Kutless Recalls Hardship, Joy and God’s Faithfulness Over Their 20 Years in CCM
By Movieguide® Staff
If you grew up in a youth group during the mid-2000s, you were guaranteed to have heard of the Christian rock band Kutless.
The Oregon-based band was a unique and refreshing take on CCM, and grew quickly to dominate charts with songs like “Strong Tower” and “Sea of Faces.”
Despite their popularity among younger fans, the band’s founders recently revealed that their acceptance in Christian circles was not easy.
“When we first started, we were still told all the time, ‘Rock music is evil. You shouldn’t have drums in your music. You guys are Satan worshipers,’ people accused us of all sorts of things,” Kutless’ James Mead told The Christian Post in a recent interview.
“We’ve had people standing outside our shows picketing; we’ve had evil things written about us and said about us. And at the end of the day, you just have to remind yourself that Jesus’ promises for me are true and what is important about my identity is how my Holy Father sees me. And we just knew we needed to keep pressing on because we had a message to share,” he added.
Lead vocals John Sumrall said that it took some time to convince Churches that worship music and rock music can co-exist.
“I remember some guys picketing our show outside. And we told him, ‘Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve checked it out, man. Like, come in.’ And they wouldn’t come in, of course, but I was like, ‘We’ll get you tickets, we’ll get you hooked up, come inside, see what we do, and then you can tell me that I’m going to Hell.’ I was like, ‘We’re bringing in people from all different backgrounds and types and we’re sharing God with them. … Look, this is rock and roll. We’re having a good time. But it’s got a purpose. And it’s got depth to it,” he explained.
Throughout the aversion, the band stayed true to their mission of singing about the goodness of God—a mission that started for Kutless after the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.
“It was very clear to us what we had to do,” Mead said. “And so, as people came against us to try and stop us, we just kept going. And I think over time, we kind of wore people down, or maybe … over time we earned their trust. We have always been a band that tried to keep our focus on Jesus with our music and with our ministry. And over time, we earned trust with the people that really could help make a difference. And that’s what worked.”
Even after they found success in CCM, the members of Kutless said that God continued to mold them and their music through hardship.
After personal loss and financial hardship, the band recently took a five-year hiatus from music. However, Kutless recently announced the release of their debut album.
“July 16, 2002, our self-titled Kutless debut album came out, and 20 years later, we wanted to do something fun to celebrate,” Mead said. “That’s quite an achievement for a rock band, especially rock and roll bands in the Christian music industry. So we’re very grateful and humbled by the fact that we’ve gotten to do this for 20 years. And our fans mean the world to us, so we wanted to do this fun celebration with them of our first record.”
“We really needed to take a break and heal and cry and learn how to trust people again,” Sumrall said.
Now, Kutless looks ahead to new music about what they have learned about God and from God.
“I feel like God, if we were in a cave, kind of licking our wounds for the last five years, I feel like God is saying, ‘OK, guys, it’s time to come out of the cave now.’ That’s kind of what it feels like within Kutless right now,” they said.
They also were not afraid to talk about the recent “deconstruction” movement within CCM.
“I understand that people would get hurt by that and choose to walk away. I think there needs to be a collective taking on of the personality of Christ, who went and found doubters in His ministry. He went and found the … people who were pushed to the fringes of society … He spent time with them,” Mead explained.
Several fellow CCM artists have publicly questioned their faith while other artists, like fellow rocker John Cooper of Skillet, rebuked the deconstruction movement.
Cooper said:
True deconstructionism leads to rejecting absolute truth, which is a core tenet of postmodernism. I fear the term “deconstruction” is being manipulated to soft pedal something into the faith that we should not allow. It is not a term that has been used historically within Christianity to describe reformation or doctrinal faithfulness. Whether or not we agree on the terminology, I believe it’s being used deceitfully by those who truly do wish for Christians to not only deconstruct their faith but also to deconvert… These not-so-subtle arguments are poison, yet they are tempting to many Christians, because they fall in line with current popular culture. …
Does the “world” (non-believing culture) hate ex-Christians? Have you ever seen an ex-Christian influencer make the secular culture angry because of his or her stance on a culture war issue such as abortion? Of course not! Because ex-Christian influencers tend to align with everything culturally popular and acceptable. And you can bet whenever the next faux pas begins to have culture-tipping-point power, they will be on the “right side of history” (but the wrong side of the Bible) on that argument, too. Believe me, it is tempting to be able to be a “spiritual person-who-may-still-kinda-be-into-Jesus-but-not-really-but-sometimes-even-though-God-isn’t-real” person and also be embraced by the world.
Mead elaborates: “We draw lines in the sand because we’re so scared to have to defend the Gospel, but the Gospel defends itself, the Holy Spirit will lead,” he added. “Restoring a brother or sister to faith, if they’re doubting, so much of that is done through patience, and love, and just being their friend, and continually pointing to Christ in what’s happening in your life, and not smothering them with it.”
Looking ahead, Mead and Kutless understand what God has called them towards, and they said they will not back down.
“We’re really not interested in playing games within the Christian music industry anymore,” Mead concluded. “We know what we’re called to do. And people can come alongside that or reject us again, like 20 years ago. But we’re going to follow the Lord, and we’re going to strive ahead. We know what we’re doing this time.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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