Jake - All In The Family
- Updated Feb 01, 2002
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"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" (Ps. 133:1) So wrote the Psalmist, expressing the beauty of fellowship within the family of God. If he could meet the members of Jake, the biblical poet might be inspired to write something about "brothers living together in the same apartment." That's because Toby, Marty and Josh Penner-- "Jake" -- are three flesh-and-blood brothers who share everything: an unusually close Christian family, a love of all things Canadian (including impromptu renditions of "O Canada," the national anthem) and a heartfelt desire to use their modern pop songs to help enliven the faith of kids all over.
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If you don't know Dad, you don't know Jake. That's because Dad, like Grandpa Penner and several other male Penner relatives, is named Jake. "It's very common on both sides of Dad's family," says Toby. "Since none of us are named Jake, we decided to let the name live on with the band."
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So who are these guys?
For starters, Toby, Marty and Josh are polite, clean-cut, and fun to be around. Athletic and smart, they're equally at home on the basketball court or in their favorite bookstore. It's tempting to describe them as "all-American boys," but they're proud Canadians, to the bone -- with dual citizenship, thanks to Mom Penner, who was born and raised in the United States. Holding both a Canadian and U.S. passport makes it easy to cross the border, says Toby. "The customs people always smile and say, 'Welcome home'' whichever way we're heading...it's great."
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The integration of faith and life -- and the struggles and joys of living in the world, but not of it -- are naturally revealed in the songs on Jake's self-titled Reunion Records debut. Fueled by the sublime harmonies only siblings can create, ==JAKE== features shimmering-yet-edgy pop production that works when pared down to three brothers in a living room with acoustic guitars.
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Thematically, their songs range from the deep spiritual longings of "Right Time" and "Believer" to the everyday struggles of human relationships in "Let Me Know" and "Take My Heart Away."
"Of course we write about life from a Christ-centered perspective, because we're Christians," says Toby. "That colors everything we write."
One of Toby's writing efforts is Jake's anthemic debut single "Waiting," which tells a story familiar to both the searching skeptic and the honest Christian:
I don't feel strong enough
To lift my hands to You
But I have tasted Your life
And that's how I know I am tired of mine...
I am waiting for You
I am waiting here tonight...
I am waiting for my eyes to see the light
Though the Penner brothers are well aware of the need for Christians to affect the culture at large, they also have a heart for kids who might be surrounded by Christian influences yet haven't made Christ the true center of their lives. "We know what it's like to grow up in a Christian family and go to a Christian school, so we really want to help kids see that faith in Jesus is an intensely personal relationship," says Josh. "Life has to be more than just activities, more than just one giant youth group and going to Christian concerts."
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So how could going to a Jake concert make a difference for one of those church kids? "We definitely want to encourage kids to stretch, to do things that get them out of their comfort zone -- to reach outside the 'bubble' and figure out what knowing Christ can mean in their everyday lives," says Marty. "We want to help them invite Jesus into their friendships, their relationships with the opposite sex, school, sports...and to serve others, too. That's where we feel we can make a difference, to show them how Christ became real to us in our lives."