Stephen Christian Arnold is an American singer and songwriter best known as the

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

of the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Anberlin Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida, in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, ...

, as well as the vocalist of his acoustic side-project Anchor & Braille. He and his bandmates started Anberlin in 2002, after the demise of their previous group, known as SaGoh 24/7. He is one of the main songwriters for Anberlin alongside Joseph Milligan, and with the band had released seven albums before their initial disbandment in 2014 and began working on an eighth album in 2020. Many of the albums in the Anberlin discography have peaked in the top ten on various ''Billboard'' charts. He founded the non-profit and humanitarian-oriented band Faceless International, and is the founder of Wood Water Records, the home of Anchor & Braille. Christian wrote and self-published the memoir ''The Orphaned Anything's'' (2008). Christian also started the solo project Anchor & Braille in 2007, and their debut album ''

Felt Felt is a textile that is produced by matting, condensing, and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic fiber, acrylic or acrylonitrile or ...

'', produced by Aaron Marsh of Copeland, was released in 2009. ''Felt'' debuted at number 30 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart. They released a second album, '' The Quiet Life'', in 2012, with Christian again handling vocals and songwriting. A reviewer on

Absolutepunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...

called ''The Quiet Life'' "a chaotic beauty of an album as well as hristian'smost personal and eloquent effort to date." On October 30, 2018, Calvary Church of Clearwater, Florida announced that Christian will assume the role of director of worship and creative arts in January 2019, and on August 26, 2019, Christian announced that he would be the campus pastor for Grace Family Church's South Tampa Campus.

Early life and education

Stephen Christian was born in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. At some point in his early life, Christian moved to

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

. Christian attended Winter Haven High School along with bandmates Deon Rexroat and Joseph Milligan. During high school, the three formed the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band SaGoh 24/7 with Joey Bruce, which eventually transformed into

. Christian's younger brother Paul was an influence on some of the band's music. They released two albums, '' Servants After God's Own Heart'' (1999), and '' Then I Corrupt Youth'' (2001), with Christian singing lead vocals on both. Christian is a graduate from

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

and the Florida State University College of Law, with a bachelor's degree in Psychology. He attended college to study non-profits, with plans to work for

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, but Anberlin was signed a month after he graduated.

Career

2002–2014: Anberlin

Following the signing of Anberlin, Christian wrote many of the songs on each of the band's albums. Anberlin has released seven albums: '' Blueprints for the Black Market'', '' Never Take Friendship Personal'', ''

Cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

'', '' New Surrender'', and '' Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place'', '' Vital'', and '' Lowborn''. Anberlin also released a compilation album, '' Lost Songs''. They released their final album in 2014. Christian wrote a memoir, ''The Orphaned Anything's'', which was self-published via iUniverse in early 2008.

2007–2014: Anchor & Braille, Wood Water Records

He is also the founder of Anchor & Braille's label, Wood Water Records, which is distributed through

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, which Anberlin is signed to. He founded the acoustic group Anchor & Braille, and they released a 7" single in 2007. He wrote all songs and performed vocals on their 2009 album ''

'', which was recorded in 2008. The album was released through Christian's own label Wood Water Records and Federal Distribution on August 4, 2009 and was produced, engineered and mixed by Aaron Marsh from fellow

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

-based band Copeland. ''Felt'' debuted at number 30 on the ''

chart. His 2012 album with Anchor & Braille, '' The Quiet Life'', was well-received by critics, with most of the praise directed at Christian's songwriting. Of "Goes Without Saying", Artist Direct called it "One of the most brilliant and beautiful entries into Christian's catalog, and it's the perfect prelude to the sonic majesty contained in ''The Quiet Life''."

2015–present: Worship leader and Anberlin reunion

After what was purported to be a final world tour with Anberlin, Christian followed what he described as "God's leading" to serve as director of worship at Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In May 2015, Christian was a contestant on ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'', dressing up like host

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...

circa his appearance on '' Star Search''. The Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida announced that Christian would return to the Tampa Bay region to assume the role of director of worship and creative arts on January 6, 2019. He accepted the role of campus pastor of Grace Family Church's South Tampa Campus on August 26, 2019. That same year, Anberlin formally announced their reunion after what was believed to be a one-off tour in 2018.

Publishing history

Books * ''The Orphaned Anything's'' (February 2008)

Discography

With SaGoh 24/7

Studio albums *1999: ''Servants After God's Own Heart'' – lead vocals *2001: ''Then I Corrupt Youth'' – lead vocals

With Anberlin

Studio albums *2003: '' Blueprints for the Black Market'' – lead vocals *2005: '' Never Take Friendship Personal'' – lead vocals *2007: ''

'' – lead vocals *2007: '' Lost Songs'' – lead vocals *2008: '' New Surrender'' – lead vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer *2010: '' Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place'' – lead vocals *2012: '' Vital'' – lead vocals *2013: '' Devotion'' – lead vocals *2014: '' Lowborn'' – lead vocals

With Anchor & Braille

As a solo artist

*2017: ''Wildfires'' *2021: ''Spirited''

Collaborations

The following is an incomplete list of songs that have Stephen Christian featured as either a vocalist or songwriter: * 2009: Craig Owens – ''With Love EP'' (featured vocalist on the song "Products of Poverty") * 2011: Hyland – "The One That Got Away" (featuring Stephen Christian during the chorus) * 2015: Fireflight – "Safety" (featuring Stephen Christian), on '' Innova'' * Horsell Common – "I'm Dead" (featuring Stephen Christian) * 2022: Zakk Cash - “Goodbye” (featured vocalist) * Esteban – "Follow" (featuring Stephen Christian) *

Greek Fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon system used by the Byzantine Empire from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret; historians have variously speculated that it was based on saltp ...

– "I'm Afraid of Americans" (featuring Stephen Christian) * Number One Gun – "Disappear" (featuring Stephen Christian), on '' This Is All We Know''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Stephen Living people American performers of Christian music American indie pop musicians American male singers American rock singers Singers from Michigan Musicians from Kalamazoo, Michigan Songwriters from Michigan University of Central Florida alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American male songwriters People from Winter Haven, Florida Singers from Florida Songwriters from Florida 20th-century births