Caleb Rowden

Last time you heard Caleb Rowden, he was the new worship/pop artist balancing a Slanted Records roster alongside others like After Edmund and Decemberadio. 2005 saw the debut of Free From Ordinary which garnered minor success, the most notable of which was the A.C. hit “Made.” Then, just as quick as he came, Rowden disappeared.

Now, of course, he’s back (or else we wouldn’t be talking about him). Over the last few years, Rowden’s become a worship pastor in Columbia, Missouri – taking the time to regain his passion and figure out which direction is the best for him to take. In the process, Rowden has discovered there are still songs to be sung and artistic releases to pursue. Hence his upcoming 2009 release, Until Everyone Is Free.

We recently sat down with Caleb to discuss the transition, how he plans on balancing his church position and recording career and what he can do this time around to avoid the burnout.

Soul-Audio: How does that work balancing the recording artist side and the local church pastor side of things?

Caleb Rowden: [Laughs] Well, that’s the question. Obviously I was traveling before this position and we knew when I took it that there would be some challenges. So far it hasn’t been that bad. My senior pastor is great and very open about me being gone just whenever I need to. We’ve just had to do a better job of routing things and wrapping up mini-tours by Saturday to be ready for Sunday. We’ve had to be more creative in our booking and think through those things a bit more than we had to before. This new record and what we have planned for it could bring up some new challenges, but I think we’ll be able to do it somehow and some way with God’s help and everybody’s patience.

SA: You said, ‘Everything we have planned for it.’ What does that entail?

Caleb: When we finished up the last record, I took some time away from the road. I did a few shows here and there, but I really devoted most of my time and attention to the church. We sat down right before we made this record and said, ‘We’re either going to do this and do it right or maybe we shouldn’t do it.’ I had really come to a point where if it was God’s will for me to come off the road, then I was okay with that. He had provided me with a home and a home church and a nice position – a dream job really. So I thought if it was the moment where he was closing that door, then I was okay with it. Of course, I had more songs in the can and had more to say, so there was that side, too. We sat down and came to this point that we didn’t think we were done and that God wasn’t done with it.

So the plans are for us to be a lot more intentional to get out on the road and into markets playing the songs on the radio. We have some great ideas with the economy being what it is… not every church or organization is prepared or at a point where they can bring a band in, so we have some ideas that we’re working on to try to not only allow us to pay the bills and support our wives, but for the organization as well. So we’re thinking more intentionally maybe than we did on the last record. We were on a label the last time and they just told us what to do and we did it. It felt like a free for all. So this time, we have a bit more control and we’re trying to do our best to take advantage of that.

SA: The former deal with Slanted – was that a one shot deal?

Caleb: We came to a point where we actually asked to get out of the deal and they were going through some restructuring, basically firing all of the staff that was there for my record minus one gal. I thought they were closing to be honest and thought they were shutting things down and wanted to get out while we could. They are still around and still have a couple bands like Decemberadio, but we felt it wasn’t in our best interest to hang around and be a part of it. But they were gracious with us and allowed us to get out with no strings attached. And we like the guys that are there and running the show now. It was as good of a break as those type of circumstances allow.

SA: You talk in your bio about losing the passion and then taking time out in the local church. So I’m wondering if you remember the moment when you wanted to get back out there?

Caleb: You know, I don’t know if there was a moment, but there was definitely a time – about a month’s worth of Sundays last summer – where I remember being on stage leading worship and seeing what leading people in worship could do. You could see the barriers and walls that can come down in worship. And the great thing about being in a church is that you get to stick around and see some of the benefits and rewards of your hard work. When you go out on the road, you’re in and out and you don’t necessarily know the fruit that comes from it unless someone calls or tells you.

So I remember feeling that in my spirit and sensing what worship can do. Everybody can make a joyful noise and I think when people come together with one heart and one purpose to worship God, it’s a powerful, powerful thing. So I remember thinking that I wanted to keep doing it. It really wasn’t what I wanted to do but what I felt God was pushing us to do. As I said, I had gotten to the point where I was okay either way. What confirmed all of that is that we had some meetings and God began to open specific doors for this record. That was the other piece of the puzzle, because we wanted to make sure we had distribution nationwide. You have to have some of those things to function and all of those pieces in that period of time fell into place really easily. That’s when we realized God had another record in this for us.

SA: What did that time in the local church do for this album?

Caleb: Well, this record is much more vulnerable. Like I said before, when you hang around long enough in the local church, you are exposed to people’s problems and the struggles that people are going through. I’m a part of a young married life group in my church and you’re able to throw your vulnerable sides on the table because you’re in this with people of similar interest and background and station of life. You can be a little more open in that. So being exposed to that on an ongoing basis and being able to see the back end of it – how God brings people through and brings them out of certain situations – was the biggest difference.

I hope people can see that when they hear the record that it’s more transparent. This whole process of making this record was something that I wanted to make sure that it could touch people and be accessible to them. I wanted to be accessible as well. In this day and age, there’s always going to be rock stars and always going to be Christian musicians that are really, really big and prestigious. But I hope I can somehow tailor this thing that people understand that I’m going through the same challenges and economy and that I have the same questions, but ultimately, I’ve put my faith and my hope in God and these songs are that struggle. Some of them are really, really up and some of them are mid-level or down in the demeanor. So that’s the difference and I hope people can see that for what it is and draw some strength and hope out of it.

SA: I’m wondering if you learn some things from this time around on how to protect yourself from losing that passion?

Caleb: For sure. The first year I was married was the year the record came out. I was out on the road about 270 days of that first year. That was really part of the struggle for me. I just got married to my soulmate and I never got to see her. She was in school and busy and sometimes she needed me to find some strength in and fall back on and nine times out of ten, I wasn’t there. That was part of the initial struggle that made me think that I needed to be home more.

And I’ve had to do it on the church side of things, too. Being on staff full-time at a growing church demands a lot of time and energy in itself, so the biggest thing that I’ve learned and still learning is to find boundaries in all areas of life – with family and making sure that you know your priorities. Then your actions need to back up those priorities. So we’re working on that as it relates to going forward with touring and with my own life as a personal decision I have to make. You see it a lot in churches, no doubt about it, but you also see it with artists, too. They get burned out on the whole thing.

That’s what happened, I think, with Peter [Furler] from the Newsboys. He’s done so much and he could hang it up anytime he wants. But I think he wanted some of the benefits of the band without having to be out on the road. So I’m just trying to be the best husband I can and still be the best worship leader I can be as well. I just want to invest in the right places.

• www.calebrowden.com
• www.myspace.com/calebrowden

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