The Hardest Places To Play the BluesPart Four: Playing Gospel/Christian Blues in a Non-Christian Venue

I want everyone to know that I am a minister. I haven’t ever tried to hide it, I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t flaunt it, and I also don’t think that it creates some kind of special privilege for me either. Most people around the world know me as “The Electric Rev,” and I like that! My music has opened the door for us to play in a lot of places where a typical minister would not be welcome. When we first started I have to say it was a little scary, for sure. It turned out that the only thing that was scary wasn’t the people at the venue, it was the religious culture that didn’t really want anything to do with anything outside of their controlled religious culture. I was that way for years. I had adopted this “us & them” mentality until I discovered that Jesus didn’t have that mindset and in fact, He came for us all and not just the religious. You know the “whosoever will let him come” thing!

I will admit that it was a journey for me, and you can read about it in detail in my book Don’t Take Your Dreams To The Grave. My discovery was, can I do what I do, (sing songs of faith) outside of the church in a way that will inspire people to connect to Jesus and not alienate them in the process? I admit I have done both and like one more than the other. I will also admit it’s a bit of a dance. Yes, I want to give my listeners the best music possible and inspire them to believe. I also know that I will not have their ears if I am not kind, gracious, loving, respectful, etc. All that fruit of the Spirit stuff.

I love the music that I play. Be it blues, gospel blues, Christian blues, southern rock, or country. I choose my songs carefully. I am always looking to find a message in the song that I can connect to, even the ones that I don’t write. Like my cover of “Honky Tonk Blues” by Hank Williams. Yes, it is a song about living the party lifestyle, yet it also has a story of redemption that is really close to the story of the lost boy in Luke 15, the prodigal son story. The boy blows all of his daddy's money and finally figures out that it wasn’t as bad at home as he thought. That will preach right there.

People will ask me, “How much persecution do you get in non-church-venues.” My answer to them is shocking when I say, “None.” And here is why: When you respect people when you are kind to people when you genuinely care and love people, everyone wants someone like that in their life, right? Don’t you? Whenever I step into a venue, I am looking to create a lasting mutually beneficial relationship with everyone. It is not a one-time shot for me. I want to create value for the venue owners, the folks working at the venue, and the people who come to hear the music. I want them to walk away shocked that I sang about the things of faith and at the end of the night they leave thinking what a great time they had. Yes, some will be uncomfortable, but that is not coming from me, that is coming from the conflict in their own hearts. I hope at the end of the concert most will leave with this one thought: “That guy sang about Jesus and I liked it.”

Because we live in a post-Christian culture we have to start communicating with people as if they have no previous knowledge of the things of God or church culture. If at the end of my concert, they walk away knowing one thing, then I’ve done a good job. What is the one thing? That God is good, always.

Peace,

Jimmie

P.S. Leave a comment below and share with me your toughest place to do what you do!