The stories of deconstruction that make the headlines are those where someone has turned away from the faith. But there are numerous faithful Christian artists who have remained true to God and his teaching.
“The vast majority of fellow colleagues that we know in other bands are some of our greatest friends…with beautiful hearts,” Frankenstein said.
Tait offered some advice to aspiring Christian musicians. “Start with the foundation,” he said. “Know your gift will make room for you.” He went on to discuss the importance of God’s Word, saying, “If I don’t have that in me, whether I’m a doctor, a pilot, or a musician, it’s just going to be shaky foundation.”
Keeping Grounded and Admitting Doubt, Whether Deconstructing or Not
“It’s so easy to believe the hype,” McDowell offered from his own experience. He grew up with people knowing his dad’s ministry and asking for autographs. McDowell asked Frankenstein, “How do you keep grounded when you’ve got millions of people watching you?”
For the Newsboys, they all live in one bus while on tour. There’s “no hierarchy.” Frankenstein attempts to keep advised, “Don’t take yourself too seriously.” Tait shared that he regularly meets with and prays with a pastor. He feels comfortable and safe to share his questions, doubts, and struggles with this man who has walked alongside him for years.
Strong Foundations: Tait and Frankenstein Each Have Followed Christ for Decades
Tait is the youngest of nine kids. He grew up in a Christian home in the Washington, D.C., area, and his father was a pastor. The family focused on the important parts of life. Even if the kids stayed out late at night, their parents told them, “Your brown butt is going to be up Sunday morning, and you’re going to be in the pew,” Tait recalled.
“It made me see my dad’s faith walk instead of his faith talk,” Tait said. “It’s amazing.”
Tait became a follower of Christ while a senior in high school and went on to Liberty University.
Frankenstein’s dad was a steelworker in Detroit. His parents “were not really Christians.” But after an accident on the job, his dad was called into ministry and went to seminary.
Their church was “very Pentecostal,” described Frankenstein, and that denomination was a stark difference from the mainstream Catholic tradition of the Detroit area. He recalled how “uncomfortable” he was as a teenager “because you don’t really understand what’s going on.”
“But, they were good-hearted people, my parents,” he said. Frankenstein described himself as an “ultra-conservative” Christian in high school. He then went to a secular university in Detroit and saw “the real world without anybody telling me what it should be.”
“That’s when I realized that Christianity made a lot of sense for me,” he said. At 19 years old, Frankenstein received the invitation to play the keyboard for the Newsboys. So he “dropped out of college and hit the road.”
