Molded and Remolded
"Sculpting every move, You compose a symphony"

A glimpse into the hearts of Jars, tracing past to present... Memorable quotes from band members and those who are closest to them.

Charlie Lowell:   [Idealogically our music is about] Christ our Savior and how holy and blameless He is, the contrast of God and man; the whole image of the jars of clay and the jar, how fragile that is, how easily broken--yet God entrusts His Savior in us [2 Cor. 4: 7]. That's the theme that weaves through most of our music and that we're constantly blown away by. (1995) CCM

Dan Haseltine:   "The message that we share is something that, definitely, deals with the concerns of the Christian audience but also deals with the unhealthy view of Christianity, that it's this untouchable thing with rules and laws. It's definitely accessible to anyone and we try to show a more realistic view of the life of faith. It's not a story book ending." (1995) Syndicate

Matt Odmark:   There's so much joy and so much more real change that comes about when you discover something for yourself. We don't really trust the Holy Spirit enough to work and bring change in people's lives. I would hope that what we try to do in the ministry of Jars is to push people toward making their own conclusion; to trust the Gospel and the Holy Spirit enough to know that is what's going to change people, not us and not one of our songs. (1995) CCM

Steve Mason:   I'm both excited and scared to death. There's a huge responsibility that comes with being in the spotlight. As a group we're trying to keep each other accountable to God. We want to make this a lifestyle ministry--to make sure what we say on stage is what we're living out daily. (1996) Breakaway

Dan Haseltine:   For us, our ministry is between us and God. It's where we feel God has us in His will, and that's what we're trying to seek after and be obedient to... We pray most nights that our motivations aren't for the acceptance of man or for the approval of man, just that when we walk off stage we'll feel like we did something worth being on stage for. (1996) CCM

Matt Odmark:  I have experienced the Lord's complete action as he's guided... no that's not a strong enough term... drug us through the last two years really. It's His wisdom completely. Where we are is so pathetically little of anything we've been able to do or maneuver. (1997) YOU

Matt Odmark:  I feel the Lord has been saying, 'There are two voices in you. One is your own heart talking to you, the other is My heart talking to you.' I've discovered that the closer I get in my relationship with the Lord, the more the two voices, the two hearts, are saying the same thing. (1997) Campus Life

Scotty Smith (Jars' pastor and friend):  Here are four very sincere guys who have a real desire to do music that will be a bridge with the culture. It was kind of like they were caught in the maelstrom, in the vortex of being criticized by secular people because they were too spiritual, and being criticized by spiritual people because they were not spiritual enough. It hurt them deeply. There were tears, there was anguish, there was a real sense of 'how do we wade through this stuff?' (1997) CCM

Charlie Lowell:  The last couple of years have been a bunch of little journeys for us, not knowing what's ahead, but stepping out there and saying. 'All right Lord, go ahead and take us and give us the strength to deal with whatever.' He's been so faithful to do that. (1997) Release

John Fischer (author, fellow artist and friend): Everything they [Jars} are is embodied in their name. "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Thatıs the essence of the paradox: the power of God set against the fragility of human existence. The members of Jars of Clay even look a little frail and vulnerable on stage, especially when pitted against the sonic force and passion of their music. (1998) Fischer

Matt Odmark:   God's grace has been very rich for us. In the midst of four guys who definitely don't deserve any of what we've received and definitely haven't gotten here because we've figured out how to do it right. God has been willing to forgive us and stick by us.(1998) WOW

Matt Odmark:   Have we fallen short of what's held up as right and pure in Christianity? I think we definitely all would be the first to say yes. This road we've had to walk, it's similar to everyone's road, in that, there are things that are distractions and there are impure motives for doing things. And there are more pure ones. There's a good way to go and there's a not so good way to go. Have we always chosen the right one? Probably not, but the great thing about Christianity is that it takes the focus off of us and our choices and puts the focus on a God who can save us out of even those things. So I think that's the kind of paradigm that we look at those decisions through. (1999) Interlinc, Creation West

Katie Haseltine (When asked about her husband's ministry):   I think it's very difficult. They are gone all the time! And if you ever hear them or see them, they're probably not with us, so you can pray for us. It's very hard and I will tell you that all of us have stomped our feet to the ground and said, "Ok, that's it! You're done! This can't be God's will. You're away from us. We miss you! This is a marriage. It works as a cooperation." But there also is an order in marriage that God did establish, that when he speaks to the man, the man speaks to the woman and eventually you pray for God speaking to you. And you do have a peace when God is leading your husband and when he's doing what he should be doing. I think all of us would stand here and say the God we know today is SO different from who we would have said we knew two or three years ago. We knew God, but we didn't know Him as our sole provider. And we didn't know Him as the only thing in this world that would be fulfilling and satisfying. And these guys all mess up! They will make wrong decisions. And they won't be home when we need them. But there is a greater provision in Christ that I think we're learning of. And we still stomp our feet! And we still throw our hands up in the air and say, "I don't like this band! Don't like this tour schedule!!" But if you could pray anything for us, it would be that we would just continue to grow deeper in Christ, because He truly is fulfilling! (1999) Creation West

Dan Haseltine:  The message of Christianity is a hard thing to want to spend time pondering. The fact that we are sinners, that apart from Christ we're nothing, those are the things that are not easy to listen to... We're a band that likes to ask questions and get people to ask questions, and perhaps that will lead them to Jesus. (1999) Christianity Today

Steve Mason:  In terms of success in Christianity, success is death--dying to ourselves. That's the irony of what we do. We write songs, market ourselves, have our pictures taken and talk about ourselves in interviews, but ultimately we're called to die. (2000) Brio