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The late American journalist Helen Rowland once wrote, "Life begins at 40—but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times." But Rowland, who died in 1950, never got to experience today's entertainment industry, so she wasn't aware of the fact that the window of opportunity in the music business begins to close much earlier. Almost everything—vocal talent, musicianship, and songwriting skills—is sacrificed on the altar of youth and pop culture. Once a pop singer hits 30, especially a female performer, she is considered past her prime.

After spending time with four gifted Christian women, all who've made their individual marks on the landscape of gospel music, I'm convinced nothing is further from the truth. For CeCe Winans, Kim Hill, Margaret Becker, and Bonnie Keen, life is so much more than music. And, contrary to what Rowland wrote, the fourth decade is finding these women standing stronger, seeing more clearly, and more aware than ever of who they are in Christ.

CeCe Winans
We're Here to Worship
With six Grammy Awards, 18 Dove Awards, and millions of albums sold, CeCe Winans is that rare artist who crosses every genre from pop and R&B to gospel and contemporary Christian music. For 20 years, as both a solo performer and as half of an acclaimed family duet with her brother BeBe, her soaring vocal delivery and winning spirit have captivated audiences in church pews, on Oprah, and even at the White House. She has even done guest spots on popular TV shows, including 7th Heaven and PAX TV's Doc. With all those laurels to rest upon, it's amazing to find CeCe more passionate and more driven than ever.

Last year, she released an all-out worship album. Her most personal recording to date, Throne Room has allowed CeCe to share with the world the truth about what matters most.

"There has been such an urgency within my spirit," she says, "that I had no other choice but to record Throne Room. And I knew when I did that, I'd need to explain it. Even though people are in the church, they're not really taught about what worship is. But worship is not an option for the Christian. We need that intimacy with God in order to survive."

What CeCe calls living "in the throne room" is what some people refer to as "worship as a way of life," when everything in your life is filtered through the living, breathing relationship you have with the Lord. That is why she followed up the album with a book, Throne Room: Ushered Into the Presence of God (which was published in February), to help believers understand more about the peace and joy that comes from intimacy with God. It's not just another record or a book from another celebrity. This is her life now. It informs every part of her world—from her roles as a wife and mother of two to her calling as an artist and businesswoman.

"I've always been a worshiper of God, from the time I was a young girl," she says. "I always loved Him, and yet I used to try so hard to please everybody else, but it just doesn't work. God is merciful and kind, but trying to please others only steals your joy."

She adds: "Bottom line is, we're here to worship him, to please him. Period. Others are affected when we live to please Him, but it's only about pleasing Him. Sometimes it takes years to understand that. But when you get it, it will free you up in so many ways."

	"When you know why you're here, you can speak the truth without fear." —CeCe Winans

What does this look like for the 39-year-old singer today? To say that it has revolutionized her life is an understatement. "I don't worry about anything anymore," she says confidently. "I'm much bolder now than I was when I was younger, because when you know who you are, and you know why you're here, you can speak the truth without fear. God has proven Himself over and over again, so my confidence is in Him. Without Him, I've got nothing. Whether I'm at the top of my game or not, if I'm with Him and He's with me, everything will work out."

So she's not anxious for anything, not even her first secular pop CD, which comes out later this year. "I knew this would be a challenge," she says, "but it's His will, so I just said, 'Well, okay Father, how do I get people to look at the throne through pop music?' Because I can't go backwards. I have to continue. My purpose is clearer to me than it has ever been before."

Kim Hill
Leaving 'Me' Behind
One of Christian music's most admired singers, Kim Hill's career was on the fast track in the early 1990s. Her distinctive alto voice and songs like "Snake in the Grass" and "Mysterious Ways" made her stand out from the rest. Then in 1994, at the height of her popularity, country music came calling, presenting Kim with bigger platforms on which to showcase her talent. But from the very beginning, she concealed an internal tug-of-war.

"I'd always felt this pressure to be everything to everybody," she says. "As an entertainer, I felt the pressure to do the big, cool thing that will impress everyone and help my career. I [also] felt this pressure to minister, and to see hundreds of people get saved at my concerts. And at 27, that's a heavy load to bear."

That pressure of expectation, she says, is one that all women experience. Whether it's the expectation of marriage and motherhood, the expectation of career success, or even the expectation of service and sacrifice. It wasn't until life threw her a few serious curves—the failure of her country-music career and, most significantly, divorce and single parenthood—that she began to die to her own plans and live in total dependence on God.

"Worship was always a compartment of my life," Kim says. "But as I've gotten older, the Lord has used worship as my lifeline. In the midst of my broken marriage, worship became that place where God met me. Now I don't feel all that pressure as I did when I was younger. I'm able to not take on everyone else's agenda and just worship the Lord. And it blows me away what He does. I can use my gifting and my platform, but it's really cool seeing the big switch from 'look at me' to 'let's look at Him.'"

	" I'm so grateful, much more than I think I could have been at 20 when it was all about me." —Kim Hill

Although she can still be found onstage, leading worship for the Renewing the Heart women's conferences, and recording praise-and-worship albums like the recently released Surrounded by Mercy, Kim Hill heads into her 40s with eyes wide open and a serious working knowledge of God's faithfulness.

"I'm so grateful, much more than I think I could have been at 20 when it was all about me," she says. "I have so much more to say because I've seen what God can do with the mistakes we make."

Margaret Becker
It's About Giving Back
When Margaret Becker burst on the Christian music scene back in 1987 with her debut album, Never for Nothing, she captivated audiences far and wide. Little did they know, as she evolved from the demure balladeer to a "rock chick with a soul tattoo," she was never comfortable in the spotlight.

"Being a 'personality' is such a consumptive thing," she says, and not just in retrospect. "It takes everything, and the older I get, the more I know how much that doesn't fit me."

That said, Margaret, who is single, would be the first to tell you how grateful she is for the gift of music and for the God-given opportunities she's had to share that gift. And although she can't imagine a day when she's not making music, she concentrates on the creative process more than on performance these days, writing and producing for new, up-and-coming artists. Music is but one tool in a box of many. "I have the written word as a tool," she says. "I have the spoken word as a tool, and also one-on-one encouragement, and praying with people, and then there's music as well."

So, at 40, what's Margaret Becker's primary focus? While she's still a 'rock chick' in the truest sense of the word, she's all but abandoned the image and expectation behind that role. Instead, she's a self-described Moses who'd rather lead through mentoring than by drawing attention to herself.

Currently immersed in a new collection of songs based on the Psalms, Margaret also heads a publishing company where she mentors young songwriters to find their own voices. "Something that we're missing in our culture is that sense of apprenticeship," Margaret says. "Someone who is actually going to come along and help you, rather than compete with you."

	"Being a 'personality' is such a consumptive thing. The older I get, the more I know how much that doesn't fit me. " —Margaret Becker

Another big focus is communicating the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa to the Western Church. In 17 years of work with World Vision, Margaret's never felt more urgency or more passion for any issue. "If I could just go from church to church to talk about this, I'd be willing to get in a car and do it because I believe it is at the forefront of God's heart. It's our chance to stand up and really make an impact for Christ as He would if He were here."

Bonnie Keen
Grace for Our Messy Lives
As one-third of the popular vocal group First Call, Bonnie Keen was living out a dream throughout the '80s and early '90s. First Call, a trio of well-known Christian session singers, which also included Marty McCall and Melodie Tunney (who was later replaced by Marabeth Jordon), recorded hit records, toured with Christian music's elite artists, and were renowned for their dynamic harmonies. Dove Awards, even Grammy nominations, became commonplace. But in 1994, First Call member Marabeth Jordon's very public extramarital affair with Christian singer Michael English meant the group's days were numbered.

The "slow death" that followed was more than just the demise of the group, but a loss of innocence. Reeling from the failure of her own marriage, Bonnie sank into a deep, clinical depression. The stress of single parenthood and financial insecurity wreaked havoc in her mind, but her soul gasped for grace. And God revealed Himself to her there in the mess of her life. During those painful years, Bonnie kept a journal that eventually became the book and a 1999 CD Marked for Life. Requests from women's groups followed, and Bonnie began traveling around the country, singing and sharing what God was doing in her life.

Five years later, the doors for ministry continue to open. "What the enemy tried to destroy me with, God has totally turned around and used for good," she says. "What I thought was the end was really just the beginning. God has totally turned around and multiplied over and over again to use kernels of hope for people who want to give up. And that's all I'm doing. The only reason I'm standing right now is because of the grace of Jesus, and I found that if I just open the door a crack, the floodgates open."

	"What I thought was the end was really just the beginning." —Bonnie Keen

Having surrendered her dream of finding a true love, Bonnie discovered a soul mate in her long-time friend, Brent King. They married in 1998. "I had no idea that when I was shaking my fist at God, thinking He'd forgotten me, He was thinking, 'Oh, hang in there, my sweetheart. I've got something better down the road.'"

And, in a way, that's the theme of her life and her song—God of Many Chances is her latest CD—the message that it's never too late and that there's no distance, no mess of a life, beyond the reach of God's love. "I find a lot of comfort in that," she says, "because in the Scriptures, Jesus didn't go to the pristine, cleaned-up women who had it all together; He went to the ones that had no hope left. And that's what I like saying to other women: 'He loves you now, just as you are.'"

Melissa Riddle lives, writes, and antiques in and around Franklin, Tennessee. She is a contributor to the recently published Becoming, a New Testament for women in magazine form from Thomas Nelson.

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