Phil Joel: Newsboys, Zealand Worship, and Choosing Family Over Fame

Phil Joel, bassist and vocalist with the iconic Christian band Newsboys for over a dozen years, solo artist, author, and frontman for the band Zealand has sworn off social media. No Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, Qzone, Weibo, Reddit, Flickr, Tumblr, Meetup or Odnoklassniki, which, by the way has 71 million active monthly users. Joel can’t be found on any of them. Zip. Nada. None How can anyone who hopes to connect with listeners and fans as a musician possibly ignore all social media, and further, WHY would they choose to not participate in the billions of daily Tweets, memes, and posts that fuel the social frenzy of our collective cultural experience? Well, the answers may surprise you, or, you may find yourself questioning your own obsession with likes and shares once you hear them from the totally Christ-centered and family oriented Phil Joel, a classy guy from Down Under New Zealand who says he’s definitely not “anti-social media,” but who has made a solid choice to trust God to be his best press agent and promoter. Phil Joel’s had the same blond dreads since he was 17 and he’s not lost his youthful zeal for the Lord despite millions of miles and millions of fans. We talk about so many great things on this episode - - we have some laughs and go deep, as well, into his new book and Zealand’s new album Liberated. I know you’re going to really love this chat with my new friend from Down Under, Phil Joel.