Grammy-nominated, Dove Award-winning Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) band Sanctus Real has been pointing people to Jesus since becoming a band in 1996.
Sanctus Real consists of Dustin Lolli (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Chris Rohman (lead guitar), and Mark Graalman (drums). Lolli joined Sanctus Real in 2015 following the departure of Matt Hammitt, the band’s co-founder. Prior to joining Sanctus Real, Lolli served as a worship pastor at a church in Michigan.
ChurchLeaders recently spoke with Lolli about the band’s song “The Difference.”
Lolli shared that the members of Sanctus Real have noticed in the last couple years of touring that many people are struggling with “hopelessness.”
“We talked to people and heard their stories,” he said. “A lot of people would come to us to tell us how our songs impacted them, and they always seem to be accompanied with this hopelessness that felt heavy.”
“The world feels hopeless. Since the pandemic, it’s like this rise of this feeling that this is the end or something,” he continued. “So I think our calling in this season is just to write songs of hope.”
Lolli shared that hope was the band’s focus with songs “Dare to Hope” and “Victory.” So when Sanctus Real started writing “The Difference,” conversations led the band to be transparent about what was on the band members’ hearts.
“Jesus is the difference,” Lolli said. “He changed everything, and because I choose to believe in him, it changes everything.”
Lolli said the band wanted the intent behind the song to be clear. The song’s lyrics include, “If I show any love, it’s only because you first loved me; if I show any kindness, it’s only your kindness that they see. You made this heart to look like yours; now I’m not who I was before.“
“You can never run away or get away from his hope,” Lolli stated. “Just believing in Jesus makes that big of a difference. And so for us, this song is a song of hope that just basically says, ‘Look, if you choose to believe in him, you’re different. You have to be different. It changes everything.’”
“The Difference” is now streaming on all major platforms.
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