What do you do when you\u2019re Hillsong United, one of the most influential contemporary Christian bands in the country, and you\u2019re planning the release of your next album? You follow Beyonc\u00e9.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a model [for us],\u201d frontman Joel Huston joked with Guideposts.org about why, like the R&B diva is wont to do, the band kept their sixth studio album, Wonder<\/em>, a surprise until less than a month before its release date. Forgoing the normal promotion schedule for an album is a bit risk for a Christian band\u2014even a multi-platinum-selling one whose last album, Empires,<\/em> peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 charts\u2014but they\u2019re not worried.<\/p>\n \u201cI honestly believe that good art will make a way for itself,\u201d Huston says. \u201cSometimes we can oversell something and it takes away the beauty of what you’re trying to say and what you want it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n For Hillsong United, the simple beauty of the world\u2014despite the political and social uneasiness people are feeling\u2014is what they\u2019re hoping to help people find.<\/p>\n \u201cYou look around at what the atmosphere of the world is currently and it’s like, \u2018Well, what can we bring?\u2019\u201d band member Matt Crocker says. Their answer is 12 tracks of healing music that can inspire listeners to marvel in the majesty of God and to find joy and hope through faith.<\/p>\n The chorus of the title track\u2014I see the world in light\/ I see the world in wonder\/ I see the world in life\/ Bursting in living color<\/em>\u2014is a celebration of everything good that God has given us.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Christians we’re called to bring that joy and that happiness that we know as Christ living in us and so [we said], \u2018Let’s be a mirror reflection of that with this album.\u2019 We put everything we had into bringing that sound.\u201d<\/p>\n In \u201cFuture Marches In,\u201d the band takes that message of hope a bit further, urging listeners to fight against fear and defeat by turning to faith with lyrics like: Don\u2019t hide in silence while the truth screams out\/ Don\u2019t fear the future shaking up this ground\/ There\u2019s a freedom that marches in a different sound.<\/em><\/p>\n Still, Huston says the main goal of the record and the group isn\u2019t to force people to faith but to model the beauty of living as a believer through their music.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the music is good, we shouldn’t have to be slamming it down people’s throats, Huston says.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s the same with the gospel. I don’t think we have to be Bible-bashing people in order for them to get it. I think the best way to get people to understand the gospel is to love them and to just live in a way that is reflective of the beauty of God.\u201d <\/p>\n For more from the band, check out our interview with them below:<\/p>\n