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"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger," someone once said, someone who obviously had been through the wringer and came out better for it.
It's a truth that Anointed-brother and sister act Steve Crawford and Da'dra Crawford Greathouse-have a better grasp of these days. The multiple award winning group whose unique harmonies, power vocal stylings and encouraging lyrics has tightened the gap between the contemporary Christian and Gospel music genres, have encountered some rough weather since their self-titled project in 1999. The hectic schedule of the "A Tour" with Avalon that same year left the group exhausted. The departure of Nee-C Walls-who left to pursue other interests-found Steve and Da'dra concerned about their professional future. Even more disconcerting, the news that Da'dra had a dangerously large tumor that could possibly effect her ability to have children turned everything upside-down.
There were certainly more questions than answers. But before confusion could set in, Steve and Da'dra went straight to the source of their strength.
"When such huge upheaval happens, you wonder, 'What is going to happen next,' Da'dra says, but we've always known that God is the source of everything in our lives. Life will present changes and you will face challenges. If you live long enough, you're going to experience a lot of both. You've got to have an anchor in Christ to maintain His perspective."
"Transition," as Steve calls it, "causes you to take everything to God and ask, 'Okay, now what? Do you want us to continue? And if so, how do you see it?' Those were things we had to seek God for. If He had said, 'Quit' we would have because we understand the best place to be is in His perfect plan."
In asking those questions and finding the answers in God, Anointed renewed their focus, re-invigorated their faith, and started getting ready for the next level. Toward that end, both Steve and Da'dra began pursuing ministerial education through their local church, to become licensed ministers.
Da'dra explains: "We sensed for some time that God had another place He wanted to take Anointed, a new level, to some opportunities where it would be advantageous to have more knowledge of the Word of God."
And indeed, opportunities to speak at seminars and workshops have already arrived, confirming God's calling on their ministry. "We were always taught to give our gifts back to God," Steve continues, "to minister, to serve other people. It's never been just music in and of itself. We've been impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we want to share that same hope, that same life, with others. ?By becoming licensed ministers, we feel we're more prepared. We want to have something to say, something to offer, beyond singing."
When the time came to get back in the studio to record their fifth album, having seen God at work in their lives in a new way, Anointed brought with them a new excitement ?for the music and for the message. The result is If We Pray, a thoroughly modern, thoroughly fresh reminder of God's love and faithfulness and the power of prayer to sustain in good times and bad.
Produced by Tommy Sims (Cece Winans, Michael Bolton), Chris Harris (Jaci Velasquez, Larnelle Harris), Mark Hammond (Cindy Morgan, Nichole Nordeman), Chris Rodriguez (who has worked with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) and Dan Muckala (who has worked with Avalon, Rachael Lampa and Joy Williams), If We Pray pushes the envelope creatively, musically and vocally, bringing out a distinctive new sound in a group already known for one-of-a-kind vocal talent.
"Some of the sounds you hear in the mainstream marketplace, we've incorporated on this album" Da'dra says. "We wanted to create something musically relevant that would capture people's attention, keep it, and then give 'em some truth from the Word of God."
Vocally, these two siblings have never worked harder and have never sounded better. "Obviously, we're singing more now, but these producers have challenged us to do even more than we thought we could," Steve says. "There's a lot of spontaneity, a lot of ad-libbing, and our harmonies are still very strong." It's a reminder, in some ways, of how he and Da'dra began, as children, rehearsing into the wee hours of the morning under the watchful eye and pitch-perfectionist ear of their father and performing with a live band almost every weekend of the year. "We come from a long line of really incredible singers," Steve says, only half joking, "so Anointed has a lot to live up to. Now that it's back to us, we're certainly giving it all we've got."
If We Pray includes an extremely danceable groove of "Nothing Can Stop You From Loving Me," a powerful reminder of the unconditional love of God. "When you move from working to earn God's love to understanding that God loves us passionately no matter what, it changes everything," Da'dra says. "How you live, how you pray, the things you want, the things you do."
Both Da'dra and Steve and their spouses have been blessed with children over the past two years, and "Things I Wish," written by Tommy Sims and Victoria Shaw, is a tender song for their children. "When we think of how blessed we are to have my Evan and Steve's Monte," Da'dra says, "we think about all the great things we desire for them, for their happiness, their health, that God would show them His purpose for their lives. That is the heart of 'Things I Wish.'"
"You'll Never Thirst," a stirring ballad written by Da'dra with Nicole C. Mullen, Brad O'Donnell, and Roger Ryan, delivers the simple, but powerful message that God's forgiveness is forever.
You'll never find her story in a fairytale
She was unlike the other women at the well
Her life was full of pain, hurt and rejection
Her loneliness she didn't want to show
Jesus couldn't help but see the desert in her soul
?Drink from this water
You will never, you will never thirst again
Several songs on If We Pray underline the power of prayer, a truth that Steve and Da'dra have been taught all their lives.
"That'll Do It" is an ode of sorts for Steve and Da'dra's mom, "the ultimate supporter." Steve laughs, "She's always praying for us, and she's always saying, I told you the Lord was going to use you, I told you, I told you. Her constant faith has been a real source of comfort to us through the years."
As songwriters, Steve and Da'dra's experiences over the past few years have given them words of encouragement for anyone in need of hope. They wrote or co-wrote 8 of the 10 songs on the album. "For some reason," Steve says, "we almost always come back to our own words, our own lives ?for the songs. We have to tell our stories as a way of sharing what God has done and what He can do in all of our lives."
An exciting part of that is Da'dra's foray into publishing, with a devotional book based on the songs of If We Pray. This book fulfills Anointed's desire to do more than sing. "It gives those who buy the album an opportunity to learn more about where we're coming from, to see the scriptures behind the lyrics and to make these songs their own," Da'dra says.
With three Grammy nominations, six Dove Awards, two Stellar Awards and eight songs that have landed in the top five-three shooting all the way to Number 1-Anointed is not looking back, but pressing upward, broadening their sound and their reach.
The truth be told, the heart of this power vocal group is stronger than ever, having come full circle, back to where they began. "We've been reminded of how blessed we are to have this closeness as brother and sister," Steve says of this season. "It's always been there, but you don't really have an appreciation for it until it's just us. ?It's a challenging time for us professionally, but we're convinced that this is where God wants us, and whatever it takes to meet the challenge, we're willing to do it."
"When change happens," Da'dra adds, "you might as well just hold on because you're bound to be catapulted into a whole new place, a better place. And you always have a point of reference back to the fact that God never changes. Peace in the midst of turmoil. It's not just a phrase. It happens."
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