Speaking in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News, country star Josh Turner commented on releasing his first ever Gospel album, “I Serve a Savior,” which was released in 2022, and how he worked with Cracker Barrel to release the album and share the good news of the Gospel in the Christmas of 2022 season.
He said, speaking about working with Cracker Barrel, “Every time I’ve worked with [Cracker Barrel], it’s been a pleasure. Once I found out that I was doing this Gospel Record, they wanted to do something with me and get the record in the store again.”
Then, speaking about a commenter who said his “I See a Savior” song is “better theology than most pulpits these days,” Turner said, “Well, I guess that’s a compliment, but it’s also embarrassing. I actually wrote that song two years ago, before I even knew this Gospel record was even a possibility or an opportunity.”
Continuing, he spoke about writing the song as a modern-day hymn, saying, “But, when I was choosing songs for this record, I was thinking one day, I need to go back and look at the songs that I’ve written to see if anything fits and the first song I came across was with this one. When I heard it, I’m like, ‘man, this will be perfect for this record.’ I just knew that I wanted to basically write a modern-day hymn if I could. And, so that’s the direction that we went in.”
He then explained what compelled him to write the song, saying he wanted to establish that his savior is Christ Jesus and what serving him is like, saying, “And so, I just really wanted to write about what it’s like to serve a Savior. And, I knew I had a lot to write in a short amount of time. So, I had to establish who my Savior was, which is Jesus Christ, and why it is that I’m serving him, and what servitude really means, what true servitude really means.”
Further commenting on writing the song and incorporating Scripture into it, he said, “So, when the second verse came up, I really wanted to add some scripture into it and so instead of trying to incorporate it into the song, like as part of the melody, I came across this passage in John where I couldn’t shorten it any.”
He then added, further discussing the Biblical basis for his song, “So, I decided to do it as a recitation and I think it’s a cool moment on the record. I’m glad it’s on there and you know, I wanted to be accurate. And so, that was a big part of why I had that scripture passage in there. I’m always just trying to make sure that whatever I’m singing about spiritually — that it’s biblically based.”
Featured image credit: By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55657433