For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
ROMANS 1:16

For many years I wrote and performed music as a "secular artist." I've been a Christian since I was eight years old, but when I began to take seriously the role of singer/songwriter, my vision was to be a Christian doing secular music. I had a desire to be a "light in the darkness," and I hoped that God would use me and bless me in that capacity. I thought there was no better way to be "in the world but not of the world." 

My father is a pastor, and for years had encouraged me to write songs about my faith. However, writing songs specifically about Jesus just didn't align with my personal goals, not to mention that it seemed very scary and difficult to do well. So for the most part, I just didn't write songs about my faith. I would sprinkle in my Christian worldview and call it a day. 

Being behind the microphone as a closeted "Christian musician" also gave me a great reason to not have to publicly mention my faith. I'll get real with you here: I consider evangelism to be at the very bottom of my spiritual gifts list, and not being a "Christian musician" was a fabulous excuse to get me out of talking about my faith. In my mind I would justify that I was "not ashamed of the gospel," but rather I was being strategic with my methods for infiltrating secular music culture and for reaching the lost. 

Please understand me here: I am not saying that nobody is called to be a Christian functioning professionally in secular music. I believe God uses Christians in powerful ways in the secular culture to bring about change and point toward his truth. What I am saying is that it took me many years to realize that this was not my particular gifting and calling. It's what I wanted, but it was not who God made me to be and what he had prepared me for. I could no longer hide behind my personal goals. I began to write explicitly faith-based music with slow carefulness, and I asked God to simply take me where he wanted me to go. 

In the beginning, the song "Nothing Else Matters" was a song that I had to write to force myself to declare the gospel publicly--no hedging and no mixed messages. I hope you can use it as an anthem to likewise declare that you "won't be ashamed of Jesus." To declare that "He came for me, He died for me, I've been set free or nothing else matters. He rose from the grave so I could call on His name, and no longer be afraid, nothing else matters."

Lyrics:
I've been wrapped up in little things
I've been worried of what you think
I have been afraid to speak His name
but I won't be ashamed of Jesus

'cause He came for me, He died for me
and I've been set free or nothing else matters
He rose from the grave so I could call on His name
and no longer be afraid, yeah nothing else matters,
nothing else matters

I've been waiting for God to speak
but I've made little time for listening
so something better change, day by day
if I am imitating Jesus

'cause He came for me, He died for me
and I've been set free or nothing else matters
He rose from the grave so I could call on His name
and no longer be afraid, yeah nothing else matters,
nothing else matters

I've been hiding behind the lie,
that someone better should speak of Christ
but we're running, we're running out of time,
and there's ever, there's everlasting life in Jesus

and He came for you, He died for you
and this is the truth or nothing else matters
He rose from the grave so you could call on His name
and no longer be afraid, yeah nothing else matters
nothing else matters