Lead Me, by Matt Hammitt

Matt Hammitt was riding high as the lead singer of the popular and successful band Sanctus Real when his wife confronted him about his absence from the family.  If he wasn't on the road, touring with the band, he was at home, emotionally distant.  His wife confronted him.  "Matt, I need you to step up.  For me.  For our children.  Be the man of your house.  Lead this family."  In response, Hammitt wrote "Lead Me," which became one of the band's biggest hits.  In his book, Lead Me: Finding Courage to Fight for You Marriage, Children, and Faith, Hammitt tells the story of his life with the band, his marriage, and the fight to turn around his marriage and family life.

Fans of Sanctus Real definitely will want to read Lead Me.  The story of Hammitt's life and marriage is interwoven with the life of the band.  They started playing together in high school, and Hammitt met his wife when he saw her at some of their shows.  As newlyweds they toured together, living with the rest of the band on the tour bus.  She worked the merch table while he played the shows.  Once they started having children, she stayed home while he was on the road.  The growing success of the band was contrasted with the growing tension of home/road life.  Hammitt is not shy about revealing the struggles they shared. 

I was reluctant to read Lead Me for one reason.  Whenever the song "Lead Me" comes on the radio, I have to resist the urge to change the station, not because I don't like the song but because the song is so convicting.  They sing:

"Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone."

My struggles are very different from Hammitt's but the song forces me to consider the ways and times I fail to lead my family.  I was relieved and encouraged to read Hammitt's confession that he feels the same way!  He writes that he sang this song at their shows with the reality nagging him that he was not living up to the message of the song.  "For years I sang it with shame.  Now it feels hopeful instead."

That's the good news; his own song played a part in convicting him to change his lifestyle, leave the band, and spend more time with his family.  He began to receive invitations to speak at marriage conferences and to join the teaching staff of FamilyLife.

Hammitt leads by example end encourages men with empathy to fix their priorities and to lead their families.  He points out that "many of us spent years dreaming about finding the right person, but how much did we spend dreaming about being the right person?"  "Lead Me" the song and now Lead Me the book encourage and convict me to be the man my wife dreams of and the husband and father God has called me to be.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!