Behold The Beloved at The Junction Center - December 2025

When we woke up on Friday, December 12th, we were all set to see Disciple and Honor & Glory in concert at The Junction Center. Halfway through the morning, we got word that Disciple’s bus broke down just outside of Nashville and they weren’t able to make it in time. About an hour after the cancellation, local band Behold the Beloved stepped up and decided to do a completely free show for all of the disappointed fans. The tickets for Disciple will still be honored for a concert in late June. But for right now, it was time to rock out to Behold the Beloved.

This was our third time seeing these guys this year, with the first two shows being at Uprise Festival and when they opened for Pillar in October, also at the Junction Center. They are one of our favorite bands to see live right now. Our host for the evening, John Stafferi came out to explain the situation and how the show came to be. Then, it was time for BTB to make their grand entrance. Between Jeff and Jason’s dueling guitar riffs, the place exploded with the first song, “Toxic Lullaby.”

They blasted into “Dear Martyr” with the fire and energy that you would expect from an up and coming band in the Christian rock market. Throughout the night, Sean gave his compliments to the staff at The Junction Center for getting this show put together in less than 12 hours. He also shared the news that it was going to be bassist Tim Kitchen’s last show with the band and that his presence would be missed. It gave the night a little bit of a somber atmosphere, but as the band explained it felt right for Tim’s send off to happen at The Junction Center rather than anywhere else. After that sad news, they pulled the energy back up with “Untouchable,” featuring some high 80’s hair metal sounding harmonies, and “Playing with Fire.” They don’t hold back in their writing process. They want their fans to feel encouraged and empowered by the Spirit.

They moved into “Gratitude” which is their cover of the Brandon Lake song. They do such a great job adding their spin to some great worship songs. After this, Sean talked about the holiday season and the importance of remembering what was given to us through the birth of a Savior. He admitted that he isn’t much of a fan of Christmas music, but he was willing to make an exception for this evening. The band exited the stage as Sean grabbed an acoustic guitar and Tim came up to provide backup vocals. They took the opportunity to slow down the show with “Bethlehem Star,” their original Christmas song, followed by a medley of “We Fall Down,” and “Heart of Worship.” It is refreshing to hear these older worship songs and Sean and Tim did a great job leading the crowd into a moment of worship.

After this little break, they brought back the energy with “Live Again.” Then, they broke into fan-favorite, “Clenched Fists.” This is one of my favorites because of the guitar work. In this song, Jeff’s guitar work absolutely shines especially with that solo. Seeing this song live, it is something special because during Jeff’s solo, Sean usually throws in a “Ka-Chow,” but in this instance he gave a Christmas-y “Ho Ho Ho!”

To close out the night, they slowed it down once again with a powerful cover of the worship song “Tremble.” However the crowd was not ready to call it quits! After shouts of “One more song!” Behold the Beloved ended the night with another fan-favorite “Trenches.” It seemed appropriate for the night to end with a song that talks about how God is with us, faithful, no matter where we are in life.

For a day that began with the expectation of seeing Disciple and Honor & Glory, it ended with an impromptu Behold the Beloved concert. While it was sad to hear that Tim’s time in the band is over, this band still has a bright future. It is impressive to see how well they were able to put together a rock concert with very little notice. Also, both Behold the Beloved and The Junction Center had a donation box for people to donate towards Disciple’s bus repairs. If you didn’t see, Kevin from Disciple did a live update on the bus situation where he explained the costs incurred by bus breakdowns and how being a touring musician isn’t quite as glamorous as some people think it is. He seemed really disappointed that they couldn’t make it, but rest assured they will be back in June to rock our faces off and we will be there. 

Until then, go to Disciple’s socials and share some encouragement and love during this tough time. Overall, the night was a lot of fun filled with rocking guitar riffs, catchy lyrics and encouraging work from five men who are passionate about sharing the gospel with everyone they meet. It was a treat to get to see them one last time in 2025! Great job to Behold the Beloved and great job to the wonderful people at WJTL and The Junction Center.

Check out our interview with Sean & Kelly Green of Behold The Beloved earlier this year!

Pillar & Behold The Beloved Concert Review - October 2025

Pillar, an unstoppable force in Christian Rock, is one of my favorite all-time bands. When I heard that they were coming to The Junction Center in Manheim, PA, I knew I had to get tickets! Pillar had been on a hiatus since 2015 until a string of concerts in 2024 and 2025. The full crew of Noah Henson, Michael Whittig, Rob Beckley and Lester Estelle II came to rock, with the addition of J.R. Bareis (Love & Death, Spoken) on guitars and backing vocals. Originally this show was going to feature Spoken as well, but there were unknown circumstances that removed them from the lineup. Local rock band, Behold the Beloved, was the perfect fit for an opening band - they get the crowd moving and their faith-filled music packs a punch!

John Stafferi from WJTL (the local Christian radio station) came out as the MC for the evening. He talked about how important Christian rock is to him and the impact that it’s had on his life and the ministry of WJTL. He made references to Purple Door Festival and Purple Door Radio, which if you remember those days, yes, you are old! In case you didn’t know, John hosts the show “Some Sort of Rock Show” on WJTL. It plays every Friday night at 10 p.m. and Sunday night at 8 p.m. They play an assortment of talent ranging from Disciple to Rusty Shipp to Nate Parrish and so on. It’s great having local Christian radio that supports heavier music!

Behold the Beloved came out to a packed room. Being hometown favorites, a majority of the crowd was screaming their lyrics. The energy was infectious as they commanded the stage starting with “Toxic Lullaby” and then into “Dear Martyr.” Sean said that he spent the week leading up to the show fighting a cold and sore throat, but this crowd backed him up by singing along. They launched back into the music with “Playing with Fire” and “Untouchable,” a great call and response song. They brought it down a little with “Am I Broken,” which really taps into that feeling of wondering if you're missing something in God's plan or why things aren't working out the way you hoped. On the album, this song features Jon Micah from Kutless and while I wasn’t expecting to see him walk out on stage, I wasn’t sure if maybe we would be surprised by a guest appearance by Rob from Pillar. Unfortunately no, but still a great song and Sean gave a very passionate and heartfelt message about God’s purpose and plan for our lives and loving people in spite of their sin. 

They wrapped up their set with “Live Again,” “Clenched Fists,” and “Gratitude.” It felt incredibly encouraging being in that room with other believers who were worshipping together. Moments like this make us long for when we will finally see Jesus face to face and worship before Him. But for now, this is the closest to worshiping in Heaven while we’re still on earth. Great way to finish the set and if you honestly believe that Christian rock is not as strong as it used to be, you have another thing coming. Behold the Beloved is one of those bands on the rise and I’m so excited for their future and the future of Christian rock.

After a set change, it was time for the main event! I can’t remember the last time I saw Pillar, but excited was a mild word to describe the anticipation for a show that was a decade in the making. The stage went dark as the guitars started to hum and Lester made his way out to start banging on those drums. The crowd roared with excitement and anticipation as Pillar’s logo flashed on the backdrop of the stage. The band immediately launched into their biggest hit, “Fireproof.” Michael, Noah, Lester and Rob graced the stage together as Pillar and brought along J.R. who you might remember from his time in Spoken and Love and Death (with Brian “Head” Welch). J.R. matched Noah in dread flips and sick guitar riffs. They all showed that they haven’t lost a step going from the iconic “Fireproof” into “For The Love of the Game.” The crowd screamed back with every line.

The band and the crowd matched energy levels as they went back into “Hypnotized.” The melodic opening riffs transported me back to 2004 when it was released on “Where Do We Go From Here.” Off the same album, they launched into crowd-favorite, “Simply,” with the audience screaming back “You simply love!” speaking of God’s endless love towards a fallen world.

Rob took a chance for the guys (and himself) to catch their breath. The guys were excited to be playing shows together again. They said that as much as they love playing their own music, they also love playing other people’s music, which led into their cover of “Shine” by Collective Soul. It’s a fun tune that showcases another side of the band. They decided to get back to the “Fireproof” album for their next song, the energetic, rap-infused “Behind Closed Doors.” 

Rob then commented about how they shared the stage with Christian and secular bands, but they love highlighting Christians bands and Christian music. This led into the high energy “Turn It Up,” where the lyrics feature song titles from artists that they’ve played with, ranging from Michael W. Smith and Jeremy Camp to Relient K and Blindside. This is one of my favorite songs because it’s always a blast matching the lyrics with the bands. Between the crunchy guitars and the crowd throwing their hands from side to side, this was a fun song to see live!

Pillar threw themselves into another cover with their rendition of U2’s hit “Sunday Bloody Sunday” off of the “In The Name Of Love” compilation album. Between the rhythmic drum pattern to the distorted guitar riffs that make Noah throw his dreads back and forth, the song is definitely a popular one amongst fans. Then they pulled some songs from their Reckoning album with “The Reckoning” and “Everything.” The southern grittiness of the songs got the crowd head banging along. Even though these songs were over a decade old, they still felt fresh, seeing them played live.

Next up was “We Ride” from their last album, One Love Revolution. I wasn’t too familiar with the song but it definitely had the straight up rock stylings of their other songs, with Revelation themed lyrics. The band was still having a lot of fun as they bounced around on stage laughing and smiling as they rocked out. They closed out their set with two absolute bangers, “Bring Me Down” and “Frontline.” Honestly, their necks had to be sore as they continued to rock out. Earlier in the evening, Rob credited the durability of his voice to being the father of six kids and to his credit, his voice was still keeping up with the demand that these last two songs brought. By then, the crowd was starting to lose their voices from screaming every word!

As the band walked off stage, the crowd wasn’t ready for the evening to end as chants of “one more song” echoed in the venue. It didn’t take long for the band to appease the rampant crowd. They said about how much fun it is to play songs that the fans like and to play covers, but there are songs that they love to play and that’s what they ended with. They finished the evening with “Underneath It All,” an absolute banger. The band showed why they loved playing this song as J.R. and Noah did dueling dread flips. It was a great song to end on.

Overall, it was an amazing show, from beginning to end. All the memories of seeing Pillar in the past came flooding back throughout the evening. There was no way I was missing this show and I had no regrets! It was great to rock out to Pillar live again. This was one of the last shows that Pillar had set for this year, but they did confirm that there will be more shows next year. Here’s to hoping that Pennsylvania is on the list of shows for next year. If you enjoy Christian rock, Disciple and Honor & Glory will be headed to Lancaster to play at The Junction Center in December!