Life is Cool after 98° People told Jonathon Lippmann he was stupid for leaving the band 98° but he's found a new start with a True Vibe. by Teresa Lockhart   For much of his life, Jonathan Lippmann, founding member of the popular boy band 98°, dreamed of success. An accomplished classical French horn player, Lippmann attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati and was later awarded a scholarship to the Eastman School of Music. However, he dropped his scholarship after only one year to move to Los Angeles with hopes of fulfilling bigger dreams.   Lippmann had a vision to form a harmony-driven pop group with tight choreographed dance moves, so he called old friends Nick Lachey and Justin Jeffre and asked them to join him in L.A. They, along with Jeff Timmons, whom Lippmann had recently met, formed what is now known as 98°.   The success of 98° was immediate. “Things happened fast,” Jonathan explains. “We opened up for Backstreet Boys, James Brown, and Montell Jordan.” Yet, just at the moment Lippmann had success within his grasp, he felt God telling him to let go and to focus on Him.   Soon after he arrived in Los Angeles, about a year before he formed 98°, Lippmann found something even more wonderful than his wildest dreams. Lippmann found Jesus. Growing up, Lippmann really didn’t know much about God or the Bible. His father had been healed of a brain tumor and is a Christian, and though he never doubted it, Lippmann admits Christianity was never personal to him.   It wasn’t until he met a friend whose life exuded joy that he realized he wanted that same joy in his life. Lippmann gave his life to Christ and began to go to church. His life has never been the same.   Making the decision to walk away from 98° wasn’t easy. At the time Lippmann says there wasn’t anything he was doing wrong; he wasn’t stuck in sin, and he encourages people who want to sing pop music to follow their desires as long as they don’t compromise their beliefs.   “But for whatever reason, God had chosen me to start that group and then to pull out right before we signed a record deal. So I quit, and they replaced me with Drew, who is Nick’s little brother. I grew up with those guys, and it worked out great for them because they can hold each other accountable, and it also worked out great for me.”   Lippmann soon went on to land roles on television shows such as Sweet Valley High and commercials, including Burger King ads. But for the next four years Lippmann delivered pizza just to pay the bills.   Times became rough for Lippmann. There was a period when he was actually homeless for a month and a half. People told him he was stupid for leaving the group, and he realized he didn’t have as many friends as he thought he had once he left 98°.   “Times were hard, but I just knew God had a better plan for me, whether that meant delivering food for the rest of my life or working at a 9 to 5 job,” Jonathan states. “I know that God calls us to different areas to do different things for one reason only: to love Him, to serve Him, and to glorify Him so that others can come to know Him by our example of living for Him. I said ‘if this is what I do the rest of my life I will praise God because I’m still happy He loved me before I loved him.’ ”   In February 2000, Lippmann felt God leading him to form a similar group to 98°, with all Christian singers. So he loaded up his car and a broken down trailer and headed to Nashville.   He found a church and another job delivering food and began talking with record companies all the while. After auditioning several highly talented young men, he chose Jason Barton, Nathan Gaddis, and Jordan Roe to join with him in making up what is now one of the most talked about boy bands.   In fact, though their debut CD is set to release mid-May, the members of True Vibe have already sung live before a million or so people. They have sung the national anthem for the Arena Football “Super Bowl” on ABC, performed at multiple sporting events, including Monday Night Football games, have appeared on Late Night With David Letterman, and were recently on tour with Destiny’s Child.   So what’s next for these guys?   Only God knows, admits Lippmann. “When I was delivering food I came to the realization I might not ever do this again, and that’s okay. For it to happen now, it’s an incredible feeling.”   Lippmann hopes True Vibe will have more opportunities to take the message of Jesus Christ to pop venues. “There’s a great opportunity to get out there and live the life in front of people who may never think about the Christian faith.”