Scott Laughridge, who also handles lead vocal chores for the Sons of Mercy, readily confesses to having lived the party life, even while professing to love the Lord. "I worked hard and I made good money," Scott explains, "but my priorities were all wrong. It was all about getting more... more money, more toys, more this, more that. The funny thing is, I knew I was not living right. And I was miserable. I remember praying, 'Father, please, I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to drink. I don't want to lie to my wife. I just want to come back to You.' One of the biggest blessings God has given me was when He said, 'Wake up. I'm giving you a second chance'."

The band's newest member Torre Stanfill, traveled a prodigal road that was paved with success in the entertainment industry. Charged with producing stage shows for one of the largest family entertainment companies in the country, Torre found himself in demand literally seven days a week. "I visited church once every three or four months," he says. "One Sunday the teaching was all about priorities in life. I was shaken by the fact that I knew that God had saved me, and yet I had never taken steps to build on that relationship. I realized that my job completely consumed my life. I prayed, 'God, don't let work be the most important thing in my life anymore'." The next day Torre discovered that his company had been bought out and his job eliminated. "It was at that point that I started to really develop a relationship with God, with my family and with friends again. And all the things I had done professionally for years, I now had a place to do them for God."

Terry Thomas, the band's founder, took a slightly different road than his prodigal bandmates. "While I was in college, I took a Youth and Music position at a church, " he says. "Honestly, I took it for the money. $91 dollars a week was a lot for a college kid! But I really grew to love those people and I worked as if it were a full time job. I became engrossed in the job, even working part-time at other jobs just so I could stay at that church. It was sort of a security for me." It was a struggle to leave the comfort of the familiar, but after seven years Terry knew God was calling him back to Atlanta. "I went back to my home church, and they were singing praise songs that I was not familiar with. The more I went, the more I realized, 'Man, this is not just church; this is worship!' Like the prodigal son, it was really good to be home again."

Terry originally formed the group just to have a creative outlet to praise God at church on occasion. But before long invitations to sing at other events began to pour in. One of the most memorable, and heart wrenching, was the opportunity to sing at a prayer breakfast in Littleton, Colorado shortly after the tragic school shooting at Columbine High School. Over sixty people prayed to receive Christ after that event, Terry recalls.

While the Sons of Mercy continue to find themselves in ever-greater demand, they are quick to point out that this is not a career for the foursome, but a calling. "One of our biggest prayers is that God would move us out of the way," Terry insists. "And it has been such a blessing to watch how He has orchestrated everything."

"God has changed our lives," Doug explains. "He is still changing our lives. It is a process. The focus of this band is to communicate the message of God's mercy. He will change your life if you let Him. It's never too late."

It is a confession that is echoed emphatically by Doug's bandmates, and it is a theme that permeates the band's self-titled debut project. Produced by rock 'n' roll legend Michael Gleason (Kansas, A.D.), Sons of Mercy examines the multi-faceted mystery of God's unfathomable forgiveness from the perspective of the forgiven. Gems like the Lowell Alexander-penned "What Mercy Means," gently examine the plight of every man, woman and child who stands in need of forgiveness -- "It doesn't take too much to come apart at the seams and make you learn, that's what mercy means". "All's Forgiven", written by Michael Gleason, is a contemporary retelling of the story of the prodigal son. And the gentle praise song, "What I Believe" gratefully acknowledges the sacrifice that bought our salvation.

It's funny how God sets priorities in life... priorities that have everything to do with what we need, and nothing to do with what we think we want. When the four men, collectively known as the Sons of Mercy, were confronted with the unmerited love and grace of the Redeemer, each found his priorities radically altered. Suddenly they realized that what they wanted and what they needed was the same thing. They share this revelation on their debut album, which like the band itself, is delightfully diverse and yet refreshingly cohesive. Shades of pop, folk, rock, and inspirational make their way into the project. Each contributes a tantalizing element that enhances the flavor of the whole. Each harmonic twist, or vocal nuance is carefully placed to gently prod the listener a little further down their own prodigal road, and closer into the arms of the Father... for that is where mercy waits.