Reach Out and Touch Faith


This past Wednesday I had a dream in which I wandered into a room next door to a place I was staying at. The English band Depeche Mode was rehearsing (and possibly recording) in there. I didn’t interrupt them but got excited enough to walk back to my room and thought about posting on my Facebook page: “Depeche Mode is playing in the room next to me.” Then I woke up.

Named after a French fashion magazine, Depeche Mode is considered the most successful electronic band in music history. I first heard this four-man (now three-man) group on MTV during the early 1980s when synthesizer-based bands didn’t receive much radio airplay. Hearing them and other technopop artists inspired me to create my own electronic music.

Some of Depeche Mode’s songs like “Blasphemous Rumours” may come across as sacrilegious. I prefer to look at them as a group searching for the truth. Many of their other songs imply spiritual themes. For example, their 1993 album “Songs of Faith and Devotion” includes tracks such as “I Feel You”, “Condemnation”, “Judas”, “Get Right with Me”, and “Higher Love.” I read that lead singer David Gahan listened to a lot of gospel music around the time this album was recorded.

One of Depeche Mode’s better-known hits is “Personal Jesus”, which contains the oft-repeated line “reach out and touch faith.” I’m praying that all the group members have a real personal encounter with Jesus. It would be interesting to hear Depeche Mode truly make music for Him.

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” - Hebrews 11:6

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