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Jagged guitar riffs cut across dark lyrics to introduce what twenty-eight year old Sharon Acker refers to as, "a rocking prayer." "Rescue Me" is a prayer to God to rescue, deliver and bring salvation. Acker fronts the rock group Inhabited, one of the brightest stars from the Fervent Records label. Her gritty vocals do well in expressing the Psalmist's frustration in Psalm 40 which serves as the inspiration for "Rescue Me." 
 
Acker said "Rescue Me," "Is about our Christian walk and what grace really means." She then paraphrased David's cry recorded in Psalm 40, "I can't even look at you or lift up my head. Please rescue me. Deliver me."
 
In some ways "Rescue Me," recorded for The Revolution CD, stands juxtaposed to Inhabited's newest project. Recently the band was in the studio recording with producer Monroe Jones (Ginny Owens). Acker said, "The theme (of the CD) is we are going to encounter hard times in life but we can overcome them. It talks about how we have so much to live for. I know sometimes I get caught up in maximizing the issue instead of maximizing God or the other side of the problem. This CD really takes people to the other side."
 
The new recording will cut to the heart of Inhabited's ministry to those who are hurting. The theme is reflected in one of their earlier tunes, "One More Night." The song is drawn from the lives of many girls whom Acker has tried to reach out to. She talked about one particular email that inspired "One More Night." "I get a lot of emails from young people who are going through difficult times and this email in particular stood out. She was living in a store and sleeping on a couch. The way she described (the situation) it was very dirty. I put dirty floor (in the lyrics) because everybody has gone through those points in your life where no matter if it is abuse or different things we hit rock bottom," she said. The lighter melodic rock beat provides a good balance to darker lyrics keeping the song from becoming too melancholy.
 
Acker says the intent of "One More Night" is to draw attention to the growing epidemic of distressed American families. In particular she noted families where one or both parents may be drug users, one parent families and families where love is not openly expressed. She wants to draw attention to the importance of children knowing that they are loved by their parents. Once again she paraphrases scripture and uses it as a beacon of hope. God says he will be "A father to the fatherless."
 
When she isn't touring, Acker "hangs out" with teenaged girls and meets with them for Bible studies. She has written many of the girls she has encountered through email and Inhabited's concerts. Despite an emerging artist's slim funds she has on occasion dipped into her own resources to send girls books on how to deal with issues such as cutting and abuse. 
 
"From the time I was pretty young I asked God to give me His heart. I feel that He has helped me to see people through His eyes and to have compassion.  One of the keys to Jesus' ministry was he had compassion for the masses," she said. 
 
In 2004 world renowned illusionist Brock Gill recognized both the talent and heart for ministry that the band possessed and invited them to tour with him. When The Phantom Tollbooth contacted Gill he had this to say, “Inhabited has been a band that I can count on to bring great music and a heart ready for ministry. They understand ministry to people and the joy of serving. I wanted a group of rock stars without them being (acting like) rock stars. They are amazing on stage at what they do. They grab the audience and keep them, but they don’t act untouchable off stage." 
 
Acker said, "He (Gill) is so out of the box. He has such a heart to reach the lost that we connected instantly. He asked us to join him for the Freedom Experience tour. People watch the show and then he presents the gospel. It isn't watered down. It is just straight up."  Acker said by the end of each performance many would accept the invitation to accept Christ as their savior. 
  
The young woman with the sandpaper vocals was disarming as she punctuated the conversation with girl-like giggles. It was startling to hear her confess, "When we first started I was really nervous and I had no strength to my voice. I couldn't sing for very long before my voice would get tired. Some girls get up on stage when they are six and when they sing they are just amazing, that wasn't me. I had to train for it." She credits her vocal coach Kim Sandusky with helping her gain confidence and strengthening her voice. 
 
Acker said in the early days as the band was gathering steam she realized what a great platform Inhabited had for sharing the gospel. "You have an audience staring at you for thirty minutes to an hour. It is then that I realized how powerful a tool music is and what we (Inhabited) are called to do," she said.
 
Inhabited is comprised of Sara's brother Marcus Acker (guitar), longtime member Justin Tinnel (guitar), bassist James Colvin, and the newest member of the group, drummer Charlie Harper. During Inhabited's formative days as a worship band Harper, still in his early teens, laid down the beats.
 
Acker said that the band really enjoyed working on the new CD with Monroe Jones who also produced Revolution. "He has such a passion for God and music. He allows the artists to be true to themselves rather than try and mold them into something else." Jones, who has a reputation for challenging artists to raise the bar and helps highlight their most vibrant colors, certainly has his fingerprints all over Inhabited and we eagerly anticipate the yet to be named new CD.
 
www.inhabitedtheband.com 
 
By Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved

Joe Montague is an internationally published journalist / photographer. His ministry is dedicated to the memory of his late son Kent David Montague who went to heaven at the age of 18. All copyright and distribution rights remain the property of Joe Montague.