CCM: About when along your timeline did your military career occur? (Before, or after Parliament?)
CS: It was when we were recording as the Parliaments on the I Want To Testify album that I was drafted. After two years of service, I came home to the success of that album. I immediately returned to the band, as the draft did not change the fact I was still in a music contract.

CCM: How does your latest project support Veterans?
CS: The song “A Soldier’s Story” was written, recorded and included in the project, as an effort to get the word out to all soldiers returning home from the service that they are not alone.

CCM: You have publicized your battle with PTSD, something that civilians, generally, have a hard time understanding. In addition to the stories that permeate your music in this new project, how can you help us better understand this disorder? On a real, every day basis, how can we be a better support those around us that also suffer? (Or, how can we as a Church or a country rally behind this cause to support and care for people w/PTSD?)
CS: PTSD is a daily battle. It is so hard to explain to anyone the effects that any war or battle can have on a human being. You can’t even guess at the way it will affect anyone, as each person can be afflicted in so many personal ways. You deal with anger, grief, guilt, sadness and all the memories that come with doing what your service demands of you, because of following orders. Your obedience to those orders can be the difference on who makes it out. Your own thoughts become an enemy and it’s something that you never recover from.

To anyone dealing with PTSD, I can only tell you to hold strong. You can make it through, even on the days it seems you can’t. God is there and He does have the answers. To anyone who has someone in their life with PTSD, I can only suggest to listen. Not only for what is being said, but also for those things that can’t be said. Start to make love more important than the memories. And if there is a bad day, and know there will be bad days, just do what you can to comfort them and make sure they know they are not alone.

CCM: In addition to your military career and the repercussions of some of those experiences, you have endured great loss in your life, namely, your wife to cancer a few years ago… Many people who might be reading this right now, whether military or civilian, are suffering through a prior trauma or are enduring something traumatic in their life right now—what has God taught you about overcoming? Trust? Surrender?
CS: Throughout life we are all thrown curves and trials that are beyond our control. I have held firm to my beliefs and turned to Jesus throughout my life. I hold close to the knowledge that God loves us all and wants us to return to Him. I personally prepare daily by reading His word. I think the Bible is a spiritual guide that holds the answers for anyone seeking His guidance. Being able to share my testimony through my music, of how I personally overcame the hurdles we all face, has been a great gift. I think it is so important for everyone to know that as long as you invite God into your life, you’ll never face anything alone.

CCM: What is God continually teaching you about fear (or, fearing not!), and how to continue to walk into what He has planned for you?
CS: God has told all of us through His writings and messengers that none of us are ever alone. He tells us to have no fear. I try to live by these words. I have dedicated my life to sharing His messages and to be the person I know He wants me to be. There have been times when I have wandered off the path He chose for me, but even then, I never strayed too far. I have always felt His presence in my life. In the end it all comes down to our own decisions. I make my decisions based on God and His word, and I try to do what I know He wants me to do. I decided to do what is right. Everyone has the ability to do that.

Leave a Reply