Browse Artists
McRoberts, Justin
I began a relationship with Jesus Christ when I was 18 years old. Dave Bekowies, a Young Life leader in Concord CA, introduced me to Jesus through the patient, enduring love he showed me over the course of a six year relationship leading up to my conversion.
Dave came into my 13 year old world and walked with me. He came to my junior high campus to visit my friends and I; he came to drama performances and football games to support me; and as he won more and more of my trust, he and I made time to get breakfast and talk. He was a consistent friend even though I was not always responsive to his kindness. I often blew him off or flaked on him. I didn't quite understand why he, a 30 year old guy with friends his own age, wanted to be my friend. But Dave wanted to show me how God loved me and he did that by being consistent and unconditional in his friendship.
That's what Young Life is about; leaders developing loving relationships with teens on their turf, and in the context of those friendships, showing them who Jesus is. It was ultimately Dave's unrelenting, compassionate commitment to my life that showed me who Jesus was. Whatever it was that made him such a great friend, I wanted that for my life. Whatever it was that gave him the ability to stick with me, despite my selfishness, for six full years, I wanted that. All along Dave had told me that the inspiration in his life was the unconditional love of Jesus Christ and because I had seen him live it out, I believed him.
Dave's testimony has been central to my understanding of the Gospel. God loves us no matter what and that love is manifest in action. Christ came into the world as a human being and walked with us in the messiness of our lives. Our lives, then, if we are to emulate Christ, should reflect the uncompromising love of a Gracious God who does not give up on anyone for any reason.
I continued to walk with Dave through the first few years of my relationship with Jesus. I worked under his discipleship as a Young Life leader for five years. My years on staff still stand out as some of the most vital years of my life. I learned and experienced so much of what now defines me as a man.
Through Young Life, I also met my wife, Amy. She was on staff in Tacoma Washington. We were married August 1 1999. There is no gift so sweet as the relationship between a husband and a wife; there is no work so difficult as learning to serve someone with your whole life.
Songwriting has played an increasingly important role through each phase and event of my life, working as a journal for me. I have found it helpful to clarify the messiness of life and relationships in song. I never intended to "do anything" with my music professionally, but God is seldom interested in my own plans.
In 1998, friend and label owner Frank Tate of 5 Minute Walk Records asked me to pray about pursuing music full time. As I prayed and as I took steps in that direction, God was faithful to confirm my sense that He was calling Frank and I to work together.
My first album, "Reason for Living," is a kind of journal of my years on Young Life staff. The songs are mainly about ministry experience and relationships. Written over the course of several years, the album reflects a lot of my learning process related to ministry with teens.
Nearing the end of my years with Young Life, I lost my dad to depression and, ultimately, suicide. Songwriting continued to be a kind of journaling process and a major source of healing for me. My second album, entitled "Father," deals not only the actual event of his suicide and my pain, but also with the issues surrounding his decision and how those issues play into my life today. Issues such as the tension between success and the Gospel, materialism and Christ-likeness.
In the spring of 2001, I recorded a third project which is a collection of 9 devotional songs. It is a raw, stripped down Worship EP recorded in roughly twelve hours over a weekend. The songs are worship songs insofar as they are songs written in devotion. Worship does not have to show up in a nice package. The recent popularity of "worship" music has, I believe, caused a confusion of sorts. A band does not have to rock or be excellent to lead worship. Performance is an added bonus, but should not be a distraction from the intention if a church service. Worship is intimacy with God. And music can be used to facilitate that experience. But if the emphasis is on how the music sounds, all we get is distracted, or, at best, emotional.
Most recently, I have put together an independent album, spring 2002, entitled Trust. Many of the songs are flashes back to my past, before I met Jesus Christ. I have portrayed the mind-set of the unchurched and disinterested teen I was in my high school. My hope is to inspire believers to have compassion on those who are without the Love of God in their lives. I believe the first step in doing so is understanding their doubts, fears, questions and stories. The second step is to befriend our co-workers, neighbors, and the people God places in our lives, and live Jesus to them - modeling consistency, love and faithfulness - as my young life leader, Dave, modeled to me.
Again, my songwriting is a journal and is, therefore a window to my relationship with God. My hope is that by telling my story, even as it happens, my community would be challenged as I am challenged, encouraged as I am encouraged and broken as I am broken.
Visit Official Website.
Dave came into my 13 year old world and walked with me. He came to my junior high campus to visit my friends and I; he came to drama performances and football games to support me; and as he won more and more of my trust, he and I made time to get breakfast and talk. He was a consistent friend even though I was not always responsive to his kindness. I often blew him off or flaked on him. I didn't quite understand why he, a 30 year old guy with friends his own age, wanted to be my friend. But Dave wanted to show me how God loved me and he did that by being consistent and unconditional in his friendship.
That's what Young Life is about; leaders developing loving relationships with teens on their turf, and in the context of those friendships, showing them who Jesus is. It was ultimately Dave's unrelenting, compassionate commitment to my life that showed me who Jesus was. Whatever it was that made him such a great friend, I wanted that for my life. Whatever it was that gave him the ability to stick with me, despite my selfishness, for six full years, I wanted that. All along Dave had told me that the inspiration in his life was the unconditional love of Jesus Christ and because I had seen him live it out, I believed him.
Dave's testimony has been central to my understanding of the Gospel. God loves us no matter what and that love is manifest in action. Christ came into the world as a human being and walked with us in the messiness of our lives. Our lives, then, if we are to emulate Christ, should reflect the uncompromising love of a Gracious God who does not give up on anyone for any reason.
I continued to walk with Dave through the first few years of my relationship with Jesus. I worked under his discipleship as a Young Life leader for five years. My years on staff still stand out as some of the most vital years of my life. I learned and experienced so much of what now defines me as a man.
Through Young Life, I also met my wife, Amy. She was on staff in Tacoma Washington. We were married August 1 1999. There is no gift so sweet as the relationship between a husband and a wife; there is no work so difficult as learning to serve someone with your whole life.
Songwriting has played an increasingly important role through each phase and event of my life, working as a journal for me. I have found it helpful to clarify the messiness of life and relationships in song. I never intended to "do anything" with my music professionally, but God is seldom interested in my own plans.
In 1998, friend and label owner Frank Tate of 5 Minute Walk Records asked me to pray about pursuing music full time. As I prayed and as I took steps in that direction, God was faithful to confirm my sense that He was calling Frank and I to work together.
My first album, "Reason for Living," is a kind of journal of my years on Young Life staff. The songs are mainly about ministry experience and relationships. Written over the course of several years, the album reflects a lot of my learning process related to ministry with teens.
Nearing the end of my years with Young Life, I lost my dad to depression and, ultimately, suicide. Songwriting continued to be a kind of journaling process and a major source of healing for me. My second album, entitled "Father," deals not only the actual event of his suicide and my pain, but also with the issues surrounding his decision and how those issues play into my life today. Issues such as the tension between success and the Gospel, materialism and Christ-likeness.
In the spring of 2001, I recorded a third project which is a collection of 9 devotional songs. It is a raw, stripped down Worship EP recorded in roughly twelve hours over a weekend. The songs are worship songs insofar as they are songs written in devotion. Worship does not have to show up in a nice package. The recent popularity of "worship" music has, I believe, caused a confusion of sorts. A band does not have to rock or be excellent to lead worship. Performance is an added bonus, but should not be a distraction from the intention if a church service. Worship is intimacy with God. And music can be used to facilitate that experience. But if the emphasis is on how the music sounds, all we get is distracted, or, at best, emotional.
Most recently, I have put together an independent album, spring 2002, entitled Trust. Many of the songs are flashes back to my past, before I met Jesus Christ. I have portrayed the mind-set of the unchurched and disinterested teen I was in my high school. My hope is to inspire believers to have compassion on those who are without the Love of God in their lives. I believe the first step in doing so is understanding their doubts, fears, questions and stories. The second step is to befriend our co-workers, neighbors, and the people God places in our lives, and live Jesus to them - modeling consistency, love and faithfulness - as my young life leader, Dave, modeled to me.
Again, my songwriting is a journal and is, therefore a window to my relationship with God. My hope is that by telling my story, even as it happens, my community would be challenged as I am challenged, encouraged as I am encouraged and broken as I am broken.
Visit Official Website.
Albums
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Reason for Living
Untitled EP
Father
Trust
Intersections
Grace Must Wound