A father to be
Since
its inception, Toby McKeehan has been the man most likely to
front dc Talk. As the oldest and the founder, he set the vision,
co-produced the records (with Mark Heimermann), wrote the
majority of the songs and served as group spokesman in the band's
earlier developement years. But now comes a challenge for which
not even Mr. Responisibility can prepare.
"The actual release date of the record,
Sept. 22, is the release date of my child," says McKeehan.
"I don't know what to think. I'm excited but nervous. I
can't put together the fact that part of me is a child inside [my
wife] Amanda. It's part of me and part of her. And pretty soon
it's gonna be in my arms."
Despite his uncertainty, McKeehan's given
plenty of thought to the type of father he hopes to be.
"I want to be a kid with my kid. I'm
pretty serious with most people, but when I'm with kids, I'll be
like diving into the carpet, playing hide and seek with all my
heart. My biggest problem is going to be being a father. At some
point I think I have to be the authority."
For a man who played golf since the age of
12 to earn a scholarship to college, a man who now runs his own
record company in addition to pursuing a career in dc Talk,
workaholic tendencies aboud, and fatherhood promises refining
fires.
"I love working in music. It's easy to
excuse your work as ministry so it's very easy to excuse being a
workaholic. It's scary to think that I'm going to go through one
of those metamorphoses where it's like, 'All right, now this
[music business] matters even less than it did.' Everyone has
told me that [fatherhood is] going to bring an unbelievable
perspective. I know that balance can be achieved."