could totally do it himself without us being a part of it all. There are times when I think , 'Who would ever want to come and listen to me?', because I know how imperfect I am. But God still uses me. His grace and his love is so much different from the way I think. I wouldn't want anything to do with myself if I was God, but his thinking and his ways are higher than mine."

Nicol: "There was a class here in Nashville a while back called "The Crucible," that was basically about kicking Christian musicians in the butt, if I could put it that way. One of the things the speaker said was that we think that God needs us, but in truth, God is allowing us the privilege of working for him. And that God is cleaning up mess after mess that we leave wherever we go, and yet he lets us go on 'representing him' day after day."

Alan: "Phillip Yancey says in one of his books that God takes a monumental risk to let us represent him. That's quite a statement."

CO: What parts of your personality are able to come out and be a part of your ministry in Selah?

Alan: "When we're doing a concert, and I see someone who was moved or affected by the music, or talks with me after the event about how a song spoke to them because of something they're going through, it allows me to give something to them. I love that.

"I love comforting people, and it's something I've always wanted to do. Even when I was a little child in fourth grade, my friends would come up to me and say, 'Can I talk to you about something?' Maybe someone hit them in line or something, but I loved that, and I still do. I've always appreciated that other people have felt they could come to me and talk with me about something. So this has been a blast for me, but really meaningful too."

CO: How has your faith and trust in God been able to grow over the last year?

Todd: "I'm still in Bible school, and I think 'How will I be able to finish my schooling?' That was something I committed myself to do before we really started [touring full-time]. And we really haven't been too busy up to this point. It's really neat to see how I'll be able to finish my schooling just before our schedule takes off. Patience has really been something that has helped me through all of this, and that's what God has been teaching me again this year, when I really need it."

Nicol: "One thing that happened, even though this might seem trivial, was I injured my leg earlier this year. It was hard to walk for about a month. I was in a prayer group and I thought, 'Well, maybe I should just ask them to pray for it to get better, but I know it's still going to take a while to heal'. They prayed for me that night, and it was better the very next day. My response was, 'Why do I still doubt?' After so many years of answers to prayer, we so often still wonder if anything happens when we pray, or if God is really listening. But that was a great reminder for me when that happened."

Lyric Sample:

From "Be Still My Soul"

Be still my soul, The Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change He faithful will remain. Be still my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

				Try an Issue of Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help