#8 - Audio Adrenaline (WorldWide 2003)

If you have any friends who think that contemporary Christian music (CCM) does not rock, get them this CD. Audio A plays as hard as any band in rock-n-roll, Christian or not, and Worldwide grabs you from the title song and doesnít let go. One of the top live acts in CCM, their songs speak to the new believer and the well-rooted Christian alike. Worldwide nosed out another Audio A CD, Lift, for this spot, but both CDs are powerful in spirit and well as musically

Many new believers will find strength in the big hits from this Worldwide: "Leaving 99" and "Pierced". "Leaving 99" is a retelling of the parable of the lost sheep in Matthew 18 and Luke 15 and is one of the most touching songs in CCM, reminding us that God seeks each of us individually and that heaven rejoices when we are found. God sings to us:

You're never too far down/I promise you'll be found
I'll reach into the mud and mire and clay
Pursue you to the end/Like a faithful friend
Nothing in this world can keep me away
I'd leave ninety-nine/leave them all behind/to find you
For you alone I'd leave ninety-nine/leave them all behind/to find you

"Pierced" reveals the awesome truth that discovering Jesusí sacrifice for the first time means to the new believer...that He would die for us each individually:

Oh, this love, how can it be/that my God would die for me
For my sins, His wounds did bleed/Jesus, you were pierced for me
Make me, take me, break me, I am pierced

Other powerhouse songs on this CD include an anthem to mission work and outreach, "Dirty" (not the Christina Aguilera song!), the bandís mission statement for the next decade "Worldwide: One", and a remix version of "Ocean Floor" for those who donít have the Lift CD.

Worldwide is perfect for the hard rockers who are just checking out Christian music but have not transformed their taste in music. Audio A takes their music boldly into the world and proclaims Jesusí messageÖloudly.