What’s one way you illuminate Christ in your life?
I illuminate Christ in the way I treat the people I know and love. As Christians, the way we interact with people we’re in relationships with gives us a good picture of where we are spiritually. If I’m treating the guys in my band with kindness and I’m treating my wife with kindness, then that’s when I’m most aglow with the light of Christ. It’s those other moments when we’re not kind that we see dark depravity sticking its head out.

What’s one thing God has been teaching you recently?
On this tour with Passion, we’ve discussed how to explain the glory of God, because that’s a message Passion has been carrying a long time. We’re trying to connect students with the glory of God. For me, it’s the face of Christ. When we see the face of Christ, we understand the glory of God.

How do we see the face of Christ?
We see His face when we read what Christ taught and how He treated those around Him. Sometimes when I flip the relationship around, I see the face of God in my pals who are treating me in a very loving, Christlike way. That’s a tangible example of the glory of God.

We can be the glory of God by being the hands and feet of Christ. I see Christ’s face in my interaction with my friends. We ask, “How can we live for the glory of God? What does that mean?” It means to shine like the face of Christ. Seeing His face in the small everyday things you wouldn’t usually think about are very tangible action points.

Who taught you to play the guitar?
One of my fellow band mates. I didn’t pick up the guitar until I was a junior in college. I didn’t have a deep interest in guitar until I met Jack Parker, the electric guitar player in our band.

I walked into a youth room at a local church that we were helping with while attending Baylor, and Jack had all these kids around him as he was playing the acoustic guitar. It was astounding. I said to him afterward, “You have to show me how to play that ‘cause that was the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.” He started helping me out, and because I had a music theory background, it made a lot of sense when I got the strings under my fingers.

When did you finish college?
I came to Baylor in 1993 and left in 1998. I’m still in Waco though, so it’s one of those deals where you’re supposed to go to school and eventually wave goodbye, but I’m still around and helping at the church.

Even though I left in ‘98, I didn’t graduate. I’m 18 hours shy, and I don’t see graduation happening [in the near future]. For a while I flirted with the idea of finishing school, but then the church and music took off, and now I’ve waved goodbye to that brief dream.

Did all the guys from the David Crowder Band attend Baylor?
Yes, but most of us met before we started playing music together. We were pals first, and then the music thing began.

What advice do you have for students starting college?
Surround yourself with Christians who are also seeking to know Christ. It’s important to be salt and light, but it’s also important to be in a community of people who are on a journey to know God as well. College is a pivotal time when you’re sorting through your faith — what’s yours and what’s your parents’. It helps to have a group of people with whom you can ask questions and dialogue about your faith.

You had a calling from God to begin a church at Baylor and lead others in worship. How can others sense God’s calling for their lives?
I’m not sure how to explain God’s calling because that particular moment in my life was not something I could’ve contrived. We’re all called. Whether you’re in music or selling instruments or whatever you’re doing, you have the call of carrying the story of God to the people who are in need of it.

How did you become a Christian?
I was in Tulsa, Okla., at this church service with my parents, and I’d been dropped off at the children’s service. A purple puppet named Eugene said he wanted Jesus in his heart, and I wanted the same thing.

So you grew up in a Christian home?
Yes. My parents are amazing folks and devout in their Christian faith. They were hesitant to push me down the road of Christianity when I asked them questions as a young boy. I remember getting in the car with them after I’d become a Christian, and I was so scared that they’d be terribly disappointed that I, too, had asked Jesus in my heart. So I remember sitting in the backseat, crying and saying, “I asked Jesus in my heart.” They were thrilled of course, but it was a terrifying moment for me to tell them.

How has God given you more confidence in sharing your faith since then?
I became a Christian at 7, so age has helped some. The more you come to know Christ, the more He spills out of you. The more in love you become with Him, the more you can’t contain it. It’s natural to find ways to put words around His rescue of my life.

Hymns are a big part of your ministry as well as the songs you write. How do hymns and modern praise songs contribute differently to the church?
Hymns connect us to the history of the church, as a body of believers. In our culture, we think everything is about us as individuals, so anything to tear ourselves away from that mentality is a good thing. Hymns do that because they connect us to the people who’ve gone before us. The theology and the way the words were put together are incredibly inspiring.

Will “All Creatures” be a regular part of your future albums, as it has been on Can You Hear Us? and Illuminate?
Who knows. A version three might come. The first one was an artistic endeavor. We composed all the music on Can You Hear Us? from samples on classical records. On our latest album, it was more a reclamation moment where we could put it in a form where other churches could bring it into the context of their services. The first one was more for us and for the listener to participate in, and the second one is for churches to grab onto and use the hymn. That’s why it exists in two forms.

Is your wife able to travel with you while you tour?
My wife, Toni, and I have been married seven and a half years. She goes everywhere with us. We’ve not spent a night apart since we got married, so we’ve been around each other for quite a bit now. She’s our road manager and takes care of the details we silly boys find difficult.

Do you ever have bad hair days?
No. I have a system that completely circumvents any type of bad hair. It really has been effective in eliminating all weather conditions that are a problem. Humidity plays no role in my hair performance.

David’s Favorites
Dessert: Tiramisu
Vacation Spot: Hawaii
Hair Gel: Bed Head
Attribute of God: Love
Color: Green
Guitar: Gibson J45
Restaurant: Trader Vic’s
Game Show: “Press Your Luck”