FOR CHAPMAN, SUCCESS IS GOSPEL TRUTH

At 28, Steven Curtis Chapman has already become one of contemporary Christian music's biggest entertainers. And he insists he's gotten this far by refusing to focus on the thrill of his success.

"It's a God-given ability," Chapman said in a telephone interview last week from his home in Nashville, Tenn. "It's something I've taken and worked hard at. Beyond that I try not to think a lot about it."

But others in the music industry have. Chapman's biggest year so far was 1990, when, at the Gospel Music Association (GMA) Awards, he took home five Dove Awards, including the industry's highest honor, artist of the year.

On Sept. 12, Chapman will perform at the SEMO District Fair in Cape Girardeau, a performance he said will be somewhat like coming home.

"I grew up in Paducah, Ky., so I'm real excited about coming to Cape Girardeau," he said. "There are a lot of my family members and friends who will be at the show. It's the closest to Paducah that I've been in concert for a year."

Chapman said his love of music began while he was growing up and he frequented his father's music store. But it wasn't until he was 8 that music became a way of expressing his feelings.

Chapman said a revival came through the Olivet Baptist Church in Paducah, where he and his family attended, that helped him decide Christian music was what he wanted to sing.

"After the revival came through, I really saw a difference in my parents: they committed their lives to Christ and really got serious about religion," Chapman said.

"That changed everything about the family, even the music. I began to discover Christian music and realized it represented more than music; it represented what we believed."

While he grew up, Chapman continued to play music for friends and church groups, but he also began to write songs.

Before he began recording his own songs, he wrote songs for Sandi Patti, Amy Grant and other Christian recording artists.

But it was while in college that the one-time medical student decided what he really wanted to do was sing.

"Before that I really didn't see singing as something to be pursued as a career," he said. "But I really believe God opened some doors for me and made some opportunities happen for me."

The doors were first opened after he transferred to college in Nashville. He began to negotiate with record-publishing companies, and in 1987 recorded his first album, "First Hand."

Two albums and three years later, Chapman was named artist of the year, male vocalist of the year and songwriter of the year by the GMA.

"It's a very encouraging thing to know that people have recognized what you've done as excellent in your craft," Chapman said. "But I didn't set out to achieve a certain degree of success; I just want to write songs from the heart and be able to share things that are important to me."

Chapman is on tour supporting his new album, "For the Sake of the Call." He, his wife and three young children recently returned from singing dates in Australia and Holland.

Chapman said the family has travelled together for the past several years. Now, the couple's 5-year-old daughter, Emily, has started kindergarten, and Chapman said touring is becoming more "challenging."

But however hectic things may get, Chapman said, first and foremost he'll try to keep his goals in perspective.

"I want to encourage people and give them hope," he said.

"If I can be a good husband and a good father, that will be enough success for me," he said.

Tickets for Chapman's show are available by calling 334-9250 or 1-800-455-FAIR.