Take Me To Your Leader is definitely one of the best releases by Newsboys. The album starts out with the rock song "God is not a Secret," which is a song about how God shouldn't be kept a secret, and contains such heart-wrenching lyrics as "If we keep silent / If we mass defect / These very rocks will scream / God is not a secret to be kept," and "And would I wash my hands again? / Would I deny my savior when he hung inside the public square / Did not my silence put him there?"

The next song takes down the rock and picks up the pop, to an extent. "Take Me to Your Leader" is a well-known song that is just plain fun. And as soon as the song is over, the rock is picked up again in "Breathe," a song about an angry, frustrated man (written in first-person) who stops to find rest in God.

"Breakfast," which follows the poorly-done song "Reality," is a very popular light-hearted hit with a deeper message: Life is short, and Hell ain't fun. "Let it Go" is a beautiful ballad about how we need to let things go and give it to God. It also contains convicting lyrics, such as "Will you forgive / Will you forget? / Will you live what you know? / Beneath the cross / you hear His words, / "Father, forgive them," / and you know / you can't understand it / let it go."

"Cup O' Tea" is a fast-paced, fun song about needing to keep a check on your tongue. "It's All Who You Know" focuses on how if you don't know Jesus, you're gone, and is followed by "Miracle Child," a strong song about how we so often lose faith that God will move in our lives.

"Lost the Plot" follows, and is one of the album highlights. A song that starts out calm, but progresses into an edgier rock climax, is a sad song about how our faith so quickly fails. It is full of quick, powerful lyrics, such as "And why are you still calling? / You forgave, we forgot. / We're such experts at stalling / that we've lost the plot."

The album ends off with "Breathe (Benediction)," a ballad that contains the chorus of the earlier song "Breathe," but with different verses. A beautiful song, and a great way to finish off this great album, which only loses points because of "Reality."

Review date: 11/21/04, written by Mark Ross for Jesusfreakhideout.com