[WM] First of all, congratulations on the recent
birth of your son, Shiloh Joel!
[Shae Wilbur] Thank you, it’s really a whole
new world for me now.
[WM] I’d like to begin with a bit of your
background with you. There are certainly
numerous popular artists that have grown up
in Christian musician’s homes; most notably
Jon and Tim Foreman, and Chad Butler, from
Switchfoot, and both Evan and Phil Wickham,
are just a few of these names. However, you
uniquely differ in that you grew up not simply
in an American “evangelical” Christian home,
but a Messianic Jewish household, which I find
fascinating. Both your father (Joel Chernoff)
and father-in-law (Paul Wilbur), are well-
respected Messianic musicians and leaders.
What traditions did you grow up with that help
to define you as a believer today?
[Shae] There were a lot of traditions that I grew
up in. I grew up in a very Jewish household, so
I was raised to believe in Jesus and that Jesus
was the Messiah. I accepted the Lord personally
at a young age and made that decision to give
my life to God. We were really big on all of the
Jewish traditions, and all of the holidays that
are outlined in Leviticus 23, we celebrated. We
grew up having the Passover Seders, and we
would celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, or
“Sukkot”. Every Sukkot I remember my Dad.
We lived in this Orthodox Jewish neighborhood
in Philadelphia, and we were kind of like the
outcasts because we were Messianic Jews -
we believed in Jesus! During Sukkot my Dad
would build a sukkah on our patio and every
night we would eat dinner in that sukkah, as
would all of the other Orthodox Jews in the
neighborhood. I remember growing up with a
really strong sense of my Jewish identity, even
though I was different, and I believed in Jesus,
I was still Jewish. As I grew older and learned
more about the Bible and about the Lord, and
having that angle to my faith, I really saw how
the Jewishness of Jesus is woven throughout
everything.
[WM] Tell us about your American Idol season outside for hours before being let it. I remember
8, experience. We interviewed Clark Beckham seeing the stadium full. I think there were twelve
just a couple of months ago from Idol’s season thousand people sitting in that stadium. You’re
14. What was the audition process like for you? sitting there and you’re watching thousands of
people going down to audition, and the majority
[Shae] That was ten years ago now! When of them are just being sent on their way. There
I auditioned for Idol season 8, I went and is one door you get sent through if you “make
waited in line with everyone else for ten hours it”, and then another door if you don’t make it.
at a stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The line So, I remember seeing literally thousands of
was actually outside. This day in particular people going through the “see ya’ later” door.
there happened to be a thunderstorm in the I was like, “Okay God, if this is something you
afternoon. So we waited in the thunderstorm want me to do you’ll make it happen.” I prayed
August 2019
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