For King & Country — a four-time Dove award winning Christian — led an inspiring convo on Wednesday.
The Christian-pop duo — consisting of Australian-born brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone — are proud citizens of Nashville, TN.
When it originated, the band wanted to find a name that encapsulated their core beliefs.
“Hundreds of years ago, soldiers would charge into battle, standing for what they believed bigger than themselves, and the phrase they would chant was For King and Country, which we felt exemplified our mission,” said Joel.
Part of this mission includes philanthropic efforts, including the fight to end sex trafficking.
In 2016, Joel and Luke produced a movie called “Priceless,” with Joel as the lead role. The movie sought to motivate both women and men to take responsibility and start calling out inequalities and aspects of our culture that can be damaging to women.
In the same vein, Joel offered students inspiration to be themselves during an instrumental break.
“Girls these are facts; no matter what someone says, does, or impresses on you…you are beautifully and fearfully made. There are over 7 billion people on the planet but there is only one you,” said Joel.
In another meaningful gesture, the band brought necklaces with the Australian one cent coin as a pendant to represent that women are priceless and deserve more than what is given to them by society. Alongside this action, the band addressed the men in the audience about how they can help.
“It starts small,” said Joel. “It starts with not looking at things you know you shouldn’t be looking at. It starts with small remarks about women. Slowly but surely. I want to challenge us men to bring an end. I challenge you to stand up and do something. Be proactive and call out injustices.”
For the time being, King and Country are currently wrapping up recording for a new album and are getting ready for a U.S. winter tour. They will be back in Nashville to play a show on November 5 at Bridgestone Arena.
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This article written by Safara Parrott.