By Leann Callaway
Correspondent, The Alabama Baptist
As they share about their personal struggles during concerts, members of Christian rock band RED hope to connect students to Christ by breaking down barriers and providing a safe zone to establish authenticity and reliability.
“If you think of the color red, it’s the power color and it’s symbolic of strong emotions,” guitarist Anthony Armstrong said. “It’s the embodiment of who we are as a group, as well as our music. The different themes that we discuss in our songs lend [themselves] to those emotions that we all feel and go through. The name is short, bold and it means so much to us.”
While performing in venues across the country, the band focuses on sharing the gospel message with hard-to-reach youth.
“First John 3 talks about how your true identity can only be revealed when Christ is revealed in you,” Armstrong said. “We’ve noticed there are a lot of kids struggling to find who they are and what they are here for. By discovering their identity in Christ, we want to help them realize what impact they can have on the world rather than how the world currently has an impact on them.”
More than music
More than having a passion for music, the group has a calling to touch lives.
“All of the guys in the band have been through the ringer in a lot of different ways, and we’ve noticed that the world has crept its way into a lot of people’s lives and has defined them,” Armstrong said. “We’ve constantly seen people hurt by the fact that they don’t know who they are, what they are here for and what their purpose is. They soak up and gravitate toward this worldly view of what they should look like and be like. We want them to realize their full potential and not listen to the lies being thrown at them by the enemy.”
Difficult but important
“It’s a scary place to be when you are roaming the halls of your high school and the streets of your town and being this empty, broken person. It is a difficult thing, but to find yourself in all of that craziness is what’s most important.”
With the widespread appeal of their songs, the group has sold more than a million albums, received two Grammy Award nominations and garnered multiple Dove Awards from the Gospel Music Association.
Over the past decade, the group has heard countless testimonies about lives being changed for God’s glory as a result of their authenticity and approachability.
“I think kids who listen to our music are the ones who gravitate toward the heavier side of rock and roll,” Armstrong noted. “They are searching for something that is meaningful and inspiring, and I think our band helps them fill that void of what they are searching for and gives them the music they enjoy but without the negative lyrics. It’s mind boggling some of the stories we receive and how these kids talk about our music being life changing and life saving.
“We’ve had kids come up to us after shows with tears in their eyes as they tell us how our music has rescued them from a pit of despair and darkness. We realize the importance of making this music and how it’s making a difference to save these kids for eternity.”
Share with others: