Or maybe you don’t.
We’ve been doing some of his songs for worship at church, so I just tend to assume that means everyone else is doing his songs too.
But if not, let me introduce you all to Kristian Stanfill, another worship leader to… uh… lead you in worship.
About six months ago, we started doing the song “Jesus Paid It All” by this mysterious guy named Kristian Stanfill during worship at church. It’s a really powerful song, so powerful that it made me think, “Hey, I should get more of this guy’s stuff.”
But then Monday rolled around and I forgot all about him. That is, until I had my “Too Many Free Downloads” crisis with emusic (read about it here and sign up for a similar experience here). It was during that crisis, where I was forced to download a few hundred free MP3s within a few weeks, that I remembered Kristian Stanfill and downloaded his EP Hello.
Kristian Stanfill is a worship leader, and his music falls pretty comfortably into that mold. Worship songs with soaring choruses, intense bridges, and straightforward, singeable lyrics. Guitars, drums, bass, vocals, and lots of programming niceties (curiously, nobody on keys…). His band consists of Alex Nifong (guitars and vocals), Joe Thibodeau (drums and programming), Matt Melton (guitars and vocals), and Tim Gibson (bass). Together, they and Kristian create some solid worship music along the lines of Hillsong, Delirious, and the other U2-influenced worship bands out there.
I wanted to give you a short bio in my own words, but I thought he said it really well on his MySpace, so I’ve plopped a bunch of it below:
i am a worship leader/songwriter. i haven’t always been a worship leader. when i was a kid i didn’t even know what worship was, but i knew that i loved music. i remember the first time that music moved me. i was riding with my dad in the car and we were listening to the eagles. the song was hotel california and i had never heard anything like it. more than that…i was fascinated by how this music made me feel. something deep in me was awakened and i’ve been pursuing the song ever since. after i devoured the eagles record i moved on to billy joel (songs in the attic, the stranger).
then i discovered christian music. i started with steven curtis chapman and dc talk. i was and still am a sucker for a good hook.
pretty soon after that i found my dad’s old guitar and he taught me a few chords. i immediately started writing songs…they were awful songs, but i couldn’t stop writing. there is something so special about songwriting…like you’re tapping into the supernatural or something like that.
about that time i ended up at a summer camp with my youth group and God changed the course of my life forever. i felt this inexplicable call be on stage and lead people to love God through music. i didn’t know what that was all about but i started leading (i use the term “leading” loosely at this point…it was more like surviving) songs in my eighth grade sunday school class. it was mostly a disaster scattered with a few really cool “only-God-could-do-that” moments. those few cool moments was enough for me to realize that there was something deeper coursing beneath the world i could see and feel. it was that realization that sparked a huge desire to continue leading worship songs.
i continued leading through middle and high school at my church in marietta ga until i graduated high school and went to birmingham al to attend samford university. i met kerri at samford…whoa momma! it was there i decided i wanted to be a pop signer instead of a worship leader. i started writing songs about life and love. this was a good stage for me because it taught me how to write songs. that lasted for a few years until i had some wise friends say, “i think that maybe the pop singer thing isn’t for you.”
around that time an opportunity arose for me to start leading at north point community church in alpharetta ga. i was 18. i am now 25 years old. the steps that have led me to today have been unplanned and unpredictable. i wake up everyday and shrug my shoulders and say, “what’s gonna happen today God?” it’s been quite an adventure and im almost positive the future is going to be a lot of the same…cool!
From what I can tell, he definitely has kept himself from falling into the rock-star worship leader trap (read more about it here). I love it when worship leaders act like they’re just regular guys and girls like you and I. Even though we really know they’re Hindu gods to be worshiped by sacrificing small mammals. Seriously, he seems like a regular guy. On his blog, someone asked him how he became a world-traveling worship leader and his answer was “I have no idea.” I love the down-to-earth honesty.
Kristian Stanfill is great at leading worship. He seems really passionate about God, like he’s really worshiping and not just singing songs. Listening to him inspires me to worship God just as passionately. Read another blogger’s thoughts on that here. Kristian’s songs may not be breaking any creative/artistic molds, but you can’t beat annointed worship that draws you closer to God.
Have fun with these two songs:
Jesus Paid It All – Download – Stream
From the Inside Out (Hillsongs) – Download – Stream
MySpace: www.myspace.com/kristianstanfill
Website: www.kristianstanfill.com
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8 comments
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June 18, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Tyler
love love love his stuff. good choice.
June 18, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Lindsay
hey,
i don’t remember how i found your blog but i’ve been reading for a while and resonate with your choices (kristian stanfill=cool guy, alex nifong has a solo album too which I actually like).
I have an extremely modest music blog (see website) but was sort of wondering if you would have a guest blog? I’m sort of interviewing Alli Rogers via email and feel like it’s a shame to waste such good stuff on the non-audience of my friends and family!
Anyway, love the music, you’ve made me pretty much trust your taste and I think that’s the best compliment you can get as a music writer?
June 19, 2008 at 8:28 am
Carl Martens
I didn’t see any way to contact you via the site…
June 19, 2008 at 10:38 am
jakestimp
Not sure if the above comment was spam or not, but for anybody wanting to contact me, I make it difficult on purpose. My email address for the blog is theblahblah8007@yahoo.com. But you better not spam me.
June 19, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Tyler
add a contact box. its on wordpress support for how to do it. soo soo easy.
June 20, 2008 at 8:52 pm
jakestimp
Dang, Tyler, you’ve got a real nice contact form on your blog. I’ll have to add that in some day…
February 18, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Erin
I grew up with Kristian. So many of our friends have entered the ministry. We were blessed with an amazing church that really set us on fire! He has an amazing gift that effortlessly flows through his music. I would look forward to visits home to see the guy I grew up with leading worship. Amazing amazing to see how far God has brought him already! Keep watching Kristian, he’s just getting revved up!
April 15, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Andrew
I had the God-given chance to do an interview with Kristian for NewReleaseTuesday.com, and that just talking with him and hearing his heart inspired me so much. You hear alot of people say that different artists are raw, open, and honest in their music about their faith (and they might be), but I think that Kristian surpasses that. His heart and passion for Jesus, and the spreading of the gospel are just amazing! Yeah, we hear, see, or read about different artists talking about God, but sometimes it just seems empty and dry. With Kristian you can hear what he says just overflowing with passion for God. Great guy, and absolutely God blessed music!