When Pop Punk Met Praise: The Birth of 'The Second Rebellion'

Many of us who are Christians have the same experience — our playlists are packed with worship, but every now and then, we need a different sound. A sound that moves. A sound that races. A sound that feels like the gospel sprinting with flaming trainers.

For me, that outlet was pop-punk.

I loved occasionally swapping the usual worship tracks for bands like Relient K, Stellar Kart, and Hawk Nelson. They had that punchy joy and emotional honesty that hits differently — not replacing worship, but becoming worship with distortion pedals.

That sound eventually unlocked something in me and I started writing my own lyrics.

Not textbook theology. Not polished poetry. Just raw, honest lines about faith, struggle, conviction, doubt, and redemption… with drums that practically wrote themselves in my head.

But there was a problem —I couldn’t sing.

I was a former musician — sure — but the voice God gave me was clearly optimised for speaking… not for falsetto glory.

Then Dave, one of the co-founders of Cross Warriors Ministries, starts experimenting with AI music production. He shares a track with me and suddenly I realised I could experiment with my own worship lyrics.

I started feeding my words into AI-generated pop-punk tracks, and suddenly songs existed that I could actually hear — full vocals, harmonies, guitars, emotion, everything. I uploaded them to YouTube purely for accessibility — just so I could play them on the go.

But then the lightbulb went off:

At Cross Warriors Ministries, we tell stories.

And I realised this “fictional band” needed a personality, a history, an identity.

Meet The Second Rebellion

Not as characters. Not as plot devices. But as the “band behind the music” in the public imagination.

Jake Tyler — Vocals / Rhythm Guitar

The emotional engine. The guy who once drifted from faith before returning with twice the fire. Jake’s voice isn’t clean — it’s authentic. When he sings, you can hear the life behind the lyrics. His stage presence feels less like performance and more like testimony.

Ricky Seabridge — Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals

The technical heart. The perfectionist guitarist with a rough past and a sarcastic wit. Ricky’s playing is aggressive, expressive, and unmistakably heartfelt. He brings edge, colour, and melody. He's the spark that lights the fuse.

Tommy Wilde — Bass

Tommy is the patient backbone — musically and personally. His bass doesn’t scream for attention — it quietly makes everything else possible. When tensions rise, Tommy is the gravity that keeps the band from drifting into chaos.

Johnny Monroe — Drums

The wildfire. Johnny is pure kinetic energy — both behind the kit and in personality. He’s goofy, loud, fast, and occasionally unfiltered — but he is fiercely loyal and passionately committed. Johnny hits drums the way some people hit prayer: with total abandon.

Why Pop-Punk Works for Faith

There’s something inherently spiritual about:

• shout-to-the-ceiling choruses

• fast confession-style verses

• melodic calls for redemption

• energetic declarations of hope

Pop-punk is emotional honesty with a drum kit. It’s testimony you can bounce to. It’s theology at 180 BPM.

For many people — especially men — worship can sometimes feel too muted or too soft. But give them a shouted chorus about grace over hammering guitars… and something wakes up inside them.

It reaches the spirited, restless, overthinking, passionate parts of us.

The Real Purpose

Let’s be clear: The Second Rebellion isn’t a gimmick. It’s not just creative branding. It’s a ministry vehicle.

People will click a track out of curiosity —and end up hearing the gospel baked into the chorus.

People will scroll past a fictional band —and accidentally find a real message.

People will start with the music —but end with an encounter.

Why the Band Has a Story at All

Story builds connection.

When people know the “band members,” they invest emot ionally.They start caring. They start relating. They start seeing themselves in the struggle.

Jake’s doubt. Ricky’s anger. Tommy’s quiet faith. Johnny’s restless spirit.

These aren’t just traits —they are mirrors. Readers find pieces of themselves in each of them. And suddenly the songs hit harder…because they’re not just songs. They’re spiritual reflections.

What This Means Going Forward

At Cross Warriors Ministries, we have one mission: use every creative medium possible to proclaim Christ.

Books. Songs. Graphics. Stories. Dialogues. Characters. Poetry. Music. Imagery. Testimony. Whatever tools exist — we will use them.

The Second Rebellion is simply one more weapon in the arsenal —one that happens to have a guitar solo.

Check Out the Music — and the Story Behind It

If this grabbed you — if you found yourself nodding along, if your heart responded to the idea of gritty, joyful, guitar-driven praise — then you’ll want to dive deeper into this world.

We’ve released the first book in The Second Rebellion series — Rise From Ashes, which explores the band’s beginnings, their internal struggles, their spiritual collisions, and the turning point that changed everything. It’s not just a “music novel” — it’s a story of brokenness, friendship, forgiveness, and revival with God at the centre.

And if you want to hear the energy for yourself, you can listen to our tracks on The Second Rebellion’s official YouTube channel — energetic pop-punk with faith at full volume.