Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1299 | Matthew West Isn’t Afraid of the Online Mob. Here’s What Changed Him

Episode Date: February 6, 2026

Allie interviews Christian singer Matthew West about his renewed boldness following the death of Charlie Kirk. West discusses his song "Be Close," inspired by Kirk's murder, and his experience performing at the White House. He shares his journey of faith, including overcoming criticism and standing firm in his beliefs. West also talks about his upcoming book, "Don't Stop Praying," which explores deepening one's relationship with God. Tune in to this powerful conversation that emphasizes West's commitment to sharing his faith through music and his resilience in the face of adversity. Plus head behind the scenes with Allie as she gets backstage access to one of Matthew West's Texas concerts. Share the Arrows 2026 is on October 10 in Dallas, Texas! Tickets go on sale February 11 at: ⁠⁠https://sharethearrows.com⁠⁠ Buy Allie's book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.toxicempathy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Timecodes: (00:00) Intro (07:30) Grief after Charlie’s Death (11:45) Writing “Be Close” (15:55)White House Christmas Invite (18:00) Backlash for White House Appearances (21:30) “Modest Is Hottest” Controversy (25:18) Lessons from Opposition (28:45) Why He Wrote “Unashamed” (33:45) Equipping Fellow Christians (39:00) Defending the Gospel (43:40) “Don’t Stop Praying” Book (50:00) Concert Introduction --- Today's Sponsors: Patriot Mobile | Go to ⁠PatriotMobile.com/ALLIE⁠ or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code ALLIE for a free month of service! A'del | Visit ⁠AdelNaturalCosmetics.com⁠ and enter promo code ALLIE for 25% off your first-time purchase. Good Ranchers | Go to ⁠GoodRanchers.com⁠ and subscribe to any of their boxes of 100% American meat, you’ll save up to $500 a year! Plus, if you use code ALLIE, you’ll get an additional $25 off your first order. Paleovalley | Right now, you can get 15% off your first order at ⁠Paleovalley.com⁠ with code ALLIE. EveryLife | Visit ⁠EveryLife.com⁠ and use promo code ALLIE10 to get 10% off your first order today! --- Episodes you might like:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ep 456 | Modest Isn't Hottest ... But Is It Biblical? ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-456-modest-isnt-hottest-but-is-it-biblical/id1359249098?i=1000529386722⁠ Ep 1268 | Islamification Update, Christian Music Dominates & Why Women Aren’t Well ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000737142458⁠ Ep 1223 | The Forrest Frank Formula: Why Christian Music is Trending | Dr. Raymond Lynch ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-1223-the-forrest-frank-formula-why-christian-music/id1359249098?i=1000719536332⁠ --- Buy Allie's book "You're Not Enough (and That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love": ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.alliebethstuckey.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Relatable merchandise: Use promo code ALLIE10 for a discount: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Friday. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I am so thrilled for you to hear this backstage conversation that I got to have with my friend and Christian singer extraordinaire Matthew West at his concert on Sunday. I had the honor of talking to him, meeting his sweet daughters, and just hearing his testimony of courage. I really think throughout his life and career, but he says this is accelerated in the last few months, or God has just increased his clarity and bravery since Charlie Kirk was murdered.

And so we talk a lot about that. But I just wanted to bring you backstage before we we got started with that conversation and show you a little bit of what was happening. Chief of Laterboro got some behind the scenes, looks and what it was like backstage. So we're playing those for you. We got a picture with Matthew West. And then also, little surprise at the end of this. After I talked to Matthew West, they asked me, his sweet manager said, hey, do you want to go on stage before he goes out to sing and introduce him?

And y'all, I go on stage a lot. I give a lot of speeches. I talk to a camera multiple times a week. And I was nervous about this. I was like, what am I going to say? I'm going to go out and it's going to be crickets. Because everyone's going to be like, who is Ali Beth Stucky? I came to hear Chris Tomlin and Matthew West. But it was really sweet. Everyone was so excited. Not for me. They probably were wondering who the heck I am. But they were excited about Matthew West. And all I had to do was go out there and hype him up and talk about how awesome he is, which is easy to do. And then you'll hear that at the end of this conversation going out on stage and doing that. And by the way, like, if you have the opportunity to see Matthew West in concert,

you need to go do that. I had the privilege of being able to watch his session, his set, after I introduced him. And he is such an incredible performer. But really what I love and what you'll see in this conversation is his heart for the gospel. And it is going to be. And it is going to be such an encouragement for you. Before we get into that conversation, I do want to remind you of a couple things. We've got Share the Arrow's tickets that are going live February 11th on Wednesday, and those are going to be our early bird tickets. So $99, that's the cheapest that they will be. You want to snag those tickets because it's just a limited time that we have that discount available. All the seats in the house are good, but you want to get that $99. Make sure that you and your friends,

your sisters, female members of your family are all ready to go. Share the Arrows is on October 10th, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. And let's see, any other housekeeping, oh yeah, we've got that debate, a Texas attorney generals, February 17th, watch it, Blaze TV, YouTube, or X. And that's at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 7 p.m. Central time. Yours truly will be moderating, which again is another thing that's making me nervous. You can pray for me because I've never done something like that before. Lots of new experiences.

But I'm so excited for you to hear this conversation and be so edified by our good friend, Matthew West. The interview that you did where the people were sitting around. What's that called? Jubilee. Yes. Like you were on fire, but like was that pressure? It was really intense. Super intense.

And that was the day before Charlie's Memorial. Right. And that was like the craziest weekend, travel-wise and stuff. And I was so tired. And I was like, this is not how I want to feel. I was tired. I was sad. It was only like 10 days maybe after Charlie was murdered.

And we really thought about canceling because I was like, I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of liberals right now. That's like the last thing that I want to do. But that was one of the last conversations that Charlie and I had over text about Jubilee. Because he had done Jubilee and he crushed it. obviously. And he had all this advice for me. It sent me all this text. He was like, I'm praying about this for you. And I just knew. Like if he had been there, he would have been like, you cannot cancel this. Are you kidding me? And honestly, like when I walked in, it's very tense. Some of it is scripted. Like, they're told not to smile at me when I walk in the room. But as soon as I sat down and the first

person came up, he reached out his hand. He said, I'm so sorry about your friend Charlie. And that really did. Like, I wish I could take all the creditors all me. But really, like the Holy Spirit was there. That was evident. I think even the producers felt that because they were like, this is different. But I honestly think Charlie's death actually softened the whole thing. Oh, interesting. Maybe they didn't want to upset me or something.

But everyone was pretty nice. At least they're in person. Now, after on social media, they had their things to say. But yeah, I mean, talk about like walking into the lion's den. Like it just, I was like, that is just some bravery there. Yeah, well, it was fun. And to be that, but you're, I mean, there's only a few that could be as well equipped to step in and field those questions and slash attacks where there, it's all gotcha stuff.

Like the, like, yeah. Yeah. I just was like, wow. But, you know, you'd be, if you were in that situation too, you would be surprised at like how much you've heard everything that they're saying. Right. Because as conservatives, it's like, we see this stuff on TikTok and everything all day. Yeah.

They've never heard my position, but I'm like, I've, heard this. I've heard this like 10 times. And it is like the Lord giving us the words to speak and scripture returning to us. And like, so it's just. Oh, the Holy Spirit was totally there. Well, I'm just, we're thankful for what you do. Well, thank you. You reached out to me a few months ago and you sent me an audio file of a song that you wrote after Charlie was murdered. Be close. And thankfully, by the grace of God that kind of made it through the great. fine to the people closest to Charlie and you even got to play that at the CBS Town Hall. I did.

Before Erica took the stage. Let's play a clip of that. Jesus be close to the broken heart and save those who are crushed in spirit. We know that you've always been our only hope. Be the hand that's wiping our tears and the voice that whispered. We're weary soul and know that I'll always be close. Okay, tell me about writing that song. What inspired you?

How did the lyrics come to you? Well, like millions of people around the country and the world, we were our family, the West House, it was heavy. Like we were grieving with what we witnessed, with Charlie Kirk being assassinated. with his murder, like our family was just like, you know, freaking out. And as a parent, you're trying to like, you know, walk through that with your kids and just like the fear and the anger and all the emotions.

And then also just like, you know, you're wrestling with your faith of like, Lord, where are you? You know, I think there's, it feels like so many moments in my life right now where I'm seeing things take place on our world. And I'm asking that question. But then I can turn to scripture and be reminded of the promise of God's proximity, the closeness of God. You know, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. And so to be honest, that that whole day of watching what was happening on the news, I was so angry. And I wanted to go to social media and just like, you know, really, yeah,

enter into that. And the next morning, I just, I couldn't sleep. And I woke up early that morning, not to like, sound like I'm romanticizing or anything. I just woke up singing Jesus, be close to the brokenhearted save those who are crushed in spirit and so i did what i do when i don't know what else to do which was go to my studio pick up my guitar and i just started writing the first line says i can't unsee what i've just seen and of course that was inspired by you know what took over social media like and i wished i could have protected my kids from seeing what we saw you know what i mean and just going like lord where are you okay i got to remember even though i i'm I'm wondering where he is.

I have to believe in the promises of scripture. And I sent that to you because you've been such an incredible voice of truth in the midst of this chaotic world. And you've been bold and courageous. And I felt a stirring in my life in the last couple of years, even though I've spent half of my life singing about Jesus, like I feel like I'm feeling a stirring like never before to be bold and realize that standing up for Jesus and for truth is going to come at a cost sometimes.

So what does that look like? So I just wanted to share that song with you. And then you shared it with, I think, Andrew. Andrew. Yeah. Well, just that first line. I mean, it just punched me right in the gut because you sent it to me in that crazy weekend that we were just talking about. Everything was happening.

I think maybe even right before the memorial and that first line, everyone that watched the same thing could relate to that. And in that moment, we all knew, yeah, that's what you're talking about. And for a lot of us, like, it just ends right there. I can't unsee what I just saw. and I don't know what to do with that. Right. And the wrestling that you just described is very relatable, that you felt angry. And, you know, scripture tells us, don't let the sun go down on your anger.

And your anger, don't sin. And so you did something with that anger and you allowed the Lord to redeem it. Well, I feel like one of my jobs as a songwriter is to look at seemingly hopeless situations and dare to believe that there can still be some hope, extracted from that. Yeah. And then there's something about music. I've seen God work through three-minute songs, one three-minute song at a time.

I've talked with your mom about songwriting. She knows that. But like the hope that can be conveyed through a three-minute song, it's not about the song itself. It's about God at work in it. And I've gotten to see that over and over again. So I do feel like that's like one of my jobs in life. One of my callings is to like find the hope in hopeless situations and sing about it.

try to tell anybody who will listen that there is still hope that God is still real, that he's still on the throne, and that even in these ugly situations in our world, we have a beautiful God who is still at work, and he can redeem it all. You know, one of the lines in the song says, another light put out by dark. And like, that's how I felt like, of going like, Charlie, what a bright light, like speaking truth and doing it in a respectful way and showing us what healthy discourse can look like when you're talking to people who don't look like you or don't agree with you, but yet he was giving them a platform and evil hates what Charlie was about and tried to take out his light. And what happened, the light just got brighter. Quick pause for the first sponsor for the day, and that is

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before me. Oh my gosh. That's wrong. First of all. No, no. I'm excited for you. No, I'm happy for you. I was asked to host the annual White House Christmas tree lighting, but I have to tell you a funny story, though. Okay, tell me. So I jumped at the chance, of course. But they had a real. But they had a reception that afternoon at the White House before the Christmas tree lighting. And we were going to take a picture with the president and the first lady. So I brought my wife and my daughters. And we go through all the Secret Service. We're all dressed up. We go into the White House. There's an orchestra playing. They had this incredible buffet of the best looking food I've ever seen. Right. And so a little bit about me, like, when I see a buffet, I'm like, I'm going to town. Especially this White House food. It's got to be the best,

right? Yes. So they have big bowls of shrimp cocktail. This is not why you asked this question. No, I want to hear all the details. Please. I'm like, I'm going to eat this buffet, this amazing wildhouse food. Yeah. But we had a picture with the president. I thought, I'm going to show restraint. I'm going to skip the buffet until after we take a picture because I don't want to spill anything. Right. So we go in, we take the picture and we get to spend a few moments with the president and the first lady, which was incredible. Yeah. And then right after I go, it's buffet time. But we But before I realized it, Secret Service handed me my coat. And I was standing outside the White House looking in.

They're like, you got to go get hair and makeup on for the White House. And all I could think about for two days after was I never got the shrimp cocktail. So there's a lesson in that, that life is short. And when you get a chance to eat the White House shrimp cocktail, just do it. You just got to do it. Even if you spill a little bit. It's okay. Okay.

So tell me what it was like to meet the president. What was that experience like? And then I'll ask about actually doing the performance. Well, first of all, it was incredible. He and the First Lady were so kind. I don't know how they fit everything they fit into it. It's a mystery to me because they were saying hello to all of the artists that were performing and probably 200 people that day. And then so we got to spend a few moments talking.

And in those moments, you're like, what am I going to say? Right. And the one thing I could think to say was just to say, hey, we pray. I want you. I didn't say, hey. But I said, Mr. President, I want you to know that the West family. praise for you and we continue to lift you and your leadership up. And so that was if you had one minute, that's what I wanted to say. And it was just an incredible honor. And then that evening were,

you know, I get to host the Christmas tree lighting and they told me they said, okay, read what's on the teleprompter. And it was me who was going to be introducing the president and the first lady on stage. And then they said, after that, you're going to go stand next to him. I was like, what? And I'm behind that bulletproof glass. And we did the countdown and said, let's like this big. beautiful tree. But it was just an incredible experience. And the coolest part was that there were no rules about what you could speak about or, you know, in terms of like, oh, let's make this more of a holiday celebration. No, this was like the message of Christmas and the greatest gift and the greatest story ever told about the birth of Jesus. It rang out loud and clear that night. And in fact,

they asked me to sing the song that I wrote for Charlie that night, which wasn't even a Christmas a song. So it was a really, it was just a real honor. I'll tell you, I was surprised Allie Beth. And you probably wouldn't be surprised by this, but I posted, you know, a picture of my family with the president and the first lady and like, boy, I lost so many followers on social media. I was about to ask about that. upset that I would even accept that invitation. And to that, I just, you know, I shake my head and I go, it was an honor to be there. And it was just an incredible thing to ring in the Christmas season in our nation's capital. Yeah. You know, I was about to ask about that with speaking out after Charlie and then performing at the White House, I see both of

those things as nonpartisan because in both of those circumstances, you just did what you always do, which is share the gospel through song. And you described that so beautifully, bringing people hope in a really dark place through the gift that God has given you. Some of the pushback that you got, what was it? Like, what was the criticism and what was. was your response to that? Well, much of it is just a hatred for one man. Right. Like there's a, there's a, that's a very real thing that they can't see past their hatred for our current president so that like if you, there's just no objectivity. And so you see that for what it is. And it's like, to that I would say like I would have accepted the invitation to visit the White House,

regardless who was in office. And to be honest, for me as a singer and a, I've never felt like, that I'm just a singer. Like I'm, I feel like I have a calling to be a light in a dark world and share the message of the hope of Jesus. Wherever I get the opportunity. I want to go into the darkness and be a bright light wherever I go. And so I accept those opportunities and I want to go and speak truth and speak hope. And, you know, not long after that,

I was invited back to the Pentagon to do a Christmas concert with Secretary, with Secretary of War. Pete Hegstad. Pete Hickset. Yes, yes. And I gladly accepted that invitation because how incredible is that? And again, more hatred, more anger. They're upset that I would support war and violence because they don't like the name change of the Department of War.

Right. And not understanding that that historically was what it was called. So I think it's just a lot of it. It's just anger and hatred towards one man and one party. And to that, I just have been like, you know what? I support our president and I am praying for our leadership and I'm going to continue to sing about Jesus everywhere I go. And I've learned that there's going to come criticism.

But I do think even in Christian music, it's like this, almost this fear of like speaking up for what is right and good and true because you're going to get criticized or you're going to lose followers or a lot of it's like stay out of politics. Just sing your songs. And it's like, I don't know that that's what I'm called to do either. Like, I want to speak out about what I believe is truth. And I want to be a bright light and a dark world. I'm not perfect.

I'm far from it. But there is that. You sense, like, I'll have a wrestling match sometimes because like, well, if I post this, I'm going to get hammered. I'm going to lose followers. And it's like, you know what? I got a song called Unashamed that I'm singing every single night. And it's my personal anthem of going, I'm not going to be afraid because standing up for

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When you use code alley, you'll get 15% off your first order. PaleoValley.com code alley. You're also not a stranger to some online outrage campaigns. That's what we talked about a few years ago. That's right. You wrote that really sweet, lighthearted song about raising daughters to understand modesty. and just dignity of the self that God calls us to. And you had a bunch of people.

I don't even know, calling you a fundamentalist, trying to control your daughters, all of that stuff. A cult like it. Which was crazy. And we talked about it at the time. That was how many years ago, four or five maybe? Yeah. I mean, I've tried to block it out of my memory, but it's like PTSD. Yeah.

But you came on my podcast. And you were so helpful in that. Because to be able to like turn to voices like yours that like you're unafraid. And I need examples of that. You know, we all do. As followers of Christ, like we need to see people who are showing us what it looks like to, one, to educate ourselves too, right? It's one thing to be loud and bold.

But if you're stupid, it's not good. It's not good either. That's not a good representation of the gospel either. So to educate myself and just even having a desire to like better understand everything that's going on. But yeah, that was a few years ago. Just here's a dad making up a goofy song. trying to convince his daughters, you know, but it was the message, the heart of the song was

you are who God says you are. You don't have to flaunt yourself to win the approval of a guy, right? And who would have thought that was a controversial message? And, you know, people came out of the woodwork to attack me and just talk about, you know, how they thought I was a man trying to tell women what to do with their bodies, which is like as a father of daughters who, you know, I love my daughter so much. I just want to always remind them that they're made in the image of God and that they don't have to dress a certain way to. It was like it was the craziest. I think there was a line that said, you know, it was something about Cardi B. And, you know, people were all up in arms about that. Because you're criticized. Yeah, it's crazy. But it sounds like now a few years later,

you're even more resolved as you stand against the online outrage. What would you say you've learned in the past few years, I've now seen the, you know, various waves of people mad at you about different things. I feel like I'm still learning so much. I think, you know, what's interesting is when that, when I released, it was a song called Modest is hottest. And it was, you know, I think I just naively didn't expect any pushback from that. But then my response to it was I freaked out. And I was like, and I took the song down.

Yeah. And then I like, I realized that then when I took the song. the song down, Christians got mad at me because I thought I was being a coward. Now, my decision to take that song down was because people started coming after my then young children. Yeah. And it was, I had reasons for doing that. But I think looking back on that now, like, it was like 48 hours and the world moved

on to the next outrage. That's what I started to realize was like, okay, this is like, it feels so coordinated. And so I've just kind of learned like this two shall pass. And that I'm going to continue to stand up for what is right. But this is not the first. I mean, I wrote a song for a movie that exposed Planned Parenthood. I wrote a song called Unplanned. And I mean, that was like my first brush with like, and I realized when they gave me

the script to that movie and said, would you write a song about this? First of all, I was like, absolutely, I'm going to write about that because I believe in the sanctity of life. And I believe that every life matters. But I also knew that there's a whole lot of people who vehemently will come. at me. And so I think I'm learning. I think maybe you've experienced, as you can tell me your experience, too, of like the more brushes you have with opposition and people coming at you or haters, as my kids would say, I don't know, I think it builds a little bit of a tougher

skin while also wanting to have a heart of compassion for people too. Totally. Yeah. I think the more you experience it, the more you realize that it's going to be okay, that lesson that you learned is so important to highlight that people move on. They're moving on to the next thing. In the moment, it feels like, oh my gosh, this is going to last forever and everyone's going to be mad at me and you start feeling that tug inside. And I'm not saying you should never listen to criticism and or should you never ask yourself, oh, are they right? And should I kind of reassess my position that may be a healthy thing to do. Yes. Yes.

When the person is wise and biblical and coming from that place, it might be good to assess critiques. But when it's people who hate you, who hate Christianity, they're telling you you're wrong, you probably don't really need to reassess. You just need to stand firm. And it is hard. Like, it is hard. I mean, I get a ton of unfair criticism for things.

Some of it, of course, is completely fair because none of us is perfect. And it, you know, it never feels good. I think that's part of being human. Yeah, it's tough to not let the comments and social media posts get to you, but to realize like, and I think I'm learning too of just going, I'm going to continue. I don't want to be above reproach. Like I always want to be teachable and coachable. But like you said, like at the end of the day, like my relationship with the Lord is the

driving, my faith is the driving force of my life. Let it guide everything that I do. And I'm not always going to be perfect. but help me like somehow be bold in my faith and also in a loving way. Like I'm not going to pick a fight. That's not my mission in life. And my mission is to tell people about Jesus with my music and stand up for what I believe is right.

And at the end of the day, I want to hear the Lord say, well done. But I know that it's not going to, I know now that it's not going to come without criticism or opposition. And I can't let social media. If I lose followers, so be it. Next sponsor is Good Ranchers. If you want to support American farms and ranches and American veterans and an American family-owned company, then you need to order your meat from Good Ranchers.

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Yeah, I think it's been a collective like of these experiences that we just talked about, which is funny because even before sitting down with you, I hadn't really thought much lately about that modest's hottest moment or some of these moments where I have kind of faced criticism. And most recently, just even a post of a picture with my family. and the president and the first lady. It's like, I think that song has come out of like just this series of events over the last few years where I'm like, okay, have I kind of been living? It's like I'm a Christian singer and a lot of my concerts are in churches in front of Christian audiences and things like that. It's like it's almost like I spent so long in this, in this almost

like a little bit of a bubble. And I'm like, well, what does it look like for me to like become more emboldened in my faith? The people have looked at me like, that's weird. You spent half your life. I'm a preacher's kid. I grew up in church. But I think there's a time in your life where the longer you've been a Christian, you can like start to wait into what the Bible warns about lukewarm waters. And I've written a lot of songs about that.

And because they're like my songwriting is a way of like jolting me, of waking me up. There was one of my songs that was on the radio years ago said, I don't want to go through the motions, right? There's another song that said, I'm going all in. And like these sort of anthems that I needed to be singing because I needed to be hearing them. Another song, this is, I want to know I got no what ifs, right? It's like you can hear that common refrain in a lot of my songs. Like, what does it look like to like make sure that I'm running my race with perseverance, right?

And so unashamed, I feel like is just kind of hitting the nail on the head with what I've gone through in my life and going like, what does it look like to really have a desire for lost people to come to know Jesus. Like, am I singing a song just because I want to have a successful career? Or am I getting on stage tonight in the hopes that literally that heaven will become more crowded as a result, right? And so I want that. I want my kids to see that in me.

And I'll tell you, my oldest daughter, like, she's showing me what it looks like. She went and did a six-month missions trip, just left college and said, I feel like God's calling me to go do something and went on this mission's trip. and she's not on stage in an arena. She's not selling merch. She was literally just telling people about Jesus one person at a time. And that, like, that hits me. Like when my kids start showing me what it looks like to be unashamed of the gospel

and just have a desire, like I'm going to do this because I literally have a heart for somebody who doesn't know Jesus to come to know Jesus. Like that's what I want my why to be. That's what I want my mission to be. And I get off track all the time like everybody else does. but that song Unashamed was like, okay, what happened when Daniel obeyed God? Like when they told him not to pray, he went up. The Bible says he went upstairs where the windows were open towards Jerusalem.

Right? In other words, he was like, listen to this. Yeah. Like he did it even. He could have prayed silently. Exactly. He did it even more boldly. But I love these stories in scripture when someone like that stood up, what happened?

The mouth of the lion was shut. Like God showed up in that moment. And so I love those reminders. I need those reminders. And therefore I think that's why God has me write those songs. Because when I'm on stage, a lot of times I'm singing songs like unashamed. And I'm like, this song's not for the audience as much as it is for me tonight. It ministers to you too.

I love this lyric talking about just staying on track. To me, like when I read this, this is the reminder that I need. I'm not going to sing it for anyone. Come on. I don't answer to the crowd. I answer to a king. So the louder they shout, the louder I sing. I mean, that's exactly what you're talking about.

remembering every single day, sometimes every single moment, depending on what the day is, do I answer to this person? Do I answer to the person in my messages? Do I answer to the person on X? Do I answer even in some cases to your boss? Ultimately, you answer to the authority that is bigger than all of this. That's right. And that's really what changes your mentality about criticism, I would think.

Yeah, an audience of one. Yeah. And that is. And I think that line was directly inspired by the experiences I've had over the last few years. and a desire to give somebody else who's listening the words to express like their desire. Because I do feel like in the Christian community, it's like I think people and like, you know, I'm about to do a concert tonight after we talk. And when I sing that song, it's like it, you can feel it strike a chord with the audience. And I feel like Charlie's death like stirred

something within me. I know it stirred something within so many other people. But Ben, they don't maybe feel equipped to do that. I think that's one of the reasons why platforms like yours are so important because you're helping equip people and how to, what does boldness look like? And I want to be one of those people that can maybe, you know, one of the best compliments when somebody comes out to me says, I feel like your songs have given me the words. I didn't know how to communicate. And hopefully a song like Unashamed is one that equips a kid out here who's at this

concert to realize when they walk into their school Monday morning, they're on a mission, to help a mom who's still praying for her prodigal to realize that God has her in that prodigal's life for a reason and to walk into that with a purpose and a mission, whatever it might be to be bolding your faith. So that's my hope is that as the Lord's stirring in me, I'm going to pour that out into the world and hopefully give them an anthem to go, yep, me too. Let's be unashamed. Let's stand strong and let's show people what it looks like to stand for Jesus and let it be an attractive thing where people are like, I want that, you're different, you're bull.

Everybody else is standing up for something right now. Yeah. Right. So I feel like, why not, why not me? Right. Why am I not going to stand up for what I believe in? Especially in a time where I think a lot of Christians really do feel afraid. Like they watched what happened in St. Paul to that church.

You've got these congregants praying and then you've got these agitators coming in, harassing. You've got the little children crying. Crying in the church. The old lady who fell and she broke her arm. And some Christians look at that and it's tempting to say, do I even want to go in person to church? Or am I just going to now watch online? Because I don't want that to happen to me. Or am I going to be bold about my faith? Because clearly there's a lot of people that hate us. More than they hate people of other faiths, we're the target. And it's really, really tempting to say, well, maybe I have I will just dial it back. I'll still be nice to people and kind of hope maybe they know I'm Christian, but I don't

want to say it. And I don't want to show it. And I don't want to gather with the saints because I'm afraid of what's going to happen. And so in a moment like that, hearing someone say, actually we're still called to be unashamed. Yeah. Just as Christians were 2,000 years ago, it's a hard message. But, man, it is like the message that all of us need to be reminded of.

Well, and if your own, like, I mean, you see a lot of pastors. wanting to be quiet or maybe like I was watching you know as a preacher's kid myself and as somebody who's you know some I haven't fallen too far from the tree right getting up on stage every night but watching how pastors were handling it and just the fear of approaching the topic of Charlie Kirk's death and for fear of being political versus like right and wrong you know what I'm saying like but I thought the way that pastor handled Don Lemon I always want to say Lamont because I think that's what Tucker calls him Don Lamar. I know.

But the way that pastor handled that moment, I thought he handled that really well, didn't you? Graciously, firmly. And he said this is a disgrace. Yes, totally. But I mean, those are real. Listen, it's understandable for people to be afraid. And I don't, I mean, I'd like to think I would handle that in the right way. You know what I mean?

As I watched that video, I could sense like my own anger. I'm like, would I have been a little angrier in that moment? How would I have handled that? But it breaks your heart to see like them walking into people's place to a place of worship like that. Yeah. It does feel like it's, you know, push comes to shove in a way where like Christians are really having to consider the fact that, hey, me believing in Jesus is literally offending

people. And it's, and it might come at a cost. What does that look like? Right. And I pray that pastors will be, will continue to be bold. and that Christians can look to their leadership and go, okay, I see what it looks like to stand strong. Yeah. Next sponsor is Patriot Mobile.

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or you can keep the same one. Just go to patriotmobile.com slash alley. Use code Allie for a free month of service patriot mobile.com slash alley code alley and obviously you know after charlie was murdered and i don't have the same platform that charlie did he was reaching tens of millions of people every day but you know we did have to take a moment to be like okay i do say some of the same things that charlie does did and i believe those same things and ultimately i believe that he was killed for preaching the gospel and for saying things that were biblically true not just politically true and there's been a couple things that i'm reminded of Like when I look to moments like the one you noticed that pastor, like he was so firm, but he was gracious and gentle and we wonder, would we do the same thing? I remember there's some quote by C.S. Lewis and I'm going to butcher it so I won't even try to do it verbatim.

But he says when you worry about the future, whether it's a future moment where you're met with some kind of confrontation or your faith is tested. When you worry about the future, you are picturing the future without the presence of God in it because the presence of God is only ever in the present. He is suspended in the eternal now. And so we might think, oh, what's going to happen in my life? If this happens, if I lose that or whatever, but we're imagining it without the grace of God there in that moment. We were talking about that jubilee debate. I was so worried about that. The grace of God met me.

You, I'm sure, were worried about a variety of things in your career. The grace of God met you. That's helped me. And then also this quote by this 19th century missionary. and he led this tribal remote island to Christ in the 1800s. And he said, I had to realize that I was immortal until God called me home. And I think of that every day that you are bulletproof until God calls you. That's awesome.

You are invincible until God calls me home. He ordained that day before he created the earth. Yeah. Therefore, go boldly. With confidence. Yeah. And it's also, you know what I mean? Jesus encourages us in the God.

do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day is enough troubles of its own. So I think about like the encouragement not to not to worry about the future for the same reasons that you just said. But then also the faith that we find and the confidence that we find when we look over our shoulder. And I think about it's like what how many times have we said these are unprecedented times? Yeah. You know what I mean? I feel like ever since COVID, if I heard that term one more time, like, but I was saying it's like, these are unprecedented of time. These have always been unprecedented times. These have always been troubled times. These have always been difficult times. And there's always been darkness in the world. But even in our own

lifetimes, like I can look over my shoulder when I'm fearful of the future and be reminded of how God has shown up for me time and time again with his protection, with his provision, with his strength, with his courage, with the words when I didn't know what to speak. And so let me, and all it comes down to again is a total and complete dependence on a source of strength greater than our own. Yeah. And that at the end of the day is like even when I'm sitting here talking to you, I'm like, oh, I hope I have the right words to say to Ali Beth today. I hope I, you know what I mean?

But it's like, I don't. Yeah. I need to rely on God. When I go on stage tonight, like I don't want to rely on my own ability because I'm not going to change anybody's life, but I've seen what God can do. Yeah. And I want to be nothing but a megaphone that sends his word into the world. So I'm thankful for the courage.

I'm thankful for this work that he's doing in my life. Yeah. And I don't know how to do it perfectly. None of us do. But I'm thankful for examples like yours. That's one of the reasons I was so excited to chat with you again because you encouraged our entire family. I was looking at one of your posts today.

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And we have so much to chat about, but you're about to go on stage and just a little bit. I want to get you out on time. But I've got to ask you about your book, which is just released. Or no, it's about to release in just a few days. And it's called Don't Stop Praying. So tell us about it. Yeah. So Don't Stop Praying.

Like started as a song kind of turned into a little bit of a movement to where like during the election season, we thought, how cool would it be to go old school? And we started printing these yard signs that just said it was no political message. it just said, don't stop praying. Thousands of people started putting them in their yards. And people would send me pictures and there would be, you know, just hundreds of them all down the streets in these towns. There's such a cool way for people to share their faith during a highly divisive time. But a lot of times I'll write a song and then I'll feel like, you know, there's more

to unpack there and I want to say more. And that was one of those songs. And to be honest with you, I'm somebody who I started to feel convicted going, I've spent a lot of time talking about Jesus, have I gotten better at talking about him than actually talking to him? And so this book was an exploration of me just kind of going, God, forgive me, I want to go deeper in the most important conversation that I'm going to have today. And no offense to you, but you and I, this isn't our most important conversation. We know that, right? We have to spend time with Jesus. And so I wound up just kind of diving into that. And I got to tell you, the book opens with

the experience I took my daughter to this. camp. It was like a bonding daddy daughter thing. And one of the, they would have all these different activities. But one day, they took the dads and the daughters deep into the woods and we were going to do this exercise. And they blindfolded the daughters. And then they told the dads, all right, you're going to go and guide your daughter blindfolded through the woods. Oh my goodness. I'll never forget this, Ali, but it was, they said, now you're going to give your daughter three instructions and repeat them as many times as you can before the walk begins. And the instructions were, I will never leave you.

You can ask me anything. And you should only listen for the sound of my voice. And I would make her repeat those back to me. And I said, are we good? She said, I'm good. And then we were instructed to begin our hike through the woods. And it was easy to guide her in the beginning because I could have a hand on her shoulder and we could walk and talk with each other.

And I'd say, okay, there's a rock coming up, turn to your right, this kind of thing. And then with a silent signal from a camp counselor, they would tell me I had to remove my hand. And I could only guide her with the sound of my voice. And it got a little more challenging to navigate the path. Then with another silent signal from the camp counselor, I could no longer speak unless she remembered the instructions that she could ask me anything. So as you can imagine, we started to get off track in our hike. Well, it's becoming more and more challenging.

Counselor comes up as like a voice of deception. And my daughter's feeling lost and wondering where I am because she's not hearing. my voice and she's not remembering to ask me any questions. Counselor comes up and says, hey, Lulu, it looks like you've gotten separated from your dad in the group. And she said, yeah, I'm not sure where he is. And she said, well, the counselor said, well, how about you follow me and I'll get you caught up with the group? And of course, as a dad, I'm over-analyzing my entire job as a parent, fraying that she says, no, I'm only supposed to follow my dad. And all of a sudden, I heard, okay, she follows the camp counselor. Well, what does the counselor do?

who doesn't catch her up with the group. The counselor walks her into a ditch and she doesn't realize it, but she's blindfolded in a ditch standing in front of a tree. And I'm standing there helpless, waiting and hoping that she remembers the instructions. After several minutes, I'm just standing there. The counselor comes over to Lulu and says,

Hey, Lulu, I don't think you're where you're supposed to be. Do you? She said, no. The voices had all quieted, the group had gone away. And she said, well, do you remember the instructions that you were given? She's like, I think so. and she thought for a couple minutes and I'm standing there waiting and all of a sudden I hear four words. Dad, are you there? And I stood there in the woods just crying and I'm like, yeah,

I'm here. And she said, can you help me? I said, yeah. And we got back on track and we walked back and we had this incredible moment. And that was a moment that shaped the writing of this book because I thought about those three instructions and how many times I've forgotten him in my life that he will never leave me. I can ask him anything and I should only listen to the sound of his voice. And so that was the heart of this book of me coming back to those three principles and remembering that I have a God who's always with me, that he loves to hear the sound of his children's voice and that he is the only source of strength and guidance in my life that I should really trust, right? Not a social media influencer, not anything else that tries to vie for my time

attention. And so I just felt like I needed this book. And a lot of times if it's a song or a book, when I'm writing something, I'm like, I need this. I think there's a chance maybe somebody else does too. Oh, I'm so excited. It comes out February 8th. I don't even know. It's soon. So maybe by the time people watch this, they can go on Amazon. Yeah, February 3rd. Yeah. Okay, really soon. First week in February. Really soon. By the time they listen to this, it will be out. Everyone should get it. Okay, thank you so much. It's an honor. much. Okay, give us just a last bit of encouragement. There's someone out there and they're like, okay, all of this sounds good, but I'm really down and out. I don't even know if I can hold on

to my faith right now. You have 30 seconds to try to pull that person out of the ditch. Can I look at this camera? Go for it. I know some people are just listening to, but hey, I would just want to encourage you that God made you. You were his idea. He knows you and he has plans for you. And the Bible says that you will seek him and find him when you seek him with all of your heart. And another powerful promise in James says that if you draw near to him or if you come close to him, he will come close to you. Not he might or he might squeeze you into his busy schedule. He leans into you because he loves you that much. He'll give you the strength you need to face whatever is going on in your life.

The things that are bigger than you, they are. But they're never bigger than the God who's holding on to you. He's going to give you the strength and the courage to stand up for what is right and good and true. And you can be a bright light in a dark world just like Charlie was. Amen. Matthew West. Thank you so much. Thank you.

It's so grateful for our willingness and towards courage and clarity in a culture that is very often chaotic and confused. He ministers to us through soul. Such incredible gift. We have not been. of this word and who like to thank you so much for you to do this in township.