Jeremy Camp’s seventh recorded studio album Reckless needs a warning sign: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. For the listener, there's a definite possibilty that it might inspire them to surrender everything, even what they never thought they could give up. 

This happened to Camp about a year ago when he felt God ask him, “Are you willing to surrender everything?” For him, “everything” was music. Something he has been quite successful at for the past decade, with 32 No. 1 radio hits, a Grammy nomination and five Dove Awards. Even with this success, Camp says God brought him to a place where he could, if the day ever came, surrender music. “Not that it wouldn’t be a challenge,” says Camp, “but I wouldn’t be devastated because this is not my life. Christ is my life.”

It was with this mindset that Camp wrote “Reckless,” the first single on the album, with call-to-action lyrics.

The Voice of NRT, Bill Lurwick, had an in-depth discussion with Jeremy about his book, his family, life after music, and the call to live recklessly. (Read Part 1 here.)

"Reign in Me" on Reckless, is that an original worship song or is that a remake?

That's an original worship song that I wrote. If there's anything that I would pray, that the whole world would seek your face in despite of who I can be, please reign in me. It's like, "My desires of this world be on my face before you. I want to represent you purely and despite sometimes of how I can be, Lord, just reign in me."

Jeremy, you are in combination with the release of Reckless also rereleasing the book I Still Believe. Been new and updated, some new material in there, right?

Yeah. Really, you never get a second chance to do something like that, but Tyndale came in and said, "We want to publish this. Can you go a little deeper?" I was first like, "What do you mean?" They're like, "It's almost like we know you can go deeper." I was like, "OK."

I had a guy come talk to me and just ask me questions. It was unbelievable what came out and things I didn't think about to bring up. The other one doesn't pale in comparison to it because God used it and it was powerful, but there's something special about this book that just really went to that next level that I thought it needed.

We've got 11 tracks on here and last project really, really did well. Is there an "Overcome" type of song onReckless?

It was funny--and this is not at all dogging anybody--but I had a lot of people saying, "We need that 'There Will Be a Day' or that 'Overcome'-type song. My response was, "God gave me the songs already," and it's not that I can't get songs like that again, but this is a different season. 

There's a song called "Paradise." It definitely has a little bit of a theme of "There Will Be a Day"--a little more of a joyous theme, not quite as emotional. But I'm in a different place, and it doesn't mean I don't feel the same way about those songs. Of course I do. Those burst out of me, but I would say this is more of a charge-to-go type record.

There's a song that goes, "We must remember that you have forgotten. We must remember that you don't remember our sins anymore. We must remember that you've forgotten and they you died once and for all." There are those songs, but the majority of them is this call to action.

A couple of other lighter questions before we let you go today. I was thinking, "What song would you remake if you could? It could be anything--mainstream, a Christian song. Is there a song that you say, "I'd love to redo that my style?"

Honestly this is going to sound interesting, but there's a band that really was a big influence in me called The Kry, and there's a song called "He Won't Let You Go." I love that song, and I think it just has such a rad, comforting feel to it, and I'd love to actually do that some time.

You've been doing the music thing for quite a while now, over a decade. You look back. You think there's anything else you ever would like to do or do you still have a dream someday? Like, when I'm done with the music thing maybe I'd like to do this...?

One thing that we're stepping into already is doing this thing called Speaking Louder Ministries. It's a nonprofit that we're going to go around the world and just do outreaches. We're going to the Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan this summer, and while we're there, we're going to do endless outreaches, and we're going to look at some orphanages out there.

God is really opening doors for me internationally, and I want to go to places where they say they need to have an outreach and bring some people together. The whole thing in my mind is I want to go places where there's a need. I think there's a need everywhere in every nation, but I'm hearing these cries from different places around the world.

My heart eventually is I'll be doing a lot of those and I'll still be doing stuff in the States, but I think eventually my big thing is I want to start discipling more, and pour into people… because I'm one person. If you can disciple a lot of people and they can go out, how much greater is that? Because it's not about me--it's about God's glory. If we can go out and disciple people and raise them up and they can disciple people, how much better is that?

I've known you for a long time, and now here it is 12 years later and you're a family man with a couple of kids. How does that play out in everyday life for you and Adi and the kids as far as growing and walking in the Lord? What does that mean for your family and raising the kids that you have?

My biggest prayer is that I could be a huge example as a father to my kids--what it means to serve the Lord and spend time with Him. We have this song that we sing at night, not every night, but we'll sing a song. It goes, "Read your Bible. Pray every day. Grow, grow, grow. Read your Bible. Pray every day. Grow, grow, grow." Then it goes, "Don't read your Bible. Forget to pray. Shrink, shrink, shrink."

It's a fun little song that we sing. We stand up and do the motions. I know it's a fun song, but I explain to them, "Here's what it is. Mommy and daddy, we get up and we read our Bible and we pray. We spend time with the Lord and that's how we continue to grow." 

So it's that kind of thing, and really making sure that they understand that dad doesn't just go out and talk about Jesus and then come home. Daddy has his own personal time with the Lord and really instilling that in them as valuable.

We have devotion time. We do a thing called Proverbs with Kids that we do pretty much every night, which is always special. Time to worship as they're getting ready to lay down and pray for them and just kind of making that this is what we do. This is our life to serve the Lord.

It's a challenge, and it's hard for me because I don't like leaving. I want to be there for my kids. I want to have the nightly devotion with my kids, but it's great that I know that and one thing that God really released me of just recently. I want to have that consistency in my kids to see and God's like, "I've got it. They know your heart because when you are home you are showing them and I've given your wife"--who is amazing and she takes on over at that point.

When we're gone too long, they come on the road with me. I don't want this to ever become more important than my family. It's not, and I don't ever want it to be.

I collect concert posters of tours that I like over my career and in my office one of the posters I have on my wall is Festival Con Dios 2002 with a little tiny picture at the bottom of the poster with some guy named Jeremy Camp.

A smiley red shirt picture. I actually remember that.

Yes. That's pretty good. Can you believe it's been 10 years since that and we've got 25 No. 1 radio singles? Everybody wants to know. You come out with the number ones, greatest hits kind of thing. What does that mean for Jeremy Camp career wise? I know probably next year we might be getting some new music from you, right?

I'm actually in the process. It's been pretty extraordinary. Honestly when I get done with the record I always go, "Oh my goodness. Do I have anything else?" Honestly you should because you grow every year and it's like when you read your Bible, different seasons you'll read the same thing that you read maybe 20 times and it'll mean something different. 

Not necessarily something different, but it'll impact you even more or it'll have a deeper meaning. I think that's just what it is. There are certain things that just jump out more in different seasons of life.