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A sure-fire way to tick off a musician is to discuss his band in the context of a musical category.

This is not the case for Christian group MercyMe, according to keyboardist Jim Bryson.

Proud to be Christian? Well, yes, there’s that.

But there’s also a musical reason the band is content with its religious label.

“Christian music is the only music that is dictated by lyrics rather than style of music,” Bryson said.

“Country, thrash metal, etc … that music is all dictated by the style of music, whereas Christian artists can perform any style of music, really.”

MercyMe may not be pushing any boundaries with its radio-friendly pop rock sound, but the band’s next album will navigate uncharted waters. On Sept. 23 MercyMe will release “The Christmas Sessions.” A tour for that album will start the day after Thanksgiving and is scheduled to reach Kemper Arena on Dec. 2.

“I think it’s going to be a pretty popular Christmas album — it turned out way better than we thought it would,” Bryson said.

It’s no surprise the album turned out well, with legendary Christian producer Brown Bannister at the controls. After all, Bannister is credited with giving Amy Grant her first big break and has won the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award for producer of the year five out of the last seven years. Mercy Me will work with Bannister again this fall on a new studio album scheduled for release in 2006.

Bryson said the next one is “definitely going to be a little more rocking than our previous albums.”

Yes, the band has a lot on its plate for the rest of 2005, but there’s a reason for the frantic workload.

Bryson’s wife, Misti, is pregnant and due in February.

So is drummer Robby Schaffer’s wife, Maggie.

And singer Bart Millard’s wife, Shannon, is due in April.

“Yeah, we’ll be home for a while doing dad stuff once the babies come,” Bryson said.

And if that weren’t enough, there’s the NASCAR season to follow. Bryson readily admits one of his favorite perks of stardom is the chance to meet and make friends with some of his racing idols, including Kyle Petty and Bobby Labonte.

But this year Bryson is rooting for the underdog.

“I’m rooting for Mark Martin, because he’s retiring and has never won a championship — he’s fifth in points right now,” he said.

Speaking of rooting for underdogs, Bryson, who grew up in Clinton, Mo., is also a big Royals baseball fan.

“It’s so sad this year, and I feel so bad, because when I grew up, they had the championship year,” Bryson said.

“In fact, the first major league game we ever sang the national anthem at was the Royals’ Opening Day in 2003 or 2004, when they ended up winning in the ninth with a three-run homer. But they’re not having a good season this year, that’s for sure.”

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