Jonny Lang and Jesus

The Gospel is not just a metaphor that we can pull out of TV shows, nature, and relationships. It is the power of God that changes lives. It’s changed mine, and it’s changed billions of other peoples’ lives throughout the course of history.

One of those lives that has been changed in miraculous ways is the life of guitar prodigy, Jonny Lang.

I still remember the first time I saw Jonny on TV. He was playing a special concert on the Disney channel of all places. I was 12, he was 17. I hadn’t even started playing guitar yet at the time, and I definitely didn’t like the blues yet, but that concert changed both of those things rather quickly. I and thousands of other people were quickly impressed by his seasoned guitar playing and soulful voice.

One of the things that a lot of people who heard him sing for more than five minutes said was that, “It sounds like he’s been smoking for 20 years,” yet he was barely 18.

Turns out he hadn’t been smoking for quite that long, but since he was 11, and was quickly turning into an alcoholic. Here’s what Lang says about those years.

“I started smoking when I was 11. I joined my first band when I was 13, and shortly thereafter started drinking and smoking pot. From there I just started drinking more and more, until it got the point where I was definitely an alcoholic. I couldn't not drink. I had to wake up and drink. I was smoking two packs of cigarettes a day, and then I just started getting into all sorts of other kinds of drugs. I was partying pretty hard, and, you know, loving it. I loved doing that stuff. I never got to the point where I thought, Oh, I have to stop. I don't think I really ever gave myself enough time to be in reality to know that I was at rock bottom. Any time I'd think, Oh, there's reality, I'd just go over here and smoke this or snort that, you know. I just tried to keep reality at bay as best I could.”

Things were obviously going downhill quickly, and Lang seemed destined for the same fate as many of the prodigies that came before him.

I knew Jonny was a Christian prior to going to his show a couple nights ago, just from reading some things online and after listening to his most recent gospel album, but I had not yet read this interview.

Yet, something seemed different about him as I watched him onstage – something that I hadn’t seen the last time I saw him play almost six years ago. There was something very spiritual happening in the room, whether simply because of what was coming out of his guitar or the few intimate moments of singing soulful Gospel music, his palm facing up, as if there was only One person he was singing for.

And there was something different about him. Turns out, several years ago, the Gospel and the power of Jesus Christ changed him in a drastic and miraculous way.

“What got me off of that stuff was this one moment when God touched my life. I never really had an experience where I said, "I need you God." It wasn't like that. I was definitely spiritually hungry, but I was never necessarily desperate for God. But then one day he just did it anyway.

My wife Haylie and I were friends at the time. Her dad, Cliff, was kind of like another dad to me. He was terminally ill, and he was being taken care of at their home. They thought he had maybe a couple of weeks to live, so I was hanging out at their place. One night, I went to my buddy's place, and we were going to smoke pot. He only lived a few minutes away, but when we walked in the door, the phone rang. It was Hailey's mom, saying Cliff had just died, just in that 10 minutes we were gone. We left to go back immediately, and as I was going down the hallway, I just felt, I mean, I know it was the Holy Spirit now, but then I didn't have any idea what it was. It was just like a wind that went wham right into my chest, and it stopped me in the hallway. It was unbelievable, and I was so caught off guard by it. I wasn't thinking about God or anything. I had no clue what just happened, but something just happened.

After a while I asked Haylie if she would like to go out back and talk for a while. And honestly, I just felt really relieved that this was over, that Cliff wasn't suffering any more, and they could start healing. At that point, it was like this big weight had been lifted. Again, I was not thinking about God, not at all. In the middle of our conversation, from that same spot that I felt something had hit me earlier, I just felt something start welling up, just burning in me, and it came up out of my throat. It was like I was throwing up, and the name "Jesus" just came out of my mouth. I just said "Jesus.” And when I said "Jesus," my whole body started shaking. Haylie was looking right at me. This is the part of my story where I've just said, "Lord, if I'm ever doing interviews, what should I say?" People are going to think I'm insane, you know? Nevertheless, it's what happened. I knew it was Jesus immediately from the moment I started shaking. It was like he just came up and introduced himself to me. I remember him saying, "You don't have to have this if you don't want it." And I said, "No, I want it." I kept shaking, and I knew when it was done that I had been completely set free of all my addictions, and I knew that I didn't have to smoke or drink or do drugs anymore. All I could do was fall on the ground, and I gave my life to him right there. I was just in shock. I thought, I totally despised you, and you just did this to me. It's been a process ever since.”

Crazy. Absolutely crazy.

I kept thinking about Lang’s experience for awhile after I went to bed, and a couple things stood out to me.

It’s indisputable that God has blessed Jonny Lang’s life and career. He was extremely talented as an 18 year old when he first made it big as a blues guitarist, and not only has his guitar playing continued to improve, but he has an extremely unique and incredible, soulful voice that almost stands out more than his guitar playing now.

Whether God used the damage done to his throat and vocal chords by the smoking and drinking to develop such a unique voice or was able to do so despite it, the Lord took one of Lang’s most visible areas of brokenness, depravity and sin and redeemed it to make something ridiculously beautiful, and one of his greatest strengths.

Jonny’s wife, Haylie, also became a Christian, and in one night, God likely saved their relationship from immeasurable pain and suffering at the hands of the alcohol and drugs’ destructive path.

Jesus is a game-changer. The Gospel changes lives. And selfishly, I’m glad it changed Jonny Lang’s. Because even though life isn’t always fair and it doesn’t usually work out the way we expect it to, I’m thankful that he will hopefully continue to make great music for a long, long time and that I’ll get the chance to worship Jesus our Savior alongside him for all of eternity. I mean, it’s Heaven. He has to let me play with him. Right? :) -CK

*Full interview originally appeared in Christianity Today. http://www.thefish.com/music/interviews/11618032/