In fact, Shelley Phillips (27), Heather Floyd (26), Terry Jones (26), and Denise Jones (27 -- and no relation to Terry) are down-home girls who are amazed and very grateful at the way things are going. After singing together since college, their break came at Estes Park in 1992 where Word Music saw them perform and eventually signed them up. They won a Dove Award for new artist of the year in 1994 and recently won three Dove Awards for 1996, including Group of the Year. They perform twelve to fifteen concerts per month, they've been much profiled in the media, and they have a hardcover book coming out this fall from Pocket Books in tandem with their new CD by the same title: Life, Love & Other Mysteries.
The book, subtitled "Advice and Inspiration from America's #1 Christian Pop Group," is highly readable with a friendly sort of scrapbook feel to it. Chapters start with at-a-glance info on each member of the group -- personal facts from the serious to the corny -- before diving into their individual life stories. Readers see four distinct personalities emerge with four very different backgrounds and journeys of faith.
Alongside these personal profiles are conversational discussions with the singers on issues such as family, faith, dating, the importance of virginity, and how to be your real self. Again, readers hear four opinions; it's a unique opportunity to know each member at her best, talking about things that matter.
A major message of Point of Grace in the book and in their concerts is the importance of chastity. Each of them, before they ever knew one another, made a pledge to God to remain a virgin until marriage. As Shelley puts it, "We like to let kids know that we aren't geeks, and if we remain virgins, they can, too." In their book, they encourage female fans to dress appropriately to help them get respectful treatment by the opposite sex. And their own wardrobes back them up: Point of Grace made a commitment among themselves to dress conservatively. And they do. Tasteful, but not flashy.
Pocket Books sought out Point of Grace (the name comes from the writings of C.S. Lewis) after a profile about them appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Each singer had her hesitations about a book being written about their lives. "Why?" I ask. "Boring!" they respond in laughing unison. Heather Floyd especially didn't think her "wonderful" life would make good reading.
But then they began to see the potential in such a book. Terry Jones points out that much of their audience at concerts consists of families, and she hopes the book encourages parents and "challenges them to raise their kids with high standards." Denise Jones is aware some people may see them as "prom queens," but this book allows each member to get up close and personal with readers in a way that is usually impossible in the image-making music world. There is, after all, value in true stories. "We're young," says Shelley Phillips, "and hopefully readers can learn from our experience."
Lonnie Hull Dupont is a writer and freelance editor in San Francisco, CA.
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