David Crowder & Mike Hogan Interview

We are excited to let you know about a new book by David Crowder and Mike Hogan of the David Crowder Band. What follows is an interview with the authors. But wait, there’s more! We have SIGNED copies to give away. Stay tuned for details!

What motivated you to write Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven But Nobody Wants to Die?
DC&MH: It wasn’t one specific thing (that thing being the very sudden and very public death of our good friend and pastor Kyle Lake). Well, perhaps more accurately, it was one specific thing (the afore-mentioned tragedy in the previous sentence) that was preceded by many other things (sickness, death, unanswered questions), which then prompted us to the only logical conclusion when faced with such matters, which was to write a book. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense! 


Do you think there is some confusion about heaven among Christians? How does your book help readers gain a more biblical understanding of heaven?
DC&MH: Certainly! Truth be told, we have yet to meet someone who has been there and back to tell us what it’s all about. You know, at least in person… But, yes, in any area where the only information available is based on interpretation, opinion, conjecture, etc. there is sure to be some confusion. But then, people don’t really talk about it much, do they? At least not in specifics. We wanted to start talking about things that, for whatever reason, people don’t seem to talk about much. These are big issues (life/death/heaven), and insight would be a welcomed thing. When we were in the middle of grief we had a very hard time finding resources that discussed such things in ways that were moving to us. Hopefully our book inspires people to contemplate and discuss this stuff in a way that is interesting and reverently amusing.

Your book talks a lot about Bluegrass music. How does Bluegrass inform your theology?
DC&MH: There is a longing for the ever after that exists in bluegrass music that we admire. There is recognition that despite our best efforts to change the here and now it will still be broken; we will still encounter pain and suffering and tragedy. The beauty of bluegrass is the resilience and hope that is found in its content and the belief that there is something better coming causes us to live process things differently in the present. Hope changes everything.

Many of our readers are youth workers and parents. How will they benefit from this book?
DC&MH: They will become better looking, wiser, and live longer. They will become titans of industry and the arts, wielding great hammers of influence the world over. In short, they will benefit by becoming a more awesome version of themselves.

Also, they might find it a lovely resource for discussing death and the Christian response to it. As bleak as it sounds, none of us are getting out of here alive and we will all surely deal with the loss of someone we love or have friends or neighbors who are grieving. It’s so difficult to know what to say, how to help, what exactly it is that our loved ones are going through.

What’s the latest with the David Crowder Band?
DC&MH: Well, we just released our 5th (!!!) album, entitled Church Music, and we are currently touring this wonderful country in support of it. It’s an explosion of rock and (or) roll! Experience it for yourselves!

Click here to learn more about the book.