Eight years ago, Third Day, winners of 22 Dove Awards and three Grammys, extended Nigel James the invitation of a lifetime: the offer to tour with them as the group’s road pastor. Since that time, Nigel has been the group’s spiritual mentor and companion. In his new book, LESSONS FROM THE ROAD, he gives readers the chance to know the real Third Day --- a bunch of regular guys who happen to be brilliant Christian rock musicians.

Nigel is a native of Cardiff, Wales and the founder of IGNITE, a UK-based youth discipleship initiative, and he is also a frequent speaker on American college campuses. Prior to his tenure with Third Day, he travelled as a speaker with the Newsboys. Having toured with the likes of Michael W. Smith, Max Lucado, and, of course, Third Day, he knows all too well the challenges of life on the road.

“So much about traveling with the band happens behind the scenes. Fans only see the stage performances, and occasionally they might shake hands or get an autograph,” Nigel says. “I wanted to not only open up life on the tour bus and in the dressing room so that fans could have a clearer understanding of what tour life is all about, but also to let them know that the band is serious about their devotional life, reading, studying and praying together. These are just regular guys like anyone else, and they have their challenges in the Christian life as much as anyone.”

LESSONS FROM THE ROAD includes many firsthand accounts by each member of Third Day --- Tai Anderson, Brad Avery, David Carr, Mark Lee and Mac Powell --- describing everything from avoiding the pitfalls of “Christian celebrity” to battling homesickness and finding things to do during the downtime before a concert. Third Day fans will especially enjoy discovering the process through which songs like “Consuming Fire” and “Cry Out to Jesus” were created. Throughout the book, Nigel also shares some of his “lessons from the road” --- devotionals he has written and used with the band.

Both individually and as a group, the members of Third Day are dedicated husbands and fathers, passionate supporters of world missions and active participants in their local churches, and Nigel attributes their continued success to those qualities. “Maintaining a ministry focus --- and your own walk with God --- is a very real challenge for anyone working in the Christian marketplace, but in the long run the bands and the artists that flourish and have staying power are the ones that are firmly rooted in the local church and the passionate pursuit of God,” he states. “God is still involved in the ministry of Third Day, and I love being there in the middle of it all. I’m just as genuinely excited now as I was eight years ago.”

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LESSONS FROM THE ROAD © Copyright 2011 by Nigel James. Reprinted with permission by Authentic. All rights reserved.

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