Greater Vision: (left to right) Jason Waldroup, Gerald Wolfe, Rodney Griffin      



      The Southern Gospel trio Greater Vision travels extensively across the country, singing nearly 200 times a year, but lead singer Gerald Wolfe explained that their lives of ministry are not so sacrificial compared to the lives of Jesus’ earliest disciples, such as the apostle Paul, whom Wolfe admires. “Paul was willing to go anywhere, anytime, at any cost to share the Gospel,” he said. “We get complimented for our ‘sacrifice’ when we climb on a comfortable bus every week and travel to sing to people who love us. Paul was persecuted for preaching the Gospel to lots of folks who didn’t like him at all. There’s a contrast there that my ‘sacrifice’ seems like a vacation. That puts things in their proper perspective. We are so blessed.” 
      Wolfe, Rodney Griffin, and Jason Waldroup have been honored numerous times, including having been named Trio of the Year by Singing News and the Southern Gospel Music Association, and having won Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Video of the Year. Griffin has been named Songwriter of the Year for eight years, Wolfe has been named Favorite Male Vocalist for six years, and Waldroup has been named Gospel Music’s Favorite Young Artist and Favorite Tenor. 
      Yet, with the accolades, they maintain a humble spirit. 
      They have been gifted with the talent to sing, and, when it came to deciding what type of music to sing, each said the choice was clear to sing Gospel. 
      “I’ve never even given a thought to doing any other type of music,” said Wolfe. “I figure God gave me the gift to do what I do, so why would I want to use it for anything else? Gospel music is all I’ve ever sung. It’s all I know.” 
      “Christian music encourages a weary saint,” said Griffin. “And, when we go through a storm, we always seem to go back to a Gospel song to help us and encourage us. Secular music doesn’t lift you up when you’re low. It doesn’t have any hope at the end of it. When the song is over, it’s over. But, when a Gospel song is over, the hope has just begun.” 
      “Gospel music is the only music with the Gospel in it,” said Waldroup. “It wouldn’t make much sense to sing anything else.”
      Each began singing at an early age. “I always knew it was what I would do,” said Wolfe. “I never really chased it. It chased me. I started singing on the radio when I was three, and then sang in local churches until I was 17. That’s when I ‘hit the road’ as the pianist for the Dumplin Valley Boys. I was with them from 1981 until 1986, when I joined the Cathedrals. I traveled with them until December of 1988, and then did solo work until forming Greater Vision in December of 1990 with Mark Trammell and Chris Allman.” 
      “My first influences were Glen Payne, George Younce, the Cathedrals, back in the 1970’s,” said Griffin. “I knew that I wanted to do this, but I did not feel adequate, talented enough. I had such a love for it, and music came naturally to me. I didn’t have to struggle with it. I could hear parts early on in life. Then, as I grew in my walk with the Lord, I saw how the music can help encourage folks in their walk with Christ. So the combination of my desire to sing met up with my vision of what Gospel music can do to encourage a weary saint. And I’ve been blessed to be singing full-time for 16 years.” 
      “I think that I was called at birth or maybe before,” said Waldroup. “I never wanted to do anything else. I can look back at my life and see how God was molding me in every aspect to do what I do now. I’ve only recently realized that. What I do is the Great Commission—to reach the world with the best of my abilities. Anything less to me would be sin.” 
      Wolfe was only eight years old when he accepted Christ as his Savior. “Growing up in church, I always knew there would come a time when I would know that I needed a personal relationship with the Jesus I had learned about in Sunday School and the one I had sung about since I was three,” he said. “That moment came for me during a revival meeting at the church I grew up in, on a Wednesday night in April of 1971. I’ve never forgotten it, and I’ve never been the same since. Since I was saved at an early age, I never got involved with ‘the world’, so to speak. I’ve always been in church, and, thankfully, I’ve never experienced some of the things that I’ve heard others testify of being delivered from. I’m very thankful for my Christian upbringing, and that I accepted Christ when I was eight. I’ve been spared a lot of heartache.” 
      Griffin was saved at the age of 12 in a Sunday night service at the church where his father pastored. “For the first time, I realized that, if I were to die that night, I would spend an eternity in hell separated from God,” he said. “The only relief I could find was to step forward during the invitation and take my pastor, which was my Dad, by the hand, and say I needed to be saved. It’s incredible to know the Lord—to know how He cares about the little things in life. A true friend knows the little things that matter to you. The Lord has shown me just how much He loves not only meeting my needs, but giving me blessings along the way that only He would know about. He has shown His faithfulness all these years.” 
      Waldroup gave his life to the Lord at the age of 15. “I was at a revival our pastor was preaching at,” he said. “I wasn’t paying much attention during the service, but, when the altar call was given, the Holy Spirit spoke to me, and I knew that this was my decision time. I went to the altar and was the only one there. But, after I went forward, several other people came to the altar and were saved, one of them being my Mom. Jesus changed my life the moment I was saved. I’ve not always been perfect, but, since that day, when I do wrong or even have a bad thought, the Holy Spirit always convicts me. That’s what being a Christian and having Christ in your life is about.” 
      Wolfe’s favorite passage of scripture is Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. “Whenever someone asks me to sign their Bible, I always reference that scripture. If we could ever really learn that and allow the world to see Christ in us, the results would be astonishing.” 
      “I love Psalm 27:4,” said Griffin. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. To stand and behold the beauty of the Lord really calms a multitude of fears. If we’ll just spend time beholding his beauty, we’ll see how able He is. That’s why I love that scripture.”
      Waldroup said that his favorite verse from scripture is Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 
      Wolfe said that he counts among his favorites many Gospel songs, “too many to name.” What he enjoys the most about singing, he said, is seeing the results it brings. “I love it when a song ‘hits home’ and you can see the expressions on people’s faces change as the Lord uses a song to touch their hearts,” he said. 
      He advises aspiring Gospel singers to sing at every opportunity they are afforded. “You never know when the Lord might have you in the right place at the right time in front of the right person that He will use to open other doors of opportunity for you,” he said.
       Griffin named Great is thy Faithfulness and The Old Rugged Cross as his favorite hymns. “Probably my favorite song that we sing is The Spirit of Brokenness,” he added. 
      He also advises young singers to sing at every opportunity. “And don’t think you’ll start at the top,” he added. “Start at the local level, and the Lord will raise you up. The Lord will open up new doors. Work on honing your craft, watch great singers and see what they do that makes them great communicators, and emulate them. First and foremost, walk with the Lord as close as you can, and everything else will fall into place.” 
      A prolific songwriter, Griffin has written more than 300 songs since 1989. “While I’m writing it, I’m singing it,” he explained. “I’m excited about what the folks are going to experience when the song is done. Basically, I’m just sharing a feeling with them that I got. I was the first one to experience that feeling of whatever the song is talking about. I’m excited as I’m writing it, singing it, and rehearsing it, to know that someone else is going to have the same vision of the Lord that I just received.” 
      “Making a difference in people’s lives” is what Waldroup enjoys most about singing Gospel music. His favorite song, he said, is Victory in Jesus. His advice to young singers is, “Don’t get preoccupied with things other than sharing the Gospel.” 
      Great influences in his life have been his parents, Wayne and Ramona Waldroup. He added that he is appreciative to Wolfe and Griffin, who have been positive influences for him. “They gave me a start and a great group to stay in,” he said. 
      The trio and their families all live in Wolfe’s hometown of Morristown, Tennessee. Griffin is originally from Somerset, Kentucky. Waldroup is a native of Carrolton, Georgia. 
      Wolfe and his wife, Donna, have two sons, Benjamin and Avery, and a daughter, Casey. Griffin and his wife, Regina, have two daughters, Reagan and Riley. Waldroup and his wife, Missy, have a daughter, Abbie, and son, Jonathon. 
      Family is important to all three men. 
      “I’m blessed to have been influenced by lots of great Christians,” said Wolfe. “Without question, my parents, M.L. and Mary Wolfe, have been the greatest influence on me, personally speaking. They stand out in my mind as two of the greatest, most consistent Christians I’ve ever known.” 
      “My Dad, Jeff Griffin, is the most consistent man I’ve ever known in his walk with the Lord,” said Griffin. “He pastors at Northview Baptist Church in Hillsborough, Ohio. My Mom, Sue Griffin, has always been my biggest cheerleader.” 
      While, from the scriptures, Wolfe admires the Apostle Paul, Griffin said that Caleb is one of his favorite characters. “I tend to be an optimist,” he said. “So, I love the optimism of Caleb, who, in the face of opposition, voted that the Israelites conquer the Promised Land, that no giant was too big for God’s people to conquer.” 
      Waldroup admires the Apostle Peter. “He was the best example of an ordinary person who was radically changed by Christ,” he said. 
      Wolfe encourages anyone who does not know the Lord to give their lives to Him. “By all means,” he said, “don’t live another day without knowing you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! Since He’s already paid your sin-debt in full and offered you eternal life with Him and a glorious relationship with Himself here, why wouldn’t you want to accept His gift of salvation?”
       “Life is short, and we have an appointment with our maker,” said Griffin. “God gave Jesus to us to open heaven wide for us, and there is no need choosing the road to hell when the road to heaven has been paid for in full.” 
      Wolfe advises Christians to “obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. 
   “That’s not an original thought,” he added. “I’ve heard Dr. Charles Stanley say it many times, and I try to live by it.” 
      Griffin advises Christians to find their gift and use that gift for the Lord. “Don’t think that, if you’re not a singer or preacher, you’re not important,” he added. “It’s the everyday people of the world that the Lord uses. Never think that, because you’re not on stage or getting the accolades, you’re not absolutely necessary to further God’s work.” 
      Sharing the Gospel should be the priority of every Christian, said Waldroup. “Just because you go to a normal job or stay at home with the kids every day does not mean that God has pardoned you from the Great Commission,” he said. 
      Wolfe said that he would like to be remembered “as someone who was consistent in their walk with the Lord, as a good Dad and husband, as a friend. And I’d like to think that, when someone remembered me, they would either smile or laugh. That would be a great compliment.” 
      Griffin said that he would like to be remembered simply as “a man who walked with God.” 
      Waldroup shared that he would like to be remembered as a person who “did not do anything to disgrace my family or the cause of Christ.” 
      The cause of Christ, as Wolfe noted, is the reason for our existence, as Christians, and God uses our life experiences to mold our character to reflect the character of Jesus. “Just as with everyone else, experiences are what shaped my life,” he said. “I’ve had lots of great experiences and some bad ones, too. Being raised in a strong, Christian home helped set the direction for my life. Having Rheumatic Fever when I was 11 helped me understand and empathize with people who have a long-term illness. Being married for more than 20 years helps me understand personal relationships. Being a father of three helps me understand parenting and God’s love for His children. Every experience we have shapes our lives, and God is certainly involved in those experiences. His ultimate goal is to use our experiences to form us into ‘the image of His Son.’”



      Link: www.GreaterVisionMusic.com