Casting Crowns – The Next Best Thing

Beyond pure observation and experience, Casting Crowns puts each of their songs through the “so-what” test, a tried and true method that’s more intuitive than scientific, but none-the-less delivers palpable results that have contributed to the continued relevancy of the band and their songs.

“Steven Curtis Chapman shared something with me that Bill Gaither had shared with him years ago,” shares Hall. “He said that every song needs to conclude with the ‘so-what’ test. If people are giving us four minutes of their lives, can we tell them or ask them why? There are many times I’ll hear a song I like, but have no idea what it’s about. I don’t want to just assume that I’ll get three or four times to make an impression on a listener. There has to be an urgency in the way we do things.”

From beginning to end, each track on The Very Next Thing passes said test with flying colors. One such stand out track was derived from a particularly vulnerable moment in Mark Hall’s life that elegantly posits his personal pain in a manner that’s not only accessible, but beautifully transparent and achingly raw.

“‘Oh My Soul’ took shape soon after my doctor told me I had cancer,” shares Hall. “There’s a scripture in Psalms that reads, Why so downcast oh my soul? Put your hope in God. David is such a real guy, just talking to himself, saying, ‘You know the truth. Why are you letting this get to you? You know there’s hope. Stop living off what you feel and go with what you know.’ That song, for me, was sort of bleeding that out.”

Hall’s cancer is currently under control and, though down to one kidney, he is doing well. Nonetheless, the front man is well aware of his ever-present need to be in the company of his Savior and his healer.

“The more time I spend with God daily, the easier it is to know Him and to be in a position to bring things before Him,” he says. “If I haven’t really been praying and then a storm comes, it’s a little messy. Trying to get right with Him while asking for His help at the same time makes me doubt what I hear or if I even deserve to ask for His help in the first place. To me, the more time I’m spending with Him everyday the more I understand why He has me at this point in time in these circumstances.”

CLICK “3” TO ADVANCE