Selah – Milestones & Moments

CCM: Allan, you’ve always been influenced by traditional country and bluegrass, so it must have been a treat to have Ron Block (of Alison Krauss + Union Station) join Selah for the hymn “Leaning On The Everlasting Arms.” What did Ron bring to this song that makes it so special for you?
Allan Hall: Collaborating with Ron was such a treat because of my love for the genre he works in most of the time. Growing up in East Tennessee, I naturally heard a lot of bluegrass and country artists like Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline. And I certainly love Alison Krauss + Union Station! I call Ron’s playing on this “beautifully simple”—well thought-out and intricate, but you also feel like we’re just sitting on the front porch with him. What a gifted artist, and what a thrill to have him record such a simple, but melancholy and haunting track.

CCM: Unbreakable features “People Of The Cross,” a powerful anthem for the persecuted Church. How do you hope songs like this will encourage persecuted Christians around the world? And what we can do support those oppressed because of their faith?
TS: I wrote this song with Jennie Lee Riddle and Jordan Merritt after ISIS martyred 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. I hope it encourages the persecuted to know they are not alone; we stand with them and are praying for them to keep pressing on, to not give up. They are glorifying Jesus through their suffering.

Believers in China said, “When you pray for us, don’t pray that we will be safe. Don’t pray that we will get out of prison. Pray that we will stay true even if it costs us our lives.” Those are such difficult words to pray, but we also remember that God is glorified in suffering, as He was ultimately in Jesus’ suffering and death. The greatest way to stand with believers in persecution is to share the Gospel with the people in our areas of influence.

Selah partners with Open Doors because of the amazing way they come alongside persecuted Christians and help equip and train them. They disciple them, give them small business loans and smuggle Bibles to believers who don’t have any. You can support their work by going to opendoorsusa.org.

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