Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast - Lead Rock Singer Boldly Proclaims Jesus’ Love [Featuring Brad Arnold]

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

Brad Arnold, the lead singer of the rock band 3 Doors Down, went from battling alcoholism to finding hope through rehab, prayer, and the guidance of legendary Country Musician Charlie Daniels. Brad opens up about how his faith began to play a central role in his life, especially during his concerts, where he chooses to boldly proclaim the message of Jesus' love to his audience. "I've always tried to make songs that help people through situations—to help them acknowledge that 'Jesus loves me.' That's the most powerful thing in the world, to know that Jesus loves you. I know that I have a very short window before people start shutting down, and people aren't at a rock show to be preached at, but I want to share that with them." Brad's story is one of grace, redemption, and hope, showing that no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve gone through, there’s always a chance to find joy and healing.__ It’s up to us to bring God’s truth back into our culture. It may feel like an impossible assignment, but there’s much we can do. Join Pastor Allen Jackson as he discusses today’s issues from a biblical perspective. Find thought-provoking insight from Pastor Allen and his guests, equipping you to lead with your faith in your home, your school, your community, and wherever God takes you. Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3JsyO6ysUVGOIV70xAjtcm?si=6805fe488cf64a6d Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culture-christianity-the-allen-jackson-podcast/id1729435597

I was in Japan one day, and we were playing the show for the troops. And I could feel myself slipping away that it wasn't me anymore. And I could also feel that this wasn't going to last a lot longer. And I FaceTime Mr. Charlie, and he and his wife are sitting there on the couch, and I was sitting there just sobbing and just telling him how unhappy I was in my life. He said, son, he said, you know, he said, if you love your wife and you love a guy like you say you do, you need to come home and you need to go rehab. I was willing for it and I was open to it.

And I went in there like I was going to learn something. That was a man that came in there to kind of hear your kind of talk and hear you pour your heart out. And he asked me, he said, Brad, he said, do you love God? I said, yes, sir, I love God. He said, why are you serving yourself? He said, you're not serving God with this. He said, you're serving yourself.

It hit me hard. And he said, do you love your wife? I said, yes, sir, of course I love my wife. He said, well, then why are you trying to kill her husband? Welcome to culture and Christianity. We were trying to sort out this interface between our faith and the world we live in so that we don't hide in our churches and quote scriptures, and then live like the devil when we leave the building.

So I'm excited today. My guest is Brad Arnold. Brad's a good Middle Tennessee guy now. I am. Started out of Mississippi. Yes, sir. I'm from South Mississippi. I'm from down on Mississippi Gulf Coast from a little town.

called Escataba and grew up there and I moved to Tennessee 17 years ago. I lived in Cimerna for a little while and now I've lived here in Murphysburg for the last 10 years and I love it here. Well, welcome to culture and Christianity. Thank you. I have a habit when I have somebody that's a professional and you are. I try to let them introduce themselves, tell our listeners what you do so I don't manangle it. I'm Brad Audeau. I'm the lead singer for the rock band Three doors down. And I started the band when I was 15 years old, me and a buddy and are a couple of buddies. And we just liked having fun. We basically started playing music together, you know, and music's always been a part of my life. I'm the youngest of seven kids. And I grew up in the

Assembly of God Church down in South Mississippi. So I didn't grow up in a shy household. It was never out of place to run around the house singing whatever song, you know. And always love beating on the drums as I started out our drummer. And I only became our singer because we didn't have a singer. And I need that for a band, I guess. You do. And for the entire time before we got signed, I was the drummer and the singer. And when we got signed, I came out from behind the drums and just started singing.

And that was quite the awkward experience at first and still took me. It took me a while, and it still sometimes I wonder what to do with my hands. But I've been blessed to be in this band for 30 years, and God has blessed us so much, and he has kept his hands around me when I was so foolish and done so many things that were just, that I knew better than, and, you know, because I'm not one of those people that can say that I didn't. know any better because I always knew better. You know, I come from a good family and, and I'm so thankful for my family and my brothers and sisters and my mom and dad and, and glad to be, glad to be sitting here. That's a, I can't believe you can't believe you can't play music that long.

It goes by and a hurry, doesn't it? It really, really does. I told a group of, our, our first hit Kryptonite. I wrote it when I was 16 and I'm 46 now, and I was singing to a crowd, a couple of months ago, and I was like, well, y'all probably know this song, even though this song is probably about 10 years older than about everybody in this area. It does go by fast, though. But, you know, I'm old enough. Now the groups I was listening to when I was a kid, they're still touring in wheelchairs and they limp out. But just so you got a lot of thread left on the tire. Oh, man. I feel like I do sometimes. And then sometimes I can get up on the stage and I run around and have fun. And I'm going to walk down the steps. I'm like, man,

My knees hurt so bad. Well, I had a dear friend that I think had an impact in your life. Charlie Daniels? Absolutely. I did a podcast with Charlie once upon a time, it seems like now. But I think he really was a voice in your life that made a difference. Can you tell me a little bit about that? Absolutely.

He was. And I was so fortunate to get to meet Mr. Charlie, and I was so blessed. I got a chance to write with Mr. Charlie. I was trying to think before I came of what year that was that I actually wrote with him. And I want to say, if I had to guess, it was like 2005 or six. It was before I moved to Tennessee even. And he was a great man. And I knew right then that he was one of the greatest man I'd ever sat down and talked to that day.

Because he was just, he was Mr. Charlie, you know. And time went by and we'd done different things together. And we kept in contact and we played the volunteer jam a couple of times with him, which is a great thing. And to explain the impact that you had in my life, I have to acknowledge first that I was an alcoholic for, you know, I started drinking down in Mississippi when I was a teenager with all my friends, like teenagers do. And we got signed when I was 20, 20 years old. And I stepped on a tour bus when I was 20 years old and started touring the world. And that's a lot of the first deal with. Universal Records. And we stay within

the entirety of our career. And we're not, we don't technically have a record deal now. But it's kind of a different world now in the entertainment industry, you know. But they were always great company to work with. But it was just a lot to hand a 20-year-old, you know. And we done okay. And, you know, there was no catastrophe in my life that pushed me to drinking so much. It was just kind of the lifestyle and whether it just be nerve.

was going on stage or just not being able to sleep in a bus. The lifestyle just led me further and further down the road before I realized that I was drinking pretty heavily, you know, and things in my life did start to suffer from it substantially. And there became a point in my life that I could almost 95% of the problems, I could point to that bottle, and that was the source. And my mom had prayed for me to quit. my brothers and sisters had prayed for me to quit because they seen the road I was going down. And your family was Pentecostal, so they knew how to pray.

They sure did. They didn't play. Just polite prayers. And I have two brother-in-law's that are pastors. Okay. And so there was a lot of prayers being said for me, and I'm thankful for every one of them. But, you know, finally, I was in Japan one day, and we were playing the show for the troops. and I was just kind of having a l-la-l-l-l-h-h-h-h-night.

But I could feel myself slipping away that it wasn't me anymore. And I could also feel that this wasn't going to last a lot longer. And I tried to call a friend, and I tried to call a friend and looking for somebody, I guess, just to okay it or whatever to validate my feelings. And I couldn't get anyone on the phone. And I FaceTime, Mr. Charlie. and he and his wife were sitting there on the couch,

and it was late at night there, and it was about mid-morning, maybe here, or however the time worked out. You know, it was a big time difference, and I was sitting there just sobbing and just telling him how unhappy I was in my life. And he was a great counsel to me before this time. He always had great advice to tell me.

He said, son, he said, you know, he said, if you love your wife and you love God, like you say you do, you need to come home and you need to go rehab. He said, there's a good place in North Nashville there, Cumberland Heights, and you need to come on back home and sit back getting in there. And I was like, well, I'll do that. And I would like to say that I got off the phone and was like, and called my wife. I was, baby, I'm going to go to rehab.

I called her. I was like, well, I'm going to rehab. I guess that makes you happy, you know, because, I mean, it was. But nonetheless, I came home and I went and I was ready for it. it. I was willing for it and I was open to it. And I went in there like I was going to learn something. And we were working the steps and all those things. And I honestly forgot what step it was. But that was a man that came in there to kind of hear your kind of talk and hear you pour your heart out. And he asked me, and he said, Brad, he said, do you love God? I said, yes, sir, I love God.

He said, why are you serving yourself? He said, you're not serving God but this. you're serving yourself. It hit me hard. And he said, do you love your wife? I said, yes, sir, of course I love my wife. He said, well, then why are you trying to kill her husband? And it hit me between the eyes.

And I, that's been the 19th of this month that have been nine years ago. And those nine years have been the best years of my life. And we started coming to church here. And I think about five years ago. and your sermons have helped me tremendously, tremendously. And they've encouraged me to leave with my faith and to not be a comfortable Christian that sits on a pew and goes out and lives how they want, you know.

And it's brought me to the best place I've ever been in my entire life. So thank you. Oh, you're welcome. God changes lives. Yes, he does. He just uses us to help. another along the way. Indeed. You know, and Charlie, he'd taken a walk. Absolutely. Before he got his life in the place he wanted it to be. Absolutely. And Hazel, her, she came from

a Pentecostal family, so you've got some common roots back there with this Hazel now. Absolutely. I think that's the, that's one of the, you know, he, in the, like the Zach Williams song, right there in the broken pieces, there was Jesus. You know, I was listening to that song this morning when I was working out. And even when I didn't know it and couldn't see it, there was Jesus. And he was there through those times. And I realized now that all those times allowed me to be able to talk to people that otherwise might think before I ever said a word that there's no way he understands.

And I do understand because I was there. I was there. And that's one of the reasons I listened to Mr. Charlie, because I didn't. I knew that, you know, there was the 60s and 70s, Mr. Charlie, and there was the Mr. Charlie that I knew, but I knew he knew what I was talking about. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, I really learned it from Charlie.

Charlie, I mean, most people associate him with country music, but Charlie just let music. I mean, all genres of music. In fact, he was hard to put in a category, which made it tough for him, I think, for a while professionally. Absolutely. So I'm curious. Music, how'd you get into it? And I won't make you talk about records the whole time, I promise.

I'm going to come back to your faith. I never remember, like, not being into music. And I kind of listen to whatever my brothers and sisters listen to. And I'm the youngest of seven, and my oldest sister is probably 18 years older than me. And so we're kind of spread out. Kind of. We are. but my middle sister probably had the most influence over me.

And she listened to all the 80s rock, but she also listened to all the 80s Christian. So at the same time as we listened to like Bon Jovi and stuff, I grew up listening to Michael W. Smith and Petra and Stephen Curtis Chapman. Bill Keggy. And I loved all those bands. And I think one of my first concerts I ever went to was Carmen with my church. And that was a great time.

That's fun. But, you know, I have listened to some of your stuff now. You've not only made a change, you've made a public declaration of faith. I mean, I've listened to several of the statements you've made on stage. I mean, talking about Jesus and your faith. And, I mean, just being real, you've been more straightforward with your concert audience than a lot of pastors, I know. Well. Thank you for that.

That's not an accident. I am so, I am so thankful to have the chance. And it's kind of, well, it was a couple of years ago. And I was just kind of sitting in the quiet one night. And like you said, Saturday night in church, you said, do you hear a voice as clear as you as if someone was speaking to you? I heard Jesus say to me, he said, Brad, I want you to tell them that I love them this summer.

And I was like, okay. and shortly before that I had learned not to question when Jesus said something because I tried to make this just as quick as I can. We're good. But I had a wet spot in my yard that kept getting wetter and wetter and wetter and wetter. It was out by my field lines. So I was like, well, field lines leaking or water lines leaking or something. So I had a plumber come over.

If you're a city person, that's the sewer system for his house. It was leaking in the yard. Yes, sir. or he thought it was. I thought it was, and all signs pointed it to either being that or a, or the water supply line coming in. And so I hired a plumber, and he brought back over, and we started digging. And we dug two feet wide, two feet deep that way until it started getting dry. And so we went to the other way, and it started getting dry.

We're like, what, where is this water coming from? It's like, it's not the fill line. It's not the water supply. and I live pretty far off the road. My driveway is probably a third of a mile long. And I was seriously sitting there contemplating, am I going to put in a new water line out to this house? And so about a week before that,

I had $150, I think, in my pocket. And I was somewhere, it might have been here at church or I might have been down in Mississippi at my parents' church. And I just put the hundred, God said, put it all in there. And I said, well, I might need that 50 for something later today, something I was going to do. And so I put it in there and it didn't feel right in my heart.

And so we had searched this, and this was a couple weeks later that we were out here digging this fill line up, and I got up under my house. I was like, I'm going to see, I'm going to see if I could find where this is coming into the house. And there's a little pool house. I don't have a fancy pool or anything. There's a little bitty house out there about it.

It's got a little, restroom in it. And I was in that house looking, and I said, I was at a loss. I said, God, please. I was like, help us figure this out, please. And because I don't think there's anything too mundane to ask God for help with. And he said, next time I tell you to do something, you're going to do it? I said, yes. He said, go check the toilet in that little bathroom. And I went in there, and this toilet was leaking. We went, and it stopped. And that was where all that water had come from. So it taught me not to question when God told me to do something.

So he told me that night, he said, Brad, I want you to tell them that I love them this summer. And I said, I absolutely will. I said, but I don't know how to go about that at a rock concert in front of people that are standing there, half of them, a quarter of them standing there with a beer in their hand, you know? And he said, I'll tell you what to say. Don't worry about it. You just do it. And I said, I will.

and so I did it all summer, and the response to it was overwhelming. I expected some pushback. I really honestly did. I got none. I mean, you get the people out in the crowd kind of rolling their eyes a little bit here and there. But the response that I got on social media, people would send me messages like, that was so refreshing to hear somebody say that. And because I firmly believe that the world is so hungry for it. And before this past summer, which we went out with Creed, which is a, and Scott's a pretty spiritual guy himself.

And he grew up with Christian home and he's a great dude. And I was writing with Ben Fuller. And we were praying before we got to writing and talking about it. He said, I'll bet you'll be more bold this summer. And I was like, well, how can I do that? And I was seeing an Instagram post about. John's saying that I am the one that Jesus loves, how he described himself. And I was like, that's a good something that I can build on.

And all this while I firmly realized that we fight against principalities in this world, and I think a lot of those principalities are very, very, very, very, very involved in music. And we say, and have said a prayer for years before we went on stage, We pray to God, the God, our God, the living God. But I firmly believe that there are people that say prayers before they go on stage that aren't praying to him. And I believe that people go into concerts and they put themselves in a position that they don't realize that they put themselves in. And because they go in there willingly. And, you know, we pray for the crowd.

We pray for our band. We pray for all the crew. And we pray for everything. But I thought, you know, if our words are the most powerful things that we have, how can I get people to speak a blessing over their life? And so I just talk about like, you know, and we constantly have our phones and our face

and they're showing us all the things that we don't have and that we're somebody richer or prettier or stronger or this or that. And they're constantly showing us that we're not enough. And so I started the message with like, you are enough, you know? You are enough and you're enough because Jesus Christ loves you. And I talk about, I said, you know, and one of the disciples described himself as the one that Jesus loves. So you just speak of a blessing of your life with me. And just repeat after me, just one sentence.

And I get the crowd to just say, I am the one that Jesus loves. And probably at least three out of five people say it like fervently. And at the end of this tour, I counted up as close as I could all some kind of merch receipts and stuff that we have from headcounts of the shows that I got to say that in front of about 680,000 people this summer. And so I figure at least 300,000 of them said it. That is awesome. And, you know, even if it was, even they didn't realize it, they're still speaking a blessing over their life. And to me, that is the highlight of my career. If I never get to do anything else, I'm so thankful that God allowed me to do that this summer.

I think you're just warming up. I hope so. You know, it makes me smile. God uses unlikely characters. In 1st Corinthians, it says God chooses the weak and the foolish and the people that weren't from noble families to confound the wisdom of the world. And I tell the church a lot of times, you know, that I feel like a talking donkey. that every time I read Balaam's story gives me hope that God can deliver a message to a donkey. So I'm in for the weekend.

And when I hear your story, I mean, you grew up in a Christian home and you knew the story. You took a walk. That doesn't make you particularly unique. And God put the voices you needed to help you get back on track. Absolutely. And so he recruits a lead singer of a rock band to deliver a message that is desperately needed in our nation to a group of people who probably aren't going to church a lot of them. And you're willing to be more honest and more truthful about yourself and the Lord,

unfortunately, than a lot of pastors I know. But that sounds exactly like God to me. Good work. Thank you very much. I just, it's strange that I was thinking about this earlier today too. And I've thought about it a lot of times, but, you know, I think God, I mean, I know God, I know God. He plan our steps. He plans the course, you know, and he has a course for a set out.

But God put a thought in my head when I was a little kid. And I don't even remember being a little kid that much. But I remember, and it's before I played music or before anything. And God had to have put this prayer in my heart because I said it as a little bitty kid. He's like, and I said, God, if I'm ever in a position that people see me, I want them to see you. and I know that he put that thought there then. And I thought for so many years, why. And over the last couple of years, it got answered.

Like the biggest why, one of the biggest whys in my life was answered. And, I mean, he's blessed me so much, and he's, and, you know, I know he watched me take that walk, and I know that he was disappointed me in a lot of the decisions I made. and have a lot of the decisions that I still make. But I'm, if I know that he put me in this position that I'm in to say that two-minute, you know, because I don't go on and on. I know that I have a very short window before people start shutting down. And people aren't at a rock show to be preached at, you know, but I want to share that with

them. And I know that he put me in this position to do exactly that. And I don't care if it costs me my career. I don't care if it costs me my life. Honestly, I can honestly, 100% say that I don't care. It's the greatest thing I've ever got to do. And I went into it with that attitude, even though I was a little bit kind of apprehensive because I just didn't want to misdeliver a message and I didn't know how to say it exactly.

Because I don't talk on stage. We play songs. thank you, God bless you, and then we play the next song. Well, that works out really well because I don't sing on stage. I just talk, so we make a team. Well, you know, you said something that I want to come back to for just a minute, because I think there's an attack in our minds when we decide we're going to stand up for the Lord, that there's going to be this crippling cost with it.

I think the devil, I mean, just it does it to me. And you get this choice whether I can avoid it or overlook it or act like I didn't hear it or if I don't ignore the feeling that this is what I should do, or you own it. But I'm of the opinion in my life at this point, and I'm still really a young guy, so I get some road to travel. But to this point, everything, every place I've been obedient with the Lord and I have told the truth, the Lord has honored it and blessed my life. Now, yeah, I've been uninvited or, I mean, there's been, but the good has far outweighed.

any cost that I could see. Have you found that to be true? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, we've been more, I mean, if there's a, I see the response from people. I've got letters from, you know, because I, you know, like I said from the beginning, if it helps one person, it's worth saying it a thousand times. But I've got letters from people online and physical letters that people have handed me.

One of them is framed in my office, and nobody goes in my office. Nobody really comes to my house. But, I mean, it's framed in my office where nobody else really sees it, but it reminds me. And it's a letter from a man that said, you saved my life with that speech. He said, I had already decided that I was done and I was leaving this world. He said, but I wanted to go to a concert before I left. And he said, you said that. and I went and I read my Bible and he said it changed my life.

And the first 10 times I read that letter, I cried. And I put it somewhere where, you know, I don't want it in a brag spot. I want in a spot where I can, when I'm having a day, that I can look at that, and just be thankful that God allowed me to help that person. And you're absolutely right. the positive has so outweighed the negative. I mean, you know, like I said, you see an eye roll here or there, but you see people more eye rolls than I see right in the middle of a rock concert.

I see this toward the stage. And I love it. I love it. Oh, that is awesome. And, you know, I kind of pair it with the song away from the sun, which was the title track off our second record, but that song, has a lot of Christian connotations in it on purpose, because I feel like so many times it were so far down away from the sun, you know, in the song, it's spelled S-U-N, but it could so

very easily be the S-O-N. And we've always, you know, I've always tried to make songs that help people through situations. But again, it's just, it's just, led me back to just being thankful to help them, just to acknowledge them, to acknowledge that that Jesus loves me, you know, and that's such a powerful, such a powerful, it's the most powerful thing in the world, is just to know that Jesus loves you. And being obedient. Absolutely. I mean, we all work in different arenas and have different assignments, but you, on purpose,

intentionally, took your faith to work. Absolutely. And there's a lot of voices that would tell you not to do that or you shouldn't do that or it's going to be death of your career or you're going to lose audience. And the opposite happened. The Lord blessed you. It did. He really, really has. And I mean, honestly, you know, I was like, well, you know, you can kind of tell how good you did sometimes it shows by the merch count, you know.

And since I started talking about that on stage, I say quite honestly, we sold more merch than we've ever sold in our entire career. I mean, it's just, I mean that completely honestly. And people, like, from so many different arenas of life, had messaged me and like, man, that was the highlight of my show. I mean, your show was great, but that was the best thing about it. And from people that you click on their page, and it's not necessarily what you'd expect to come from that person.

And he has blessed us so, so tremendous. Well, I want to say thank you. Go ahead. I'm sorry. And you really, really encourage me to do that in your sermons of just like whatever, when you said, whatever arena of life that you work in, take it there. That's it. And you encouraged me to do that. I mean. And you didn't do it because you were perfect or you never made a mistake or you did it in spite of that. And that was- We all do it in spite of that.

Amen. And that was the biggest hurdle for me. was realizing that I didn't, that I'd never be worthy to carry that message, you know. And because I was like, I'm not really worthy to get up there and say that. But, I mean, you know, it's like, it doesn't call the prepared. You're right. You're not worthy. I'm not.

But we're bragging on the one who made us worthy. That's right. You know? Absolutely. We're not telling our story. Absolutely. We're not there because we're smart or bright or talented. The Lord has blessed us.

Amen. So we started this a few minutes ago. You said after you FaceTime Charlie and he told you need to get straight, you called your wife. And maybe you weren't in the best frame of mind. No. So how's that unfolding these days? What's Jen have to say about your faith? I have a, she, you know, she's such a great girl.

My wife is so great. And actually, she and I, not this past October, but the previous October. at the last fall festival, we got baptized here. And we had both been baptized as children. But we were coming up. I was like, let's get baptized tonight. She's like, okay. And I think we might have been the last two people through the pool

because we were kind of running around, had to go back to our car and get a jacket because I think it was kind of cool that night. And 95%, 98% of the problems in my life, they're gone. And I think God's so much for putting a woman in my life, who I've known since we were little kids. And we spent a lot of time that she lived in a different town than me, and our families know each other in things,

and that she and I stand side by side, and Jesus is in front of us. And I can say that. And I'm so thankful to have her in my life because she, I'm, she is an anchor for me in so many ways. Absolutely. I love your baptism story. Thank you. I was, we were so happy to get to do it again.

And, you know, we, she had been, I'd been baptized as a kid in, and this end of the God church. And, and she got baptized. I'm not sure what a denomination of church it was that she got baptized in, but she used to go to church with one of her friends. And sometimes she'd, she'd walked to church by herself when she was a little girl, which was just right down the street from her house. And she'd got baptized then. But we wanted to do it together. We wanted to get baptized together.

And it was awesome. And God has changed our life. I mean, when we used to search for happiness, now we have joy. And, you know, I see it. I was talking about before we got started, her being a barrel racer. and she's a great barrel racer. And she's such a talented trainer. And she's trained the two horses that she has now.

They were born at our house. Nobody else has touched them besides a guy that just coal broke them, just because she didn't, you know, if they were going to buck. That's special. Absolutely. When you raise them and you know their personality and they know yours, there's a relationship with that that doesn't come any other way. It really doesn't.

And she loves those horses. I call them her little delicate flowers. I don't know if they're running barrels, they're not. But she's done it all from the beginning. And, but, you know, they're still on their way up. And there's just now, I mean, they're very, very pattern. She's taking it very, very slow and got a very pattern before she's picking up on the speed. And now they're starting to go a little bit faster.

But, you know, you're not placing yet. But used to when we would leave a barrel race, and when she had, I'm top-knocked horses and world champion horses. If she didn't finish in the top of the 1D or right there, I mean, the ride home was not that awesome, you know? And now because, and we talked about it before, you know, because that was searching for happiness. And those two boys and the change in our hearts has taught us

the difference between searching for happiness and having joy and doing something. Because now she's there because she loves those boys. and she has joy in her heart about it, and she just enjoys the process of it, and it's such a difference, such a difference. It is an awesome story. I'm confident the best is still in front of you. You keep using your voice for Jesus.

Thank you very much. I believe it is, too, and I'm just thankful that he asked me to do it. I won't find a timing place. We get three doors down on some sort of festival on campus. I'd be fun. I believe we can make that work. That'd be very, very fun. I think at some point, and don't hold me accountable if you're listening to this, do not.

But you can pray. I grew up with Charlie doing his volunteer jam, and I know you've been a part of that. I've been there for some of that. But I think at some point in the future, there's so many people in the industry that we've gotten to know through the years. I think it would be a hoot to do a version of that on our campus with our new outdoor worship spaces. That would be awesome. We will honor the Lord and honor some of our heritage and the different forms and genres of music. That would be awesome.

I'll come be a part of that day. I would thoroughly enjoy that. Well, you pray. We'll see if the Lord will work that out. Yes, sir. I want to mention one more thing. Yeah. And this is something that I've done in the last two years, and I've been really, really, like, just really strict about it this year.

and I know that it's sometimes, it's definitely, you know, having two brother-in-laws as pastors, I've heard them have conversations at my mom's house. And I know that it's sometimes hard, hard to talk about, like, tithing and stuff in church. And I know that that's something that people like really, and I've heard about my brother-in-laws talk about it and things. So I want to say it. And I've, you know, you said last year in a sermon, he's like, you said put your, and put your faith, or put your money where you faith is. And, and I promised, I promised this year that I would be faithful with my tithe.

And I can honestly say in doing that this year, that nothing has helped my faith grow more. Wow. Than being faithful with my tithe. It's helped my relationship with God. And before I, I mean, when I get paid, it's the first thing that I do is pay my tithe. And it's helped my faith more than so many things. And I can't outgive God. I mean, he returns it so much.

And I know that it might be easy for some people listening and say, well, if you get me plenty of money, and that's easy for you do. Sometimes I'm in a bind. Well, I mean, get a good paycheck and take the chunk out of it that comes out of it. And that's not, that's just easy to say no to as anything. If you won't give to the Lord when you have a little, you won't give to him when you have a lot. That's right. If you can make an excuse in one place, you'll make one on the other.

Amen. That's the truth. And that, I just wanted, I was thinking about that. And that was just something that I wanted to mention. And that has helped me, and I encourage anybody listening that if you'll lead with your faith and lead with your tithe, I mean, you can't out give God and it strength in my relationship with him so much. That is awesome. Brad Arnold is my guest, lead singer for Three Doors Down.

I don't know how many people I have had a chance to talk to, but it's been more than a few. You're the first birth that's ever come on and told the people they need to tie. So you're going to be a frequent flyer. We'll get you back. You know, one of the questions we always ask is what we can do. And I want to give you an invitation to everybody that's listening because you've given us such a beautiful example in how to take your faith to work. I don't want to hear anybody tell me they can't take their faith to work.

If you can take yours to where you work, we can all take our faith to work. But we are reading through the Gospels together right now. And if you'll take 10 or 15 minutes a day, you can read with us through the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You know a lot of the names, you know a lot of the cities, you know a lot of the characters. It will strengthen your faith. It will open your life to the blessings of God in a way that, honestly, I don't know anything that would replace it. So join us.

You can go to the website. You can go to the app. You can get the reading plan. You can do your own, but it's a little easier if there's a little structure to it. Read through the Gospels with us as we kick off this year. It'll make a difference in your life. Brad, you are a blessing to me. Thank you.

you have been a blessing to me as well. And now I got a volunteer jam knockoff to pray about. I think that would be awesome. We'll have to get a name. You know, Charlie made an investment in your life, and it changed another generation of music. God's going to use you to change generations of music. I really hope so.

So you keep honoring him. I trust him to do that, my friend. Yes, sir. Okay. God bless you. Thank you. As we begin a new year, we have new opportunities unfolding before us to grow in our faith and make a difference

for the kingdom of God. and it has never been more vital for us to lead with our faith at our kitchen tables, our workplaces, and our communities. Join us as we read through the Bible cover cover. Making a commitment to read your Bible daily will significantly transform your spiritual life. As you read, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the character of God and a greater awareness

of what he's doing in the earth. We want to support and equip you to stand firmly in truth so you can boldly lead with your faith. You can download the app or go to the website, site at wchurch.org for more information. Let's make an intentional effort to seek the Lord and invite the Holy Spirit to work in our lives as we read the Word of God together this year. Hey, thanks for joining me today. Before you go, please like the podcast and leave a comment so more people can hear about this topic too. If you haven't yet, be sure to subscribe to

Alan Jackson Ministries YouTube channel and follow the Culture and Christianity podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Together, let's learn how to lead with our faith and change our culture. I'll see you next time.