On My Way Home
Two years ago, Jeremy Holderfield of Seventh Day Slumber stepped off the road into a new venture. Things seem to be paying off.
Words by Justin Hunter | Images by Blakeney Clouse
“… A dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12, New Living Translation
At age 14, Jeremy Holderfield had the answer to the age-old question, “What are you going to do when you grow up?” dialed in like the guitar tone on his Splawn amp. He wanted to be in a rock band because he thought it would be cool.
He didn’t know God would take his teenage rock and roll dream and transform it into an international ministry of hope as a guitarist/producer for the Christian band, Seventh Day Slumber. Holderfield witnessed the power of music draw the hurting masses to the healing heart of Jesus. He has seen literally thousands give their lives to Christ.
“The music side is really neat, like having a couple of #1 songs and being on a tour bus,” Holderfield says. “All of the accolades are cool, but what God did for [the fans] through us made it worth staying in the band for 18 years. We were delivering hope.”
Holderfield says he grew up in the “good kind” of sheltered Christian family. However, he didn’t learn about the grace of God until he started touring at age 22. “I learned how to love people without judgment and how to reveal to them the love, hope, and grace of God,” he says.
After being introduced to Seventh Day Slumber by his then-girlfriend and now wife, Annie, he joined the band in 2002. Since Annie’s sister married the front man, this form of Christian rock music was a family affair.
Jeremy spent years traveling the globe with Annie and their two kids as a touring member of Seventh Day Slumber before getting off the road in 2018. He had literally raised his kids on a tour bus, converting a part of the bus into a homeschool area. He eventually felt it was time for the kids to have more of a normal life. “God opened the door for me to come home with the studio Redbeard Nashville…I had enough work at the studio and with my booking agency that I didn’t need to tour financially.”
Holderfield has spent the last two years growing his production company. Earlier this year, he was nominated for Producer of The Year for a Christian rock award show called The Grizzly Awards.
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, Holderfield felt God was leading him down a new career path outside of the music world. As a boy, he grew up in an insurance office, watching his father impact the community by selling protection for when tragedy struck. So in 2018, Jeremy accepted a position as an insurance agent for Country Financial in Tennessee. He is now following in the footsteps of his father, Jimmy, who holds a license with the same brokerage in Jasper.
“It’s a normal life with this insurance stuff that I haven’t had since 1999,” Holderfield says. “Music was fulfilling, so when I decided to get a normal job, it had to be just as fulfilling as playing live music. I feel like I’m still getting to help people while making a living for my family.”
Whether selling policies or performing on the stage, Holderfield says that Christian faith in action isn’t about the platform, lights, or performance, but about helping those in need. “It doesn’t matter where you are from or what your background is, God can use you,” he says. 78