Jelly Roll Opens Up about His Faith, Declares ‘I Have a Heart for Jesus’
The country singer known as Jelly Roll is opening up about his faith, telling CCM artist Brandon Lake in a new video that he believes God is working on him and that he tries to follow Jesus in his daily walk. Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, also told Lake he wore a WWJD bracelet as a teenager.
"We should bring those things back," he said, smiling.
"It was such a good way to be like, 'What would that Dude do?'"
This month, Lake and Jelly Roll released a collaboration of Lake's hit song Hard Fought Hallelujah. Jelly Roll is a four-time Grammy nominee and eight-time Country Music Association (CMA) Awards nominee who won New Artist of the Year for 2023.
Lake posted a conversation between the two singers on YouTube.
"I think God put you in my life for a reason," Jelly Roll told Lake. "I think God's been circling my wagon for a while, and I think He's kind of starting to pick at me a little more every day."
Jelly Roll said he fell in love with Hard Fought Hallelujah and didn't realize at first it was a Christian song. Lake later invited him to collaborate.
"I haven't had a record touch me like that in so long," Jelly Roll said. "... To me, it was like, worship music for sinners. And I was saying that to people, not knowing it was [actual] worship music. … Man, it's been years since I worshiped the way that I worshiped to that song."
Hard Fought Hallelujah, Jelly Roll said, helped him grow in his faith.
"I just hope this record connects people in any way that it connected me again. It connected me in a way to my faith, in a way that I haven't been connected in a while," he said. "It made me challenge some of my own dogma. I've been so bitter and hurt by the church and their dogma that I created my own. It really started challenging all this, and this was all just coming through. …God sends me the record."
Much of Jelly Roll's country music weaves in themes of fall and redemption.
"I talk about God on my music a lot," he said, adding that he and his band pray before every show.
"[But] at times I'm more timid with [it] than I should be. I should be a little more unashamed," he added.
The country singer said Christians, at times, have "not been the most welcoming, inviting of my kind."
"I think that we got so caught up in this Damascus Road experience-type of Christianity that we have maybe lost sight of the gap between where I was and where you are today," Jelly Roll told Lake. "And I'm kind of in the middle of where I was and where you are, I'm trying to get closer to where you are. I'm trying to have the faith of Brandon Lake, you know.
"I think that gap is so much bigger than we acknowledged for so long as Christians that we were almost like -- we've lost our patience at times, and I've lost my patience with myself. And I frankly, felt like Christians were losing their patience with me. You know what I mean? Because I've been called lukewarm, a fence-rider. I've been called a cussing Christian," Jelly Roll said. "… And I know that God's got a lot more to do with me. I know that. I know I got a long way to go. But I do know that my heart's in the right direction. I know I'm heading in the right direction, and I know that my heart was only to share the faith that changed my life. I might wear it a little different than other people. I might say things that other Christians don't think are right to say. But ultimately, I have a heart for God, and I have a heart for Jesus."
Jelly Roll described music as "therapy" for him.
"It's that vessel that … I can bring to people. …It's the gift that God gave me specifically," he said. "... I think there's a lot of people that feel like me there, that have faith and live in it and try to practice it at my core -- outside of some of the wild stuff I say or do -- I try to follow what I think Jesus would do in general.
"I try to walk my faith."
Lake, too, expressed hope that Hard Fought Hallelujah will help build the faith of fans.
"I want to apologize on behalf of the church and Christians that have hurt you, misunderstood you, not giving you grace," Lake said. "If anyone's called to extend grace, it's us. …I think with music like yours and a message like mine and our faith combined, we can kind of bridge the gap between those two worlds."
Lake compared God the Father to a good, earthly father.
"He's a good father, for sure, and He cares. He's like, 'I want Jelly to be healthy in all aspects of his life, in his marriage, his relationship with his kids,' like every aspect of your life, He wants you to thrive."
Faith, Lake said, "does take sacrifice, but that's what life is all about."
Meanwhile, the two hinted at another future collaboration.
"I quit trying to chase happiness a long time ago, and I just want to be useful," Jelly Roll said. "Man, I don't want to be happy. I want to be useful. I want to be a purpose. I want to be a servant."
WATCH: Outside the Box: A Conversation with Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll
Photo Credit: ©YouTube/Brandon Lake
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published February 18, 2025.
