{"id":847,"date":"2011-11-17T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2011-11-17T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/wholenotes\/?p=847"},"modified":"2011-11-22T04:37:28","modified_gmt":"2011-11-22T09:37:28","slug":"a-conversation-with-award-winning-recording-artist-jeremy-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/2011\/11\/a-conversation-with-award-winning-recording-artist-jeremy-camp.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with award-winning recording artist Jeremy Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Major recording artists are often targeted by fans with equal amounts of adoration and envy. We love what they do and wish we could do it too. Their lives are perfect, after all.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Camp might disagree with that last statement. The Dove Award winning singer\/songwriter has experienced the pain of losing his first wife to cancer and the grief of losing an unborn child (with second wife Adie) to a miscarriage. But through all the struggles, Camp has found a reservoir of perfect grace to sustain him during those imperfect times.<\/p>\n

Camp details his life, including those devastating events, in a new book called I Still Believe<\/em>. Whole Notes had a chance to catch up with Camp to talked about the book plus other topics such as family, social media and connecting with God:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: In your book, you talk about how a couple of years ago you were beginning to question whether or not the story of your first wife\u2019s death and how God brought you through that was effective anymore. Now, here you are writing about it in even greater detail than what you could ever share from the stage. What revelation led you to take that step and how has writing about it invigorated your ministry?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jeremy Camp: I was praying one day and God literally gave me a song called \u201cHealing Hand of God.\u201d I don\u2019t ever want this just to be a story. Like, \u201cOh here\u2019s a good story that tells about a triumph over tragedy.\u201d That\u2019s never what I wanted. I want this to be something that\u2019s impactful and it\u2019s real when I tell it. And while I was praying, God literally flooded my mind with these stories from people who have told me, \u201cThank you for sharing that,\u201d or \u201cThat\u2019s just what I went through,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m thankful for your faithfulness to God.\u201d It was memory after memory. You hear a lot of things throughout the years and you forget a lot of things. But when God was flooding my memory with all these stories, I knew He was saying, \u201cThis is still impactful.\u201d It freshened everything up for me. (That story is) not my whole life and you\u2019ll read the book and see stuff that God has done now and things that God has done throughout my life, but this is a part of my life. It\u2019s not my whole life and it\u2019s not all that I share, but it is a part of what God has done through my story. When I realized that, it gave me a confidence and a refreshing and a new take on everything.<\/p>\n

Bonham: When I last talked to you in about five years ago, you told me how great your wife Adie had been to encourage you to continue talking about Melissa and how strange you thought that was at the time. Since then, the two of you have lost a child due to a miscarriage and in the book, Adie writes how the experience helped her better understand the loss you had felt years earlier. How did that bond the two of you even closer together?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Camp: There something called sympathy and there\u2019s another thing called empathy. Before, she sympathized with what I went through because she loved me and she thought, \u201cWow, I couldn\u2019t imagine going through that.\u201d Even though (her miscarriage) wasn\u2019t the same, she did grieve and I grieved too. We were in our second trimester. We were getting all prepared and getting things all ready because we were past the safe zone. It was that feeling of loss and that feeling of losing something you love. And she told me, \u201cI can empathize with you more and really understand what you felt.\u201d It drew us closer. When I was writing the book, she was in there sharing with Phil (Newman), who helped me put this on paper in a better way. For hours and hours we did interviews and talked and she\u2019d be in there with me and I\u2019d sit there and cry and she would sit there and be with me and she would cry with me. It definitely drew us closer and even writing this book drew us closer too.<\/p>\n

Bonham: I\u2019ve read that \u201cI Still Believe\u201d was the first song you wrote after Melissa passed.<\/p>\n

Camp: It was maybe two weeks after Melissa went to be with the Lord and I remember literally sitting down at my parents\u2019 house and I was just down. I was bumming out, sitting on the couch and just hurting. I remember God saying to me, \u201cJust pick up your guitar.\u201d I remember hearing that specifically. And I was like, \u201cWhat are you talking about? I don\u2019t want to pick up my guitar right now.\u201d After arguing for a little bit, I finally got my guitar out and I just started writing and what came out was that whole song. It starts off just saying, \u201cScattered words, empty thoughts, seem to pour from my heart\/I\u2019ve never felt so torn before, it seems I don\u2019t know where to start.\u201d But, and then there\u2019s this resolve, \u201cI feel your grace like rain from every fingertip washing away all my pain\/I still believe in Your faithfulness\/I still believe in Your truth.\u201d It just came out. It was like, \u201cOkay, Lord, I don\u2019t understand, but alright, I\u2019m going to trust You. I still trust Your Word. When I can see and I can\u2019t understand, I\u2019ll still trust You.\u201d And that\u2019s what my resolve was. That song was such a big part of the healing process for me. Even singing it live now, it kind of takes me back to that place more and more in a good way. So I\u2019ll share my testimony through that song. It\u2019s special and I usually do it acoustic now, so it\u2019s very intimate and personal. In the end we kick it in, but it\u2019s always a special moment.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What are the challenges you face as a family man that has to spend so much time on the road?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeremy and Adie Camp's children Bella, Egan and Arie (Photo courtesy of Jeremy and Adie Camp)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Camp: The difficulty is when I have to leave them, but they come with me sometimes and we home school so the kids can come whenever they want. It’s so cool just to share (my career) with my girls. They pray for me every time I leave and they say, \u201cDad, go tell people about Jesus.\u201d I come back home and they ask, \u201cDid people hear about Jesus?\u201d And I say, \u201cThey did.\u201d And I\u2019ll share that with my kids. It\u2019s huge because they know I\u2019m going out and serving the Lord. I\u2019m going out and dedicating my life to Him. Of course, they know that they are my priority but Jesus is also my priority. Even yesterday, I was talking to one of my daughters and I said, \u201cI love you so <\/em>much.\u201d And she said, \u201cEven more than Jesus.\u201d And I was like, \u201cNo.\u201d But she said, \u201cThat\u2019s okay. I know you\u2019re supposed to love Jesus more.\u201d For them to understand that, it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Recent research shows that an estimated 90 percent of pregnant women whose unborn child is likely to have Down syndrome go on to end the pregnancy. As the older brother of a sibling with Down syndrome, how sobering is that statistic, and can you imagine life without him?<\/p>\n

Camp: Oh my goodness. I couldn\u2019t imagine what it would be like without my brother Josh. So when I hear something like that, it is (sobering). I knew it was a high rate, but that’s the majority of people saying, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t want to do it.\u201d And that just blows my mind that people would do that. It\u2019s so sad. Some people think Down syndrome makes it less of a child. No it\u2019s not. God made them perfectly and beautifully. My brother is fearfully and wonderfully made.<\/p>\n

Bonham: You talk in your book about the downfalls of social media. How do you balance the positives of such a powerful tool with the negatives and still have that connection with people?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Camp: For me, even with my Twitter and Facebook, I\u2019m not on it all the time. I don\u2019t Twitter every day. I just think we should be more thoughtful with what we share. I don\u2019t care that you\u2019re turning a light on right now. That\u2019s great and all, but there\u2019s got to be a balance there. (Social media) is great because you can get information out there quick or you can use it as a ministry tool, but when you\u2019re on it all the time and you\u2019re not spending time with people and you\u2019re not sitting there looking at someone in the eyes and asking, \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d that\u2019s when it\u2019s out of balance. You might think you\u2019re connecting with your friends on Facebook but when was the last time you went out with your friends and asked them how they were doing? When was the last time you called them and prayed with them and really had a conversation? Go ahead and do those things (with social media). I get it. I really do. But if you\u2019re lacking the other things, that\u2019s when it\u2019s out of balance and you\u2019re not really connected.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Do the potential downfalls that come with relationships via social media serve as an analogy for our relationship with God?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jeremy Camp during a live performance (Photo courtesy of Beckham Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Camp: Oh absolutely. You might get up in the morning and do your devotions and say a few prayers and there you go. You think you\u2019ve done your connecting for the day. But you don\u2019t know how to wait before the Lord and really stop and hear from the Lord or dig deeper and walk throughout the day with the Lord. It\u2019s like sending a quick Tweet or checking your Facebook page real quick. \u201cHey Lord, what\u2019s going on?\u201d But you\u2019re missing the intimacy of, \u201cBe still and know that I am God.\u201d When you\u2019re reading the Word of God, you need to let it soak in and let God speak to your heart and let the Holy Spirit work. So just like social media, you can think you\u2019re connected to the Lord, but you\u2019re really not.<\/p>\n

Bonham: With so many people seeking to fill a void in their hearts with things like social media or even through pop culture idol worship, how can you speak into their lives and let them know that what they\u2019re really looking for a deeper relationship with God?<\/p>\n

Camp: That\u2019s exactly what you do. You\u2019ve got to keep pointing them towards Jesus. As long as I\u2019m personally being sensitive to the Lord and I\u2019m spending time with Him, the Holy Spirit does the work. If I\u2019m on stage and ministering my heart and pointing people to Christ, then that\u2019s all I can do. My heart goes out but you can\u2019t force somebody (to understand). That\u2019s when you pray and say, \u201cHoly Spirit, do a work in these people\u2019s hearts and make sure they\u2019re not looking to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stay up on the latest from Jeremy Camp including touring news by visiting his official website HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click “Like” to share this with your friends! Major recording artists are often targeted by fans with equal amounts of adoration and envy. We love what they do and wish we could do it too. Their lives are perfect, after all. Jeremy Camp might disagree with that last statement. 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Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith & Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":871,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions\/871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wholenotes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}