Spreading the Gospel

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Spreading the Gospel, Country Style
William G. Jones
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Okay, so maybe this isn't so much of a shock to many of you, but to me, it is.

See, I'm not what you'd call a country music fan. Far from it, in fact. So when I mentioned to my girlfriend that I wouldn't mind having Toby Keith's Greatest Hits, Volume 2 CD for Christmas, she jumped at the opportunity to get me listening to something she liked. Two and a half weeks before Christmas, she gives me the CD as an early gift, and I was disappointed that one of my favorite Toby Keith songs wasn't included--the oft-ridiculed ballad, "I Love This Bar." I started looking online to find out which CD did contain the bar song and found a track list for a CD titled Shock'n Y'all, a CD with a song called "If I Was Jesus."

Now, from a guy whose most famous tracks include an ode to a bar and songs the likes of, "You Ain't Much Fun Since I Quit Drinkin'", "Who's Your Daddy", and "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight," I grew a little nervous as to what the song might contain lyrically. After listening, I was both shocked and somewhat awed. In one of the most unlikely places, I'd just heard the gospel message--that Christ came, He loved, He died for us, and He rose from the dead. Here's a sample of the lyrics:

If I Was Jesus, I'd come back from the dead
And I'd walk on some water, just to mess with your head
I know your dark little secrets, I'd look you right in the face
And I'd tell you I love you, with Amazing Grace.

Ooh and I'd lay my life down for you
And I show you who's the boss
I'd forgive you and adore you
While I was hangin' on your cross
If I Was Jesus.

Not impressed? Consider how many of Kieth's listeners aren't Christians. This song serves as a witness, in a totally non-preachy, not condemning way. Isn't that what God commanded us to do in the first place?

So with my newfound appreciation for country music, my girlfriend asked me to listen to her heartthrob, Tim McGraw. A song titled, "Drugs or Jesus". Once again, my condemning little mind couldn't grasp that a song on a mainstream secular CD--especially one as popular as McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying--could actually glorify Christ. Once again, I was put in my place by lyrics like these:

My whole life
I've tried to run, I've tried to hide
From the stained glass windows in my mind
Refusing to let God's light shine
Down on me
Down on me

Everybody just wants to get high
Sit and watch a perfect world go by
We're all looking for love and meaning in our lives
There's not much space between us
Drugs or Jesus
Oh I need you Jesus
Hallelujah

To be honest, I wouldn't expect to see lyrics like these anywhere outside of a Stephen Curtis Chapman CD. It's more and more common for Christian artists to shun the label and sing ambiguous songs for mass market appeal. As the Christian music industry struggles for an identity and artists such as Switchfoot and Third Day become more mainstream with their music and marketing, it's almost strange to see mainstream country artists releasing albums with such blatant messages in their songs, even if those songs won't see the light of day on radio or CMT. These little nuggets will reach a wide audience, likely an even wider audience than Christian-label contemporaries.

So will I trade in my Wolverine boots for some cowboy boots and lay aside my fitted Orange County Choppers cap for a Stetson? Not likely, at least not anytime soon. And the noise coming from my speakers will likely continue to be more of a New York/L.A. sound than Nashville, but I am starting to develop an appreciation for these guys who are telling the gospel in the unlikeliest of places.