by David C. Nitz
OUR YOUNG MEN quietly wait in the wings while several thousand teenag- ers from a host of church youth groups are on their feet anxiously awaiting
the opportunity to express both praise to God and their appreciation for the band about to take the stage. The moment is filled with adrenaline, and is anything but mundane—an interesting contrast to the lonely hours that have led up to this moment. The announcement is made and the energetic young men step into the lights. With passion and well-rehearsed precision, the music begins and the audi- torium erupts as Julian Drive begins doing
in Athens, Georgia. Two of the guys are Church of God members. During the infant days of the band they started accepting invitations and traveling a bit. However, the watershed moment came when they entered the national “Exalting Him” music contest, competing against 2,000 contestants from all over the country, and won first place. Awarded a recording contract and faced with a deci- sion of what to do next, the band decided to take to the road and see what God might have for them.
Like any close-knit family, there have been some challenges and a few bumps along the way (after all, they spend most minutes of almost every day together).
With communication limited, the band was faced with not only trying to help where they could but also the daunt- ing task of trying to find a way back home. The U.S. Embassy informed them it would be at least 10 days before they could even begin thinking about getting out. Family members of the band were deeply concerned as they watched the heartbreaking news unfold. Questions of safety, provisions, and rescue occupied prayerful minds. Messages were received that the guys were safe, had some food and water (though supplies ran danger- ously low), and had enough fuel for gen- erators to watch some news reports and communicate intermittently. Any mes-
A BAND ON THE RUN
what they do more than 200 days a year. They play music, very good music, which honors God and inspires their listeners. For Shane Bowers, Shaun Bennett, Josh Seagraves, and James Nitz (my middle son of whom I am unashamedly proud), life on the road lacks the glamour and glitz that people might associate with a Chris- tian band. They work very hard. This is not show business, and this is more than just a job. For these men this is a calling and a ministry. So they hone their skills (requiring hours of rehearsal), leave their families, spend countless hours driving from place to place, sleep night after night in strange surroundings, unpack and set up equipment only to take it back down and pack it back up so they can do it all over again in just a few hours. For nearly four years these men have been travel- ing full-time in order to fulfill what they believe God has called them to do. The band was birthed out of a youth group in a Church of God congregation
22 EVANGEL • JUNE 2010
But Julian Drive seems to have found their stride and is busy writing songs and making music from coast to coast . . . and from time to time on foreign soil. On Monday, January 11, 2010, the band left Atlanta, Georgia, with two repre- sentatives from the mission organization Holt International to spend five days in Haiti. The plan was to visit several orphan- ages and do acoustic concerts in and around Port-au-Prince. The next day, their plans were violently interrupted as they were returning to their compound to clean up and prepare for a concert. When they stepped out of their vehicle, time seemed to stand still. The earth beneath them shook furiously as an epic earthquake hit Haiti. My son later told me he looked down fully expecting to see the ground beneath him gone. When the initial shak- ing stopped, no one in the group was hurt. However, the destruction and death around them and the continued after- shocks put the band in a dire situation.
sages from the band also included prayer requests and pleas to help them find a way to get home. Although the guys dem- onstrated their usual humor and upbeat attitude, they were helpless. People across the country started praying and began making calls to anyone who had a lead on how to get Julian Drive out of Haiti. On Thursday night, January 14, I received a message that the band was going to make a midnight run for the airport in Port-au-Prince. It was risky, but something they felt they must do in order to make a possible connection. News reports had repeatedly said flights in and out of Haiti were all but stopped because of the cluttered tarmac, and absolutely no commercial flights were flying. If the guys got to the airport and were turned away, they risked being stuck there without shel- ter, food, or water. It was a long, prayerful night, but God had a plan.
A Haitian man, totally unknown to Julian Drive, had suffered a stroke one
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33