formed in 1998 and joined the parade of Christian punk-pop artists (, , ) with their self-titled 2000 debut, mixing catchy melodies and snotty attitude with spiritual concerns. The record was produced by  guitarist , and the band was comprised of vocalist/guitarist/pianist , guitarist , bassist , and drummer .  joined up in place of  by the year's end, and followed up in August 2001 with . The album sold 300,000 copies and 's momentum continued to build as they played nearly 200 shows in North America before the year closed out. A third full-length, , debuted at number 38 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart upon its release in spring 2003. The band didn't waste any time recording a fourth album; , produced by lead singer  and 's  and mixed by , was released in November 2004 by Gotee/Capitol.  scanned over 51,000 copies sold during its first week, hitting number 15 on the Top 200 and number one for Christian albums. It eventually went gold, 's third consecutive album to do so, and the band's mainstream crossover was in full swing with singles "Be My Escape" and "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" doing very well on modern rock radio and MTV.

 left the group after 's release (later going on to play with ), and  (ex-) filled in on bass for touring purposes, becoming a permanent member in 2005.  further added  as a third guitarist (who also played banjo and bells) that year, bumping them up to quintet status. With  touring constantly in support of ,  followed in November 2005 as another treat to hold over fans as the guys readied their next album.  (as in their fifth album in seven years), largely produced by  (, ), was released in early March 2007. True to form,  set out on a full round of nationwide dates, including spring shows with  and , before releasing the Christmas-themed album  (containing several tracks from the band's previous holiday release, Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand) later that fall. In October,  announced that he would be leaving  to dedicate himself full-time to his side project . He was replaced in early 2008 by , who would accompany the group during its appearances on that year's Warped Tour. In July, the group released the B-side album , which was packaged with The Nashville Tennis EP. The band released its sixth studio album, , in 2009.

Two seven-song covers EPs, titled and , appeared in 2011. Later combined into one single LP release,  included their takes on hits from the likes of , , , , and . Their next set of original music wouldn't arrive until 2013. During recording,  parted ways with the band, his vacated slot filled a couple months later by the very drummer he replaced, . The band's seventh LP, , was released that summer, peaking at number 16 on the Billboard 200. Their eighth effort would also fair well. Produced by ,  featured the single "Look on Up" and debuted at number 44 on the Billboard 200, topping the Christian chart.