From Texas Baptist roots, Groves grooves in Nashville
___By John Hillman
___Special to the Standard
___NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Since relocating to Tennessee, Shaun Groves has emerged as a rising star in Nashville's Christian music scene. However, the songs on his debut CD, "Invitation to Eavesdrop," clearly reflect his Texas Baptist roots.
___The East Texas native and 1997 Baylor University graduate discovered his ministerial and musical calling in high school while attending Tyler's First Baptist Church. Groves credits much of his early spiritual development and maturity to his Sunday School teacher
and accountability group leader, Stephen Dement.
___"A near tragic incident in Shaun's freshman year really bonded us," explained Dement, a Tyler attorney. "We were headed to Panama City, Fla., for a mission trip, and our van driver fell asleep outside of Hattiesburg, Miss.
___"The vehicle rolled over, but no one was seriously hurt," he continued. "After it was over, we felt God had a special purpose for that group, so I started a Sunday night meeting where we could discuss what was happening in our lives."
___During his teen years, Groves' instrumental talent blossomed as he gained proficiency at piano, guitar and saxophone. After his freshman year at Tyler Junior College, he served as a summer youth intern in his home church.
___"Shaun had a great heart for ministry," recalled John Wheat, then youth minister at First Baptist of Tyler and now college minister at Waco's Columbus Avenue Baptist Church. "He had talent beyond belief. I still vividly remember him playing 'Amazing Grace' on the sax in the middle of the Frio River during a baptismal service for those who made decisions at youth camp."
___After transferring to Baylor to major in music composition, Groves sought additional opportunities for ministry. For two years, he led the Sunday and Wednesday worship services at Methodist Children's Home in Waco..
___"I worked with a very diverse group of students and could never find another place where I could grow so much," Groves said. "Coming from a very white Baptist life, I learned to reach out to all races and that worship and music don't come in a one-size-fits-all mode."
___With degree firmly in hand, Groves and his wife, Becky, moved to Nashville in 1997. His wife is the daughter of Phil Lineberger, pastor of Williams Trace Baptist Church in Sugar Land and a former president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
___The Texan entered the Christian music industry as an unpaid intern at Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing.
___After a year's apprenticeship, the company added him to the payroll as a tape-copy boy. His experiences in the nuts and bolts of the music industry served the aspiring songwriter well.
___"I spent every lunch hour educating myself about songwriting," he said. "I listened to the early works of writers like Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman. I began to understand what good songwriting was and how to come closer to doing it."
___Shortly after leaving the publishing company to join a church as a part-time worship leader, his former employer contacted Groves to write some songs for Caedmon's Call.
___Although the band with its roots in Second Baptist Church of Houston elected not to use the material, Groves' vocals won over the record company's executives with their richness and sensitivity. The singer/songwriter produced a demo, and Rocketown Records inked the Texas native as its first new artist in more than two years.
___"Call it good luck; I call it grace," Groves said. "Rocketown signed me, let me make the record of my dreams with the amazingly talented Monroe Jones and a host of incredible musicians."
___The first single released from "Invitation to Eavesdrop," "Welcome Home," debuted last May and hit No. 1 on the inspirational charts in late July. Groves composed every song on the recording, and two songs on the 10-track CD draw directly from Texas-based events in Groves' life.
___"Two Cents" relates to an experience at the Methodist Children's Home. Soon after he began working there, a 15-year-old abuse victim who was pregnant for the third time sought his counsel.
___"It was the first time I realized I didn't have all the answers," he said. "All I could do was commend her on wanting to keep the child, reassure her that I would be there to listen and pray and remind her that nothing can separate us from the love of God."
___Groves wrote the album's final cut, "Last Notes," as a tribute to his grandmother, who died of cancer in 1992. In her final hours, the family gathered around her and sang "Love Lifted Me."
___"As she was dying, we found a poem in her handwriting, written when she was in school," Groves said. "It was called 'Farewell Song of the Soul' and won her a poetry contest as a teenager. I wrote this song as a modern rendition of that poem, a tribute to her life, and as reminder to all who hear it that Christ has conquered death and our fear of it."
___Critics have hailed "Invitation to Eavesdrop" as an artistic creation that resonates with Groves' honesty and vulnerability. Laura Harris, reviewing for CCM magazine, called Groves' first recording "one of the most refreshing, engaging projects to come down the Christian music pike in some time."
___The singer/songwriter will return to Texas for a series of September concerts, opening along with Katy Hudson for Bebo Norman on the Big Blue Sky tour. Groves relishes the chance to play and sing in his native state.
The Baptist Standard
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