Links...
Darlene, I want to know if you have any hobbies besides singing? What would you do if you had a day off?
Darlene: Hmmm... I like decorating. I like fabrics and textures and paint and colors. And then my family. Just when I'm not involved in music, there is my family and being a mom. That is my passion. Absolute passion. Everything is kind of wrapped up right there. My church, and my family.
Question to each of you: What has been your most memorable or memorable listener reaction to something that you've written?
Darlene: Wow.
Chris: Well. (laugh) I have one that I can't really explain in
complete detail. But I had a guy - and I won't say
who it was - but he's a major rock star in my book.
He has sold millions of records. I ran into him at
somebody's house and I didn't know who he was right
off the bat. They introduced me to him. My friend -
who was also this guy's friend - said, "Why don't you
play him one of your songs?" I said, "Oh, that's okay,
he's for real and I'm just little me." But the guy
just handed me his guitar and said, "Play something" - so I
just started to play 'SMELL THE COLOR NINE'. This was
before the record ever came out. 
I got to the end of
the first verse and I got to the end of the
chorus. He just started laughing and cursing at me ... in
a very happy way like he got what I was saying. And
he was repeatedly just saying this curse word over and
over again. It was honestly for me the most
satisfying reaction I've ever had of anything I've
done. Because here is this man who we would say is
outside of faith and I'm writing a song that kind
of explains my faith in a way that a lot of believers
have questioned me on - saying, "What do you mean", "Well,
you can't say that", or "That doesn't make sense to me."
And here's somebody outside of that whose only
reaction was the best thing he could come up with in
his excitement was to curse me. And I was like, "That's
the kind of reaction I wanted to hear!"
all: laughing
- an honest reaction...
Chris: Yeah! And that's who I want my music to affect and infect.
Darlene: Absolutely.
Chris: That's one of my favorite reactions.
Darlene: What happens quite often - and probably one
of my favorites is - with down syndrome kids and
the kids who are quite mentally ... trapped. We had just a couple of
instances recently with one little boy who his body -
his flesh - wasn't really strong, but his inner man was
so hungry, you know. And his mom sent me a picture of
him and he pretty much didn't respond to anything but
he really responded to worship and his mom showed me and sent me a
picture of him in front of the TV watching a DVD, just kneeling with his hands in the air. 
It's the first time
he ever responded - and trying to put words to what he was
feeling. Just to watch someone's spirit, man, come
alive. The same with a guy, you know, was twenty one
and he was in a home. His parents had had to put him
in a home. A family friend gave him a CD player with
praise and worship music. And his mom wrote to me and
said they can't get the CD player out of his hands.
He goes to bed with it. It's the only time he's ever responded to anything - he doesn't talk, he doesn't respond much.
The thing that he is
reponding to is praise and worship. I love that.
Because for us, it is easy to explain how we feel -
well most of the time - or even just to show emotion.
But for these kids to see the spirit of God at work in
them still. Where we would look and go, "How can that
be possible?" We see the Word of God transcend all of
our rational thinking and we see it just come alive
again. You never, ever get used to things like that.