On July 13, 2018, Jesus Culture and Capitol Christian Music Group announced the then-forthcoming release of Living With a Fire, slated for August 31 release, with the commencement of the album's digital pre-order. The album, recorded live at Jesus Culture Church inSacramento during their conference, features Kim Walker-Smith, Chris Quilala, Bryan & Katie Torwalt, Derek Johnson and Chris McClarney as worship leaders. The album is a celebration of Jesus Culture as a movement of people passionate about worshipping God approaching twenty years, with Kim Walker-Smith sharing that "we can say with conviction that our hearts are still burning for Jesus, and we are still wanting to bring Him glory, above all."
Release and promotion
At the commencement of the digital pre-order period in July 2018, "Living With a Fire" which featured the vocals of Chris Quilala and Kim Walker-Smith-led tracks "Freedom" and "Center of Your Love" were availed for instant download, being the first three pre-order singles from the album. On July 25, 2018, Jesus Culture published the live music video of the song "Defender" led by Katie Torwalt, on YouTube. "Not Afraid" featuring Kim Walker-Smith, was released on August 4, 2018, as the fourth pre-order single from the album. On August 15, 2018, "Move" featuring Chris McClarney became the fifth pre-order single availed from the album, followed by "Anointing" featuring Chris Quilala being released on August 22, 2018, as the sixth and final pre-order single from the album. The complete album was released on August 31, 2018.
Singles
Jesus Culture released a radio-adapted version of "Freedom" featuring Kim Walker-Smith as the lead single of the album on January 18, 2019.
Tour
On July 13, 2018, Jesus Culture announced Living With a Fire Tour, slated for October 2018. The tour's promotion and production being handled by Premier Productions, the featured Jesus Culture members Kim Walker-Smith, Chris Quilala, Bryan & Katie Torwalt and Chris McClarney together with Jesus Culture founder Banning Liebscher and Pastor Nathan Edwardson will be stopping in twenty cities across the United States for nights of worship.
Critical reception
Living With a Fire prompted mixed reactions, with varied sentiments echoed in reviews about the collection from critics within the CCM and contemporary worship music genres. Mark Geil of CCM Magazine rated the album four stars out of five, describing the sound as "bright and modern," bemoaning the track length saying "some of them simply run too long," and concluded that the album is a "strong offering from Jesus Culture, with quality songs of declaration and dependence." In a three star review of the collection at Hallels, Timothy Yap states that "there is not a lack of future church worship songs" on the album, but criticised it for failing to "charter new ground," concluding that the release, though good, can be "a tad run-of-the-mill bland too." Giving the album a poor two star rating in a Jesus Freak Hideout review, David Craft, who described the album as "yet another mediocre project," and reasoned that it satisfies the listening habits of Jesus Culture fans but advised those in need of new worship songs that "there are far better alternatives to consider." NewReleaseToday music critic Mark Ryan, excitedly indicated in his review that "Live worship alums should be the only worship albums that are allowed to be released, and Jesus Culture does not disappoint on Living With a Fire. The gang from Sacramento, CA continues to deliver powerful worship that crosses generations and is meant for the whole church." Gerod Bass, in his review of the album at Worship Musician Magazine, says that Living With a Fire "is pretty much what we've come to expect from Jesus Culture as far as songs and arrangements go." Bass resolved that fans will "love this big collection of new songs. There is nothing ground-breaking here, and it seems as if Jesus Culture has kind of adopted the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.""
Accolades
Commercial performance
In the United States, Living With a Fire debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Albums chart dated September 15, 2018, having earned sales of 6,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Living With a Fire is Jesus Culture's third album to attain the top position on the chart after Unstoppable Love and Love Has a Name. The album was also listed as the eighth best-selling digital release in the country that same week, with a placement on the mainstream Billboard 200 chart at No. 134.
