Delirious: My Journey with the Band, a Growing Family, and an Army of Historymakers

Christian band Delirious? rocked the world and changed lives for 17 years, producing 15 albums and 22 singles in the process, much of which was played here on Seattle radio stations. This is the story of what went on behind the scenes and Martin Smith's life from childhood to life with his own family.

Delirious by Martin Smith spills his heart right from the get-go in this book. He talks not only about living as a Christian even in the other cultures that he toured through, but living a life of compassion and how he worked out all of that (including the touring) with his family life. Through all the ups and the downs, they stuck together and they learned that their family was bigger than just flesh and blood relations.

Martin tells of their trials throughout the recording industry. He touches on struggles he faced while being out for months at a time. Missing time throughout his childrens' lives while being on tour was one downside. But at the same time I'm sure he wouldn't have traded those experiences, some of which changed his life. One of which was an encounter with a lovely little girl in India whose situation stirred his heart at a deep level. This led to starting a charity, CompassionART, with his wife. Through it they helped to stop human trafficking.

But all through their whole life as a band, they had their families, and the now combined family they have formed with all the band members.

This is a great book to go along with his wife's more light-hearted and funnier Meet Mrs. Smith. Martin's book is intense with a lot of depth to it. Not only is it an autobiography but also his story of the band and his experiences with it. A must read for any Delirious? fan or just anyone in general, especially Christians who enjoy being both challenged and inspired.

I have written my review based on reading this book along with [[ASIN:1434702030 Meet Mrs. Smith: My Adventures with Six Kids, One Rockstar Husband, and a Heart to Fight Poverty]] by Anna Smith.

Delirious: My Journey with the Band, a Growing Family, and an Army of Historymakers by Martin Smith and Meet Mrs. Smith: My Adventures with Six Kids, One Rockstar Husband, and a Heart to Fight Poverty by Anna Smith are two separate books written by husband and wife. I have chosen to put them into one review as I believe they should really come together as a set or they at least need to be read together. These books share the stories of two people that came to love God, then come to love eachother, and then love those that God loves. Even though there are a lot of similar stories between both of these books, they do come from two different people and two different points of view; one example being that when Delirious started taking off, Martin really struggled with the balance between the ministry that he felt God had called him to with the family he had been given and from Anna you get how she felt with essentially being a single parent during those times her husband was away. As a musician I was really interested in reading Delirious and getting the chance to hear from someone who was heavily involved in music and also one that was instrumental in the modern Christian worship movement. At first I was only going to read Delirious, but I'm so glad that I chose to read Meet Mrs. Smith as well. If there's one theme that runs through both of these books, it's that both Martin and Anna heavily relied on God for guiding them through this life they were living. They both truly felt that God was a part of everything they were doing and even though there were struggles and hard times as well as great times, they knew that they were exactly were God wanted them. The lives they were living and activities they were involved with were truly a ministry of the Lord. Here are two people that supported each other in every way. What I love the most about reading these books is how together as a family they felt the call to help orphans and how CompassionArt was formed. A truly phenomenal project that was started because a man's heart was broken for one little child that was going to grow up following in her mother's footsteps as a prostitute because that's all she knew. Martin and Anna had a vision of a way to help kids and because of them and a lot of other artists and record labels that chose to give up any profit that this project would produce, they were able to provide money to help kids have a better life. Martin and Anna Smith are two people that truly have a heart for God and want to make a difference in this world through His power and that's exactly what they are doing and what these two books are capturing. I would highly recommend that you read both.

Special thanks to The B & B Media Group, Inc. and David C. Cook for providing these complimentary books to read and review.

Rating: 3.25

In this memoir, Smith talks of his lifelong understanding that God had something planned for him. Starting with the early days of Delirious? and how they really just wanted to worship. I remembered first hearing the Cutting Edge album and thinking wow this is a much different worship album. Still one of my all time favorites. Smith talks all about that process and how everything kept falling into place.

A quote from the book "This is the best advice I can give a songwriter: Keep working, don't satisfy yourself with things being good enough, but hone and craft and polish until you've got nothing left to give.

As the band grew in fame they tried to make more music that would be played on regular radio stations so they could spread the news of hope and love. They at one point had switched from playing at Christian events to playing in clubs and more secular venues.

Smith goes into great detail about the ideas behind the new albums and how they were trying to make it work. It is a tough line to walk teetering between Rock band and Christian band. When they were opening for Bon Jovi or Bryan Adams, Delirious? played songs of love and had a whole new group of people worshiping.

As years went on and Delirious? traveled all over the world they realized they knew little of poverty, they also found how disconnected they had become with their local church. Early on they tried to be there to run worship once a month. But that was no longer feasible. When the band finally played their last set they did it on their terms.

I love Martin's honest writing style. It's pretty cool to see a behind-the-scenes journey of the band.

I'm enjoying reading Martin's book. I like reading biographies, and this one is an interesting read about a contemporary whose music I love.

Martin Smith shares, this is about trying, being human and addresses the following questions,

* How do I balance my "ministry" with my family?
* How do I know what God is leading me to do?
* Can I hold on to my first love for God while still holding on to the wisdom gained over years?

"Delirious" is a book of honest, what can be done and will challenge you to ask yourself these very same questions as you are moved by the sharing of what Martin Smith has to share. For many of us....surrounded by a life, often pinpointed by everyday details and routine, it can be as simple as getting out of our comfort zone.

Stirring, challenging and eye opening....you will find yourself also challenged to think along the lines of these questions of:

* "Are you going to be spectators or agents of change?
* Are you going to read history or make it happen?
* Are you just going to sing the songs or will you live them out?"

Thank you to TBB Media for the copy to read and review in exchange for my thoughts about the book!

Martin Smith opens up his heart and tells the story of his life as a worship leader with the contemporary Christian band Delirious?. "Delirious: My Journey with the Band, a Growing Family, and an Army of Historymakers" tells about Martin's childhood days growing up in a middle-class Christian home in England. He learned to play a guitar at a young age and started leading worship in his home church as a teenager. He married Anna, a pastor's daughter, and became involved in his church's outreach events.

In 1995, Mr. Smith was involved in a near-fatal car accident. During his weeks of recovery, he decided to become a full-time musician. He became the lead singer for the band Delirious? and his career quickly took off. Martin and the other members of the band were talented song writers as well as performers. The band toured all over the world and drew huge crowds at Christian events.

The author honestly tells about the many advantages and trials that come with touring and being a member of a popular Christian band. He is brutally honest about some of the challenges that they faced. He is very quick to give God all the glory for the success that he and the band experienced. It was important for him to stay connected to his home church and to limit his touring schedule to not exceed ten days at a time. Mr. Smith expressed the difficult feelings that he had to face when he left his wife and six children to travel with the band.

Joyce Meyer invited the members of Delirious? to lead worship at their conferences in the United States and abroad. Mr. Smith writes about how his life was changed when the band traveled to India to lead worship for a Joyce Meyer conference with over four hundred thousand people in attendance. The author met Farin, the daughter of a prostitute living in a Mumbai slum. This girl was the same age as one of his daughters, and without help she too would end up facing life as a sex worker. Mr. Smith felt the Lord calling him to help the poor people in India. He organized CompassionArt to raise money to help relieve the extreme poverty in third world countries.
The last part of the book tells about the transition period that Mr. Smith and his family are experiencing since the band broke up. His faith is stronger than ever and the future is bright for this talented musician.

This book is fascinating and inspirational. I was touched by Mr. Smith's strong faith in Christ during his long journey with Delirious? and beyond.

Thank you to B&B Media Group for sending me a free copy of this book to read and review