I preached at our church Sunday morning—it was my first Sunday on the platform after being away for a month. “We could totally tell you were fresh and ready to get back,” somebody said to me that morning. And they were right.

Soon after I started here, our elders instituted this annual break. “If you’re going to be in this ministry for the long haul, you can’t do 50 weeks a year, even 40,” they told me. “You need time to be alone, to rest, to be with your family.”

I’m so thankful for their wisdom.

On this episode we sit down with Christon Gray. He is an amazing man who loves using his gifts in the music world to bring hope to the church and the world around him. His influence has reached into Hollywood, the NBA, the NFL, and the mainstream music market. He is signed with RCA Records and has new music set to drop this fall.

Everybody’s afraid of something, and that’s not always bad. Fear of falling keeps us away from the edge of a cliff. Fear of wrecking (or getting a fine) stops us from ignoring a red light.

But when fear drives how you lead, your ability to lead will suffer. Here’s what I mean.

If you love Nashville like I love Nashville, I’m guessing I know one thing about Nashville you love most. It’s the music.

Wander down any one of several streets, stop in at any one of several dozen honky-tonks, and you’ll find some of the best music you’ve ever heard. And it’s almost always played by someone you’ve never heard of.

Hundreds of musicians with songs in their souls and dreams in their hearts go to Nashville looking for fame. Most of them don’t find it. (<One writer estimated> there are 300 out-of-work musicians and 3,000 out-of-work singers in Nashville on any given day.)