Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed by Michael Sweet, Dave Rose, Doug Van Pelt Read Free Book Online

did.
    I wasn’t sure what tomorrow would hold, but what he said laid heavy on my heart—and, come to find out, it was laying quite heavily on the hearts of the other guys as well.
    The next day, we continued to discuss this experience as a band. Rob, Oz, and Tim were obviously open to it, but again, nobody really knew what we should do and I think we were all a little nervous.
    Picture this. The year is 1983 and we look around and see all these bands getting big record deals. Bands that had at one time opened for us were now of national and international acclaim. They all lived the Hollywood lifestyle. So it was a little—scratch that—it was a LOT intimidating to think about being a band that stood for the complete opposite of everything that was successful and popular at the time.
    We finally had the bass player of our dreams. Were we going to waste away playing on Sundays in Church for the rest of our lives while everyone else got signed and found a career in music? Were we about to make the biggest mistake of our lives and throw all of our hopes and dreams out the window? Wouldn’t it be enough to just be Christians, and not really sing about Jesus? Perhaps for some, that’s the right path, but for us it wasn’t the path we were supposed to take.
    We decided to meet with another guy by the name of Michael Guido, whom Tim used to be in a band with. Tim invited him to come meet with us and he really brought encouragement into our lives and began to ease our fears. Guido, as we call him, had done a complete U-Turn with his life since his days in the band with Tim. Guido was heavily into alcohol and the lifestyle that typically goes along with most bands, even getting in a few bad accidents as a result of his drinking. He was fortunate and blessed to be alive.
    I believe seeing this transformation of Guido first hand really had an effect on Tim, although all of us were affected by the encouragement he offered.
    Very shortly after meeting with Guido, the four of us- Rob, Tim, Oz, and I- got together and unanimously agreed that this was something we wanted to do. We wanted to dedicate this band to God. We were done talking about it and it was time to actually do it.
    That night we sat and we prayed. We individually and collectively recommitted our lives to Christ. It was an emotional night as we prayed and encouraged each other. No matter what happened, we were going to devote ourselves 100%. We agreed that night to hold one another accountable for our actions, and agreed to support one another along what we were sure would be a difficult and unknown path.
    After that night, I took the first step and said to the band, “Guys, if we’re going to do this, one of the first things we need to do is change the lyrics to our songs.” They agreed, but I think with a little uncertainty.
    I worked relentlessly over the next week or so rewriting the lyrics to all of the songs. Some of them didn’t need much rewriting. I was already writing songs about love and relationships, so some just needed small changes, yet others were a little more drastic.
    Thinking back on this time in our lives excites me. Our faith was fresh, sincere and uncluttered. Our fears of what others would think, or whether or not we might succeed, no longer mattered. We were committed and that’s all that counted. The bond within the band was indescribable. We were both happy and sober, something that up until that point we didn’t believe was possible.
    Each night at rehearsal we would read the Bible and pray. When I think back on those times, I miss them. We don’t do enough of that these days. Sure, we still pray, but sometimes it feels stale and rushed. It’s almost as if we’re saying, “Okay guys, hurry up, let’s pray. We’re on in 10 minutes.” And that’s not what prayer should be about. Prayer should be from the heart with an interest in sharing with God, without limitations. Instead, sometimes it feels more like “We’ve got a show to