Why did Kerry Livgren and Scott Stapp Leave Their Bands?

Kerry Livgren left Kansas ...
... and Scott Stapp left Creed.

... henceforth Kansas lost its formerly immense popularity and Creed broke up.

From a worldly, or measurable point of view, Livgren and Stapp's decisions were unwise. By leaving their bands they lost the huge fan base that would have listened with rapt attention to anything they had to say. They could have kept writing their Spirit-laden lyrics, which might have topped out the mainstream music charts time and again.

On the other hand God doesn't care about being mainstream. He designed His gospel to be anything but mainstream. Jesus hints at this when He says "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13,14).

It may be that leaving behind their old acts was inevitable. Both Kansas and Creed stuck together for at least ten years, during which they came out with some of the best selling albums the music industry has ever seen. I would imagine that, after so many years, Livgren and Stapp must have felt stifled. They probably wanted to express their faith straightforwardly instead of in the veiled manned that their positions in the mainstream music scene necessitated.

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