As a songwriter, Nathan Tasker has always been aware of the spiritual impact his words will have on his listeners. However, after a year of professional highs and personal lows, Tasker’s music is ministering not only to audiences across the world, but to Tasker himself in ways he never imagined.
Tasker was a successful Christian artist in his native Australia when he and his wife, Cassie, moved to the U.S. in late 2006. Tasker called the move “ordained,” inspired by a desire to be part of a larger community of Christian artists.
“We had created something unique and special in Australia, but I don’t think I would have grown as much as an artist or in my faith if we hadn’t moved here,” Tasker said.
Following the release of his U.S. debut album “Home” in May 2011, Tasker saw his professional profile rise as three songs from the album reached the top of the Christian charts in Australia and the United Kingdom. He toured with Bebo Norman, gaining an even broader audience for his music.
Tasker’s personal life was soaring, too, as he and Cassie learned they were expecting their first children — twins. Unfortunately their excitement was short-lived. Not long after they learned about the twins, Cassie’s father died as the result of a brain tumor. Then at just 20 weeks pregnant Cassie was admitted to Baptist Hospital in Nashville. The amniotic sac around their baby girl had ruptured, and Cassie began emergency bed rest in an attempt to allow both babies to continue to grow and survive.
Two weeks later, Cassie went into labor. The first baby, Lucy, was stillborn; Jack arrived two hours later and lived only for a few hours.
The grieving couple, so far from family and friends in Australia, were lifted up by their church family in Nashville.
“They gathered around us in very real and practical ways — from our pastor and Bible study leaders visiting with us in the hospital to the dinners that were brought to us every other night for over two months and the many prayers by those who didn’t even know us and yet beseeched God on our behalf,” Tasker said.
Tasker’s fellow artists helped him through the grief as well, probing the themes of suffering and faith as they wrote together. Though written with the idea of encouraging others in mind, the songs have had an impact on Tasker’s own heart as well.
“I now find that the songs are not only serving those in front of me, but are turning around and reminding my own heart of truth — of the love God has for me even as I cry out in my sorrow or shake my fist in my anger and confusion,” Tasker said.
As he and Cassie have navigated the waters of grief they have experienced a hope greater than their sorrow. That hope, he said, comes from the comforting love of Jesus.
“Both of us have explored what it means for Him to be known as the ‘Man of Sorrows,’ well acquainted with grief of every kind,” Tasker said.
The soon-to-be-released single “Eternity,” the third release from “Home,” holds special significance in light of the losses the Taskers have experienced. The song was inspired by the legacy of Arthur Stace, a homeless alcoholic who lived on the streets of Sydney, Australia. Stace’s life changed when he became a Christian, and he sought to make others consider their own spiritual condition by writing the word “eternity” in chalk more than 500,000 times around his city.
“Obviously the message of eternal life, won for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, is the most important message I can share. And it’s even more poignant as I contemplate my father-in-law and my twins who are now experiencing that reality,” Tasker said.
He has even begun to share his personal story from the stage in hopes of encouraging others who are experiencing pain and loss. After working with Tasker on tour, Norman praised both Tasker’s musical talent and his gift of relating to an audience.
“[His] ability to pursue great art, to connect with a live audience on a profound level and to be genuinely relational is as uncommon as it is inspiring,” Norman said.
As a result of Tasker’s honesty in front of audiences, fans have shared their own deepest hurts and sorrows with the Taskers, which Nathan called “a humbling and terrifying experience.”
“It has helped me to remember that the church is full of a lot of heartache and personal loss, and if our sermons, songs and prayers don’t speak to this then a lot of what we do is in vain,” he said.
In his words, both spoken and sung, Tasker’s top priority is to honor Jesus, a goal that resonates with audiences.
“Ultimately I hope that Jesus, ‘God with us,’ is held up as the One who truly understands our pain more than we could ever imagine and stands beside us in the midst of our sorrow.”
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