Matthew West might be one of the biggest names in Christian music, but did you know he almost considered a switch to country music?
“I love country music,” West told Crosswalk, which explains why a call from a Nashville music publisher who asked him to consider a genre-switch “started to tickle [his] ears.”
West began seriously thinking about this offer as, despite the success he had already found as a Christian artist, he was struggling to make a living.
“I was discouraged,” he explained. “The thought of, like, ‘Well, maybe I could just have an easier life. I could just drink coffee all day. I wouldn’t go on the road anymore. I would just sit in a songwriting room and write country songs.’ … I was going to let my music career in Christian music just kind of fall by the wayside.”
West continued, “I signed my name on that contract — and right when I got in my car and drove home, I felt it in my gut, in my heart, and this is specifically what I felt like God said to me, ‘Matthew, you’ve just released yourself from something that I haven’t released you from yet. I have more for you, and you’re chasing the wrong thing.’”
He returned to the publisher’s office and “shared my faith,” telling them that he is “supposed to do Christian music. I’m supposed to tell people about Jesus with my music. And if you want to tear the deal up or what, I don’t know what we do from here.”
“And the coolest thing is, they said: Whatever it is you’re passionate about, we will champion it. So you go and do what you do,” West continued. “And we partnered together for 12 years after that.”
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He said, “I’m forever thankful for that lesson that God taught me that day,” as it taught him the difference between a “dream” and a “calling.”
“The world talks a lot about chasing your dreams, but what I’ve learned is when you’re chasing a dream and things start to get difficult — I’m more likely to let go of a dream — but when I know that there’s something deeper than a dream, and that is God’s calling on my life, then I can lean on Scripture that says I don’t have to grow weary in well-doing because I know there’s a purpose behind it,” West explained.
He continued, “I’m using my gifts for Him. I’m telling the world about Jesus. There’s so much more at stake here than just entertaining people. And so I think that’s ultimately what drives me to keep doing this, and what drives me to do this for purposes beyond financial gain.”
It’s a lesson West is sharing on his upcoming album, Jesus Is King.
“The world has a lot to say about who we are and where we should put our hope. But discovering who Jesus is changes everything,” he wrote in a message on his website about the album. “These songs were written in moments when I needed that reminder myself. They reminded me that fear, failure or the noise of this world doesn’t get the final word. Only Jesus does. My prayer is that these songs meet you wherever you are and remind you of one unchanging truth: Jesus is King!”
The album’s single, also titled “Jesus Is King,” “isn’t just a song, it’s a declaration,” West said in a statement about the track. “Something you can sing at the top of your lungs when you need to remember who’s really on the throne. Let this be your anthem.”
Jesus Is King drops Sept. 25.
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