The initial recording lineup was lead singer and guitarist Mark Lee Townsend, keyboardist Jason Halbert, bassist Otto "Sugar Bear" Price and drummer Rick May.
[6] This release was not praise and worship music, which the band would soon become known for, but contained more standard fare, including songs on topics like friendship, complacency,[5] and priorities.
"We're appointing ourselves superstars with a 'Platinum' album..." Jason Halbert told one reporter, "That basically means Zilch!," [4] Their song "In The Sky" is an answer to two hits at the time, Joan Osborne "One of Us" and Dishwalla "Counting Blue Cars", opening with the line, "... she asked if God was just a slob like us, well maybe something there is lacking," the second verse begins with, "Let me tell you all my thoughts on God, cause I just met with Him this morning..." In early 1998 Mark Lee Townsend stepped down from the role of lead singer and was replaced by then-independent artist Jeff Deyo.
"[9] The band found that playing such music changed the nature of audience interaction with their performance, in positive ways.
[9][11] Jeff Deyo characterized the band's name change as a sign of that commitment, saying that it was similar to the story of the conversion of Paul of Tarsus.
Otto Price played bass, co-produced, and shared some writing credits on the album, but not wanting to continue touring, dropped out of the core band.
Seven Day Jesus guitarist Dwayne Larring and drummer Aaron Blanton became members of the band, bringing their number to four.
[18] The band also recorded a track for the compilation album City on a Hill with Peter Furler as lead vocalist.
This release would take a Dove award for "Special Event Album" in 2001, although by that time the band would bear no resemblance to the one which recorded it.
[19] Heil took the role of lead singer and began recruiting new members to fill the band's touring obligations and continue making praise and worship music.
Similar to their eponymous album, it featured a mix of songs from that Sonicflood and new covers written by other praise artists.
Heil began developing a praise and worship album, designing it similarly to the band's 1999 release, with a mix of covers and original songs.
Their 2003 release Cry Holy takes an acoustic rock sound, drawing comparisons to Chris Tomlin.
[24] As support for Glimpse, the band embarked on a United States tour, with sponsorship from the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, and included missionaries as speakers.
While Heil does not profess to have experienced a miracle per se, he does say that "Jesus is the great physician... the healer of the heart, the soul, the mind.
In 2009, guitarist Phil Baquie received notice of his military unit's activation, and orders to deploy to Afghanistan in October as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.