Be a Bold Witness for Christ

John Cooper is the lead singer, songwriter, and producer for the Christian rock band Skillet. He was on tour with several popular mainstream acts when he had a conversation with one of the industry’s movers and shakers that became a pivotal moment for his band and his walk with Christ.

The man approached John and told him directly, “You could be the biggest band in the world. You have the look. You’ve got the sound. And you play the kind of spiritual music people are hungry for. Just stop talking about Jesus so much. You don’t have to lie about your music or who you are as a person, just don’t put Jesus in the center of everything. Think about the good you could do for your faith if you got rich and famous.”

The thing that struck John was that the guy was right. With resources and influence comes opportunity, and a lot of good could be done. But what would be the deeper cost of supporting Christian activism that was devoid of the Gospel itself?

Like the serpent’s deceptive words to Eve, wasn’t there’s always a bit of truth in every lie? Didn’t Jesus rebuke Judas after he argued that the ointment Mary used to anoint Jesus’ feet could have been sold to do good for others?

After that conversation with the music industry insider, John and his wife (who is also in the band) prayed together and sought God’s will about what it meant to be a follower of Christ in that circumstance. John says clarity came almost instantaneously.

The culture at large does not believe in objective truth. Some who identify as Christians don’t believe in objective truth, either. They’re swayed by relativism, which basically says that there is no objective truth and, therefore, no objective reality. Ultimate truth is whatever you make it to be. No need to listen God or to anything external from you.

John wanted to be more vocal against such lies, not less. He wanted to publicly stand for truth in the name of Jesus Christ. He says, “The world is not shy about saying who they are and what they believe. Why should we be shy about the Word of Life?”

On the Focus on the Family Broadcast “Be a Bold Witness for Christ,” John Cooper is with us to share his story of being bold in his witness for Christ and to help you become bold, too. Listen to John Fuller’s conversation with him on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or take us with you on our free phone app.

We want to thank John Cooper for partnering with Focus on the Family as a spokesperson for our Bring Your Bible to School Day event in just a few weeks on Thursday, October 7^th. If you’re not familiar with it, Bring Your Bible to School Day is a nationwide, student-led movement that’s observed by hundreds of thousands of students from over 50,000 schools across the country. Events are designed for two purposes: first, to share the Bible’s message of love and grace. And second, to celebrate religious liberty and freedom of speech in the United States.

You can find great resources and more information here. We also have Live It Challenges, which empower parents to dive deeper into God’s Word with their children. All of the details can be found here.

And if you are new to who Jesus Christ is and who He can be for you, you may be interested in a free online booklet we’ve written called, “Coming Home: An Invitation to Join God’s Family,” which explains what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

John Cooper’s book is called Awake & Alive to Truth: Finding Truth in the Chaos of a Relativistic World. It’s available for a gift of any amount. Visit our website or give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).