More than ten years - and nearly as many Dove award nominations later - Bronleewe now works as a songwriter and producer in Nashville, TN. The list of artists for whom he has written and produced reads like a who's who of Contemporary Christian Music. Most recently, he co-wrote and co-produced “Healing Rain” with Michael W. Smith, a single and CD nominated for multiple Dove awards in 2005. He has also worked with such artists as Amy Grant, Rebecca St. James, Plumb, Sarah Jahn and Bebo Norman. “I'm still a fan of all of this,” said Bronleewe. “Sitting in the studio and having artists perform, I get a private concert every day. I get to hear songs and material that will never be recorded or produced.”

An original member of Jars of Clay, Bronleewe decided to stick around Greenville when the band left for Nashville. For him, college was a time of developing strong community ties and digging deeper in his faith. “Everyone leaned on each other. It created a sense of community,” said Bronleewe. “I'm working with people now that I worked with ten years ago. We still look to each other for support, guidance and music. What started at GC continues today.”

Though music is his first calling, Bronleewe doesn't limit his passion for storytelling to songwriting. Bronleewe recently signed a book deal with Random House and is set to release the first of a three-part, Christian thriller series in the spring of 2007. “I had never considered novel writing,” said Bronleewe. “It just started flowing. It felt like a real spiritual thing for me.” His first book, Tattoo, will explore the use of Christian icons.

The mystery of faith continues to inspire Matt and pull him deeper in his walk with Christ. “We have the Bible and we have all these things before us, but in the end there is still this huge leap of faith when we call ourselves Christians, and we don't have the power to make the leap ourselves.”

Bronleewe sees passion for faith and spiritual community at Greenville as something that sets the college apart. “ Greenville retains the spiritual side of things. The college hasn't set that aside in light of technical expertise in music,” said Bronleewe. “The spiritual journey is really an important one intertwined with creativity.”

Through many small steps, Bronleewe has journeyed from a high school junior in Kansas flipping through a magazine to a notable songwriter and producer.