Saved By Grace (feat. Stephen McWhirter)

Summary

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Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley

Episode: Saved By Grace (feat. Stephen McWhirter)

Date: January 6, 2026
Guest: Stephen McWhirter, singer/songwriter, author of "Radically Restored"

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Episode Overview

This episode features an intimate and raw conversation between host Savannah Chrisley and Stephen McWhirter, a Christian music artist with a harrowing past of addiction, family trauma, and eventual radical redemption. Through honest storytelling, McWhirter details his journey from growing up in a turbulent, religious household to deep addiction, to a miraculous encounter with faith, and ultimately, to a life dedicated to music and helping others. The episode centers on themes of trauma, forgiveness, grace, and the messy process of spiritual restoration.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stephen's Traumatic Upbringing and Early Rebellion

• [01:41] Stephen recounts his childhood as the son of an evangelist, frequently seeing his father preach about Jesus while witnessing abuse and contradiction at home:
  • “My dad was an evangelist... I would watch this guy get up, preach about Jesus... and behind closed doors, the guy that I saw was totally different. I would watch my dad physically abuse my mom... at a very young age, I was like, if God's real, he is not good.” — Stephen McWhirter [01:41]
• [02:39] Early substance exposure and self-destructive behavior:
  • Started smoking and drinking at 11, moved to heavy drugs and dealing by 15, and became a daily crystal meth user by 17.
  • “By the time I was 17, I was a full out crystal meth addict and I was using every day for many, many years to come.” — Stephen [03:27]

2. Family Secrets and Growing Resentment

• [05:34] Stephen explains how secrecy and shame shaped his family and fueled his anger:
  • His mother would hide his behavior from his father, furthering dysfunction and feelings of resentment, both toward his father for abuse and his mother for returning to him.
  • “She gets us all up in the middle of the night, puts us in the car, we drive away... 24 hours later, she goes back... It also made me resent my mom. Like, why would you go back?” — Stephen [06:15]

3. Turning Point: Radical Encounter with Grace

• [13:02] The life-changing moment during addiction:
  • Someone gives him “The Case for Christ”; one night, amid drugs and darkness, he reads it.
  • “I just know God's in the room, right? Like, I just know he's in the room. I don't know how else to explain it other than that.” — Stephen [13:49]
  • He describes realizing, “God, I believe you're real... I want to give you my life. I want to quit all this addiction, all this darkness, all this anger...” — Stephen [14:11]
  • Felt God say, “Stephen, you won’t do it. I’ll do it.” (referencing Ephesians 2:8)—salvation by grace, not personal effort.

4. Sobriety and Aftermath

• [16:58] Immediate sobriety and the uniqueness of every recovery journey:
  • “I quit everything overnight. I quit smoking cigarettes... But when you hear that... you might hear, ‘Oh, he quit everything overnight.’ That’s discouraging. In the gospel, Jesus never healed anyone the same way twice. Every story has a purpose.” — Stephen [17:41]
• [18:15] Savannah and Stephen discuss how everyone's journey is different and that "it's okay to not be okay."
  • Savannah: “We live in such a society to where everything has to be perfect all the time.” [18:26]

5. Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Messy Healing

• [18:57] The hardest aspect: Forgiving his father
  • “Once I became a believer, this was my testimony... I never shied away from it. Then I had to do the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life... to forgive my dad...” — Stephen [18:57]
  • Forgiveness didn’t look magical:
    • “I just remember being like, ‘dad, I gotta talk to you’, and him looking at me as I said, ‘I forgive you for all these things’... He just looked at me like his whole world was like... cracking... I just left. It was so awkward, so weird. I just got my car and I drove away.” — Stephen [22:06]
  • “I didn’t leave it disappointed. I left in relief that it was done.” — Stephen [23:21]

6. Restoration and Ripples of Redemption

• [25:13] Final reconciliation at his father's deathbed:
  • “I lean in one last time, and I say, ‘I love you and I forgive you’. And then I watch my dad take his last breath...” — Stephen [25:13]
  • “When I got saved, I was just like, if I could just be sober and be okay... but God was like, no, that’s not all we’re gonna do... We’re gonna heal something that will traumatize you for the rest of your life if you don’t give it up.” — Stephen [25:31]
  • Forgiveness as a continual, imperfect process:
    • “Jesus says: ‘…Forgive…seven times seventy-seven’ which is basically like, forever, imperfectly.” — Stephen [26:00]

7. Service, Music, and Authentic Connection

• [27:42] Life now: Worship music, outreach, family
  • “I've done worship music for a long time and songwriter full time... We wrote a song called ‘Come Jesus, Come’ that God took off with.” — Stephen [27:42]
• [30:51] Continuing prison ministry:
  • “I love going to that. I'm going with God behind bars to San Quentin to do a worship thing in February.” — Stephen [30:51]
• [31:41] Authentic storytelling, not preaching, is what reaches hearts:
  • “If I share my story and I do an altar call... we see about 20% of every room come to Jesus. And that—I'm telling you, I'm not an eloquent speaker... I just share my story. And for some reason, people go, yeah, yeah, I believe this.” — Stephen [31:41]

8. Radical Honesty and Parenting

• [29:29] On sharing with his own children:
  • “On the complete opposite of the way I grew up... my kids have to deal with me just being totally real with them.” — Stephen [29:29]

9. Closing: A Challenge to Listeners

• [34:12] Inviting people to meet God authentically:
  • “If you don’t get the book... just ask [God]—I need you to show me you’re real. I want to meet you, like, for real.” — Stephen [34:12]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the disconnect between “church” and “home”:

  • “You see him save people and bring them to Christ and you're like: you're doing this for strangers. But you’re not saving your own family.” — Savannah [09:38]

• On salvation by grace:

  • “You're saved by grace now. I'll take it from here. No, you're saved by grace, period. That keeps happening for the rest of your life, regardless.” — Stephen [15:51]

• On forgiveness and messy realities:

  • “There is no bird on my shoulder. There's no beam of light shooting in like a Disney movie... I forgive you for all these things... It was so awkward, so weird. I just got my car and I drove away.” — Stephen [22:06]

• On the power of authentic sharing:

  • “It’s really simple. You share what God did and you believe what he did and you just tell people it’s real. You keep it authentic, you keep it honest, and you let God do all the heavy lifting. Not be showy.” — Stephen [32:01]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description |
|------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:41 | Stephen’s upbringing and family trauma | | 03:27 | Descent into addiction | | 06:15 | Mother leaving and returning—impact on resentment | | 13:02 | Radical encounter with Jesus—turning point | | 16:58 | Sobriety “overnight” and the uniqueness of each journey | | 18:57 | On forgiveness—hardest act, not magical | | 22:06 | Telling father “I forgive you”—the awkward reality | | 25:13 | Father’s deathbed—final words of love and forgiveness | | 27:42 | On music ministry and life after addiction | | 29:29 | Reality and honesty with his own children | | 30:51 | Prison ministry, God Behind Bars | | 31:41 | Power of testimony vs. conventional preaching | | 34:12 | Final challenge—ask God to show up for you |

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Additional Resources

• Stephen’s book: Radically Restored (radicallyrestoredbook.com / Amazon)
• Music: “Come Jesus, Come” and others available via streaming platforms
• Website: worshipJesus.life
• Instagram/Socials: @stephenmcwhirter (links tagged by Savannah)

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Episode Tone

The conversation blends raw vulnerability, candid humor, and spiritual hope. Both Savannah and Stephen are unafraid to address the darkness, confusion, and discomfort in their journeys—while also expressing belief in the transformative power of grace and honest community. Savannah’s warm encouragement and Stephen’s self-deprecating quips lighten the weight of the subject, making the profound accessible and real.

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Summary Takeaway

“Saved By Grace” is a powerful testament to the messiness of redemption—the scars that don’t vanish overnight, the awkward and often anti-climactic moments of forgiveness, and the ongoing journey toward healing. Listeners are invited to confront their own pain, be real about their struggles, and remain open to the possibility of transformation—one vulnerable, authentic step at a time.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host]

Welcome back to this week's episode of Unlocked. I am really excited about today's episode because I don't know about you, but I love a good comeback story. I also love hearing that everyone else has crap going on in their life, too. We're not alone and everyone has a story. So I have. All right, ready? Going into this, you already, like, gave me anxiety about your name, so Stephen McWhorter on.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

You did it.

[Podcast Host]

See?

[Stephen McWhorter]

All right, y'.

[Podcast Host]

All, I practiced the last name before coming on to this, so welcome. Thank you so much for coming on.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Now. I'm just. Picture you driving here going, Steve McWhorter.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Literally, I was like, I. I just wanted to.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I don't blame you. I butcher names all the time. It's a tough one all the time. It's great. Thanks for having me.

[Podcast Host]

Well, thank you for coming on. Your story is absolutely insane, and it's definitely something we talk about on this podcast. When it comes to religion and how I get why a lot of people hate the church or hate religion or pastors or whatever, it's very easy to get wronged. So why don't you kind of dive into your story a little bit, give people some background.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Just go, this is so fun. Thanks for having me.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

You know, my dad was an evangelist, and so we traveled a lot as kids growing up, and from, like, revivals to church camps. And I would watch this guy get up, preach about Jesus. People would get saved. And behind closed doors, though, the guy that I saw was totally different. I would watch my dad physically abuse my mom. Right. And as a kid, this is traumatic stuff to go through for anybody, but.

[Podcast Host]

And how old were you?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Well, when I was little. So, you know, on through, probably the earliest I could remember would be around 8 years old, like, stuff. Like, remembering it. But it was going on that whole time. So, yeah, you know, I'd see all this then at home, I would see that. And so at a very young age, I was like, if God's real, he is not good. I don't want anything to do with this Jesus guy. So my earthly father, my heavenly father, became the villains in my story. Right.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Stephen McWhorter]

So I think like 11 years old, I started smoking, drinking, marijuana, that kind of stuff. By the time I was 15, it was cocaine, pills, I'm selling drugs.

[Podcast Host]

And how at like 11 years old are you? Access.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Hang on, I've got more drugs anyway.

[Podcast Host]

I've got more drugs. Hold on, I'll let you know. I would hate to underestimate.

[Stephen McWhorter]

No, go ahead, go ahead.

[Podcast Host]

No, how would you. How at 11 years old would you know?

[Stephen McWhorter]

I don't, I don't know. It's crazy. Different time. You'll have to read my book. No, no, no. Yeah, I do talk a little bit. It was wild. You know, I think about now, like my kids, I have an 11 year old that's my youngest at the time right now. And if he takes his bike out, I'm like, I need to know where you're gonna be, what's going on, who are you with, where's your phone, you know, like that kind of stuff.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Back then it was like, you're taking your bike. Cool. And you were like gone all day. You're like, I was just gone. I just could do whatever I wanted. It was wild. Different time, different people. It was just crazy. But yeah, I was smoking, drinking, you name it. Fifteen, I was selling drugs. By the time I was 17, I was a full out crystal meth addict and I was using every day for many, many years to come.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah. And during that time, like, during all that stuff, man, I was the guy who hated Christians, hated Jesus. It was like two things were going to happen if you mentioned Jesus around me. I was either going to cuss you out or try to knock you out. I say try because I was a meth addict. So I weighed like 100 pounds, so threw my whole body at you. You might get a paper cut, you know what I' But I was like, you know what? I just, I hated it. And people, if you knew me then you really would have pointed at me. If there's ever an enemy of the cross, is this guy a very unlikely candidate. But people were praying for me during this time, like wildly praying for me. Somebody told me how they literally pulled over on the side of the road, ugly crime with like boogers coming out nose, right? You know, praying for me to come to Jesus. And I always tell people, the thing about this is we, you and I, we are instinctively like selfish. Right? And if you ever pull over and are just sobbing over somebody coming to Jesus, that's the Holy Spirit. That's not you. That's Jesus. Right. Let's be honest. And I always say, if that happens, he wants to do something through you, but he probably wants to do something in you as well. Right?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

So, you know, anyways, people are praying for me like this. I got off already. My spirit animal is squirrel. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Hey, I'm the exact same way. I'm the exact same way.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I don't have a spirit animal.

[Podcast Host]

So when obviously, you're going through from the age of 11 to now 17 and all the way to now doing meth. Where were your parents at this time?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah. Well, you know, again, if you. This. This. This whole book, I've got to tell you, it is wild.

[Podcast Host]

And what. What's the title of the book?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Radically Restored. Like, the fact that I wrote this because I'm a Christian, like, music, like, artists and stuff. And I've been doing this for a long time, but I just was like, finally, like, hey, I think I'm supposed to write a book. And I have a friend of mine, Lee Strobel, who, in my story, he actually. Somebody gave me his book in my story. Anyways, so what's crazy is he's, like, written the foreword for this book and all this stuff. But he was. Him and Mark Middleburg, some friends of mine. They were the ones that were like, you should write a whole book. Like, do this.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

And I was like, that sounds hard.

[Podcast Host]

That sounds really hard. That sounds.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I think. I think when I first started the book, I think, like, Zondervan was like, we're gonna need, like, 20,000 more words. And I was like, oh, my gosh, this is gonna be hard. Right? But in this book, I had to go into all this stuff about my parents and, like, how really, you know, my dad, it was this really weird thing. He was abusive. But at one point in our story, my mom, like, leaves my dad, like, when I'm like, I don't know, like, nine years old. But hang on, it was not like 10 or nine. Something like that. She. She gets us all up in the middle of the night, puts us in the car, we drive away. We're like, oh, my gosh, this is really happening. We go to my uncle's. We stay the night. My mom's, like, 24 hours later. She goes back. We go back, and I'm like, this kind of sealed in me, this, like, anger with my dad, who's, like, begging or saying he won't ever again. And honestly, he didn't. But it doesn't matter. I still hated his guts, you know, and I don't condone it, but it also made me resent my mom. Like, why would you go back?

[Podcast Host]

Why would you go back? Why would you not protect There was.

[Stephen McWhorter]

This weird thing throughout all my teens where almost every decision I made was kind of like giving them the middle finger. You know what I mean? It was like, I'm just going to do this and I'm going to show you just how screwed up I can make my life.

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[Podcast Host]

Well, it also had to be hard seeing him be a pastor and you see him save people and bring them to Christ and you're like you're doing this for strangers. But you're not saving your own family.

[Stephen McWhorter]

The fact that I came to Jesus. Which we'll get to in a minute. The fact that I came to Jesus isn't that I was a drug addict. That's not the most miraculous part. That's not the most amazing part of my story. It's that I witnessed what I witnessed and still gave my life to Jesus. And it had nothing to do with something my dad said or somebody talked me into. It's that God's real. It's all real.

[Podcast Host]

When was that moment?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Jesus is Lord. It's like, real. But to answer your question about my parents, my dad, because of all this stuff, it was like this thing where he couldn't even. And a lot of people do this when you do something just terrible.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

You.

[Stephen McWhorter]

You either deal with it, bring it out, repent, get healing, you handle your stuff, right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Or you hide it. And when you hide it, two things happen. Well, one thing, really, it's like you create this shield between you and reality where you just go, I'm going to pretend like this never happened. We're not going to talk about it. Because if I address it, everything's going to fall apart. Like my whole life, my ministry, my mental ability to hold on to reality. It's wild, right? People do this all the time. And that, I think, was part of it. So my dad. This is crazy. And it is in this book he had. My mom hid everything I was doing from him, and he didn't know about almost any of it. And it's crazy. Yeah, but that's like, again, it's this weird. It's also.

[Podcast Host]

To a different time, though.

[Stephen McWhorter]

It is a different time. But I don't think this kind of behavior has changed much in people. We still hide.

[Podcast Host]

Yes.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Fear of what people think. The one thing about the ministry aspect is you're going to undo all that your father did or somebody did for the kingdom. Okay, well, here's the problem with that. It was built on a man, then it didn't matter because if somebody meets Jesus and you really know Jesus, then all these people can come out, be like false teachers and blah, blah. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because, you know, your foundation of your faith is on Jesus, not on the fact that somebody wrote a good book or it's really handsome. I'm just kidding. But no. Hideously deformed. No. But no, I like. It's like, that's really knowing Jesus. Right. And that's like really introducing people, not just them Going through you. So, yeah, that was all that growing up. So the mantra for our family was like, don't tell your dad, he can't handle it. And also, never let anybody know what happened.

[Podcast Host]

And that also has to kind of ingrain in you a sense of shame related to what you're doing.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Maybe, maybe. I mean, I talked about it anyways. Like, I. I don't. You know, I was like, my dad's never liked my dad. You know what I mean? Like, when I was a kid, even when I was doing on drug stuff, I was like, my dad's. You know, forget my dad. You know what I mean? It was like, so. But once I became a believer, I mean, this was my testimony. This was all part of my story. I never shied away from it.

[Podcast Host]

And when did you become, like, clean and sober?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Okay. So people were praying for me, like I said, you know? And somebody came and gave me this book called the Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Having told you how much I hated Jesus and hated Christians, this is the most miraculous part of my story because I didn't, like, cause a scene and kick him out of my house. I was like, cool, whatever. Give me a stupid book, threw it in my bedroom. Fast forward. It's like three o' clock in the morning. Nobody's playing music softly and quietly in the corner, right? There's like drugs on the side table next to me. Literally, it seems like the most impossible place to come to Jesus. And I'm reading this book, okay, about Jesus. I don't. It is a blur. This, to me is like, tell me God's not real. How did that work?

[Podcast Host]

How so?

[Stephen McWhorter]

I'm reading the book. I don't even know how that happened. And I just know God's in the room, right? Like, I just know he's in the room. I don't know how else to explain it other than that. I just know he's there, right?

[Podcast Host]

It's a feeling you cannot describe.

[Stephen McWhorter]

As I'm reading this stuff about him, and it's all starting to go from my head to my heart. It's, like, sinking in. It's all sinking in. I start to just go. This thought of just, like, God, I believe you're real. This might actually be real. And I want to give you my life. I want to quit all this addiction, all this darkness, all this anger, all this depression, all this stuff that, honestly, I've known so long. God, I want to. There's no way. I mean, like, I'm being like, this was a very real moment I was like, there's no way. Because at that point, I think I'd been in, like, addiction for over 11 years. I couldn't imagine who I was.

[Podcast Host]

And when you get to the point of doing meth like you were, it's.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Not like a. Yeah. It's not like you ever had people say, man, this food's like crack. This is so good. You ever heard somebody say that? Well, I've had crack. It ain't that good. I'm just kidding. No, no, it's bad, it's bad, it's bad. Don't do crack.

[Podcast Host]

I have heard that.

[Stephen McWhorter]

But yeah, it ain't that good. Let's be honest. But no, it's highly addictive for a reason. This is why so many people are on it. And so it's so good.

[Podcast Host]

And so when you got sober, what was that process like?

[Stephen McWhorter]

So first, as I was in that room and as I was having this moment with the Lord, and I was like, gosh, I can't do this, God. I want, but I can't. I had a thought that I knew wasn't mine because I had been in addiction so long, it's just. I just knew it wasn't me. And it was what I believe was the Lord and it was, Stephen, you won't do it. I'll do it. This is like Ephesians 2. 8. I didn't know that at the time, but I know that now. It's Ephesians 2. 8. You're saved by grace. This isn't something you can boast about. It's a work of God. He does it right. That's very contrary to a faith that says if you do everything right. You know what I mean?

[Podcast Host]

Exactly.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Then you'll be perfect. And then, you know, it's like, I'm saved by grace now. I'll take it from here. No, you're saved by grace, period. That keeps happening for the rest of your life, regardless. Yeah. Now there is something we can do. And Jesus says this in John 6:29. He says, the only work the Father asks of you is to believe. What is. I mean, belief is like, I believe, like something. Like, I believe this couch is going to hold us up. Right. Belief is, like, causes you to act on it. And I just remember that moment being like, I've taken you at your word. I believe you. I believe you. Like, I believe I'm breathing air right now. I literally fell on that floor in that bedroom at 3:00 clock in the morning, crying like a total mess. Gave my life to Jesus literally, like, went from addiction to redemption, from meth addict to like a worship leader like a year later, which is crazy. It's a whole thing. All my friends who were at, who were like, in my sphere at that time were like, you're crazy. You know, this is insane. You're a wild.

[Podcast Host]

You've lost your mind.

[Stephen McWhorter]

They all disappeared. Most died of overdose. Some are in prison. Maybe one or two got saved and are good now. But, you know, I quit everything overnight, which is. Yeah, whatever. Look, here's the thing. It's true. I'm not going to say otherwise. I did. I quit everything overnight. I quit smoking cigarettes. Everybody's like, wow, meth. I'm like, have you ever been to an AA meeting? Like, nobody's drinking, everybody's smoking. You know what I'm saying? So, like, God is real. I quit smoking cigarettes. But when you hear that, I travel a lot. So addiction recovery ministry, speaking and doing all these different things. And I always say this because you might hear, oh, he quit everything overnight. That's discouraging. You know it is.

[Podcast Host]

Because not everyone has that same journey.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Here's the good news. In the gospel, Jesus never healed anyone the same way twice. Every story has a purpose. And if it takes you six times, seven times, you fall his knees, you fall his feet, and you meet it, you give him your life, he's going to use your story and he's going to draw people to him through your life. It's awesome. It's not a contest, like, oh, he quit fast. Oh, blah, blah, blah. Because I had so many more screwed up things with me to work on for years to come. This was just one aspect.

[Podcast Host]

Well, everyone's journey looks different. And just because you're not on the same wavelength, it doesn't mean that you're failing it. Also, I think it goes back to the saying, like, it's okay to not be okay.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

We live in such a society to where everything has to be perfect all the time.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Because I still had to bring depression to him. I still had to bring anger to him. I still had to. You know what I mean? Like, these other things had to go.

[Podcast Host]

And so did you. When it came to your parents, did you ever get your moment of like, oh, yeah, I forgive you, or I'm pissed at you, or I'm like, what? What did that relationship, how did that relationship evolve?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Well, they got plenty of the ladder from me throughout my teen years, you know, I made it very clear. So I give my life to Jesus. Right? And that's great, you know, you're saved. Awesome. Then I had to do the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. And I knew it was from the Lord because I hated the idea of it, but I knew it was like, lined up with the gospel in every way. And it was to forgive my dad, which is crazy because my dad, yeah, he never touched my mom again. But it's not okay. And if you're somebody in a situation like that, get safe, you know what I mean? Goes without saying, but, you know, grace is offensive to us. Like, the real idea of grace, we like to talk about it as Christians in this way that's kind of like, oh, yeah, grace, that's so lovely. But grace is brutal.

[Podcast Host]

That's more frustrating than that. Like, oh, just turn to Jesus and love people and be happy and this. And I'm like, that is not true Christianity. Like, it gets tough, it gets hard.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah.

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[Stephen McWhorter]

You're saved by grace, right? Because you needed saving. Because you were horrible and awful and you could have never fixed yourself. And God in his grace forgives you as you come through him, through Christ. And I knew I was supposed to forgive my dad. And so I remember going to my dad, I drive all the way to Cord, Indiana where they lived out in the middle of nowhere. And I physically felt ill, like trying to get out of the car.

[Podcast Host]

And how old were you at this time?

[Stephen McWhorter]

I was in my mid-20s and had been saved at this point, you know. And I just remember going into his room. He's sitting in his Lazy Boy. And it is the most unmagical moment ever. It is absolutely insanely awkward. There is no bird on my shoulder. There's no beam of light shooting in like a Disney movie. It's like I just remember being like, dad, I gotta talk to you. And him looking at me as I said, I forgive you for all these things. Wa. Wa. And he just looked at me like his whole world was like. Just reality was like cracking. You know what I mean? And I was like, ah, ok. And he's like, uh huh. And I was like, okay, bye. And I just left. I was like, stop. It was awful. It was so awkward, so weird. I just got my car and I drove away.

[Podcast Host]

But I did it.

[Stephen McWhorter]

And I was like, there's so funny. Because it's not the magical Christian moment that you would imagine.

[Podcast Host]

Well, it's also, you set yourself up for this. All right, well, I'm gonna tell him I forgive him. And then I. He's gonna start crying and he's gonna say, you're right. This like. I feel like in your mind you come up with this image of how you see forgiveness or an apology going down and then when it's so awkward, skewed.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Did you leave the disappointment?

[Stephen McWhorter]

So I say all these things and I look in my driveway and I didn't leave it disappointed. I left in relief that it was done. To be honest with you, I was like, okay, I did that. Leave me alone now. Right. But even though it was so awkward and weird, I knew something had happened that I couldn't see that I didn't even experience in that moment because that moment was totally weird.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Fast forward. Things are kind of good with my dad and stuff. And my fiance says, I want your dad to baptize us because we gotten saved and everything. And I was like, this is insane what her and I got, by the way, in the worst fight I think we've ever been in on our way to get baptized.

[Podcast Host]

Stop it.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Stop. And we both were like, this is not the Lord. Like, something's going on. He's trying to keep us from going to do this. And we go, we get baptized by my dad. Fast forward a little bit more. She says, I want your dad to perform our wedding ceremony. First off, what is my wife's problem? Second off, right?

[Podcast Host]

Like, have you lost your mind?

[Stephen McWhorter]

She's awesome. She sees the big picture. You know what I mean? She's like, God just wanted to do something big. Like, that's hard. So my dad performs our wedding ceremony, all this kind of stuff. Fast forward. My dad has cancer. My dad's been passed away from cancer, by the way. Now at this point, it's been like 12 years. So my dad has cancer. Hospice has come. And, you know, he's in the hospital at this point. He's in a coma. I don't know if you've ever seen anything like this, somebody having hospice situation where they're at this place, they're really not there anymore. They're alive, but they're not there.

[Podcast Host]

They're not.

[Stephen McWhorter]

And doctors and stuff are telling you, just say. Say some final things to encourage them to let go. Because there's something that's making them hold on. If you've ever been in those situations where you know what I'm talking about. So.

[Podcast Host]

Gives me chills.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah. So I'm sitting in this hospital room. My mom. My mom gets up and leaves the room. It's just me and my dad. I'm watching him struggle, like he's just barely there. And I lean in one last time, and I say, I love you and I forgive you. And then I watch my dad take his last breath. And here's the thing. You give your life to Jesus. That's awesome. But that's like a pebble that falls in the water and starts to ripple out into like, a tsunami of redemption and restoration and grace. It starts hitting parts of your life you don't even think about. Because when I got saved, I was just like, if I could just be sober and be okay, right? If I could just be sober and be okay. What I didn't understand was that God was like, no, that's not all we're gonna do, Right? That's not all we're gonna do. We're gonna heal something that will traumatize you for the rest of your life if you don't give it up. Because here's what Jesus. Peter comes to Jesus. He says, jesus, how many times should I forgive somebody? Seven times, which is like the number of completion. And Jesus is like, no, no, no. 7 times 77, which is basically like forever. Forever, imperfectly. And I felt like the Lord was like, this is what it's going to take. And I leaned in, and when I said that to him, I was like, that's it. I said it to my dad. I forgive you, but I may have to do it again. I may have to do it seven times. 77 in this world. But he's still healing, he's still mending things. And there's some things that people. God wants to do on the other side of people's lives. Your life, anybody's life, that I promise you. Forgiveness is a debt that you have the ability. That's a real debt. It's legitimate, like somebody owes it to you or. Or you owe it to them. And you have the ability as a person who has the debt that you're the one who needs to be foretold. I'm sorry, right. You have the ability to take that debt and tear it up and throw it away. That's the gospel. That's the grace of the gospel. And that's the hardest thing to do. But it's also one of the most powerful things you can do. Because I believe that there are actually some things that God wants to do in people. People's lives. It's on the other side of that, without a doubt. Yeah.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[Podcast Host]

I can't. Like, it's just remarkable to hear your story and where you've been and how far you've come and so what is your day to day life look like now?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Well, you know, I've done worship music for a long time and songwriter full time, so, I mean, that's really what I do, you know, Mostly we wrote a song called Come Jesus, Come that like, oh my gosh, God, like, took off with. And by the way, my wife. Yeah, my wife and I were in our basement praying, and that song kind of just came out in us reading about the return of Jesus and going, okay. We started to learn what it means to actually long for. For Jesus to return for the first time ever. And so that was a private, like, kind of prayer thing that ended up becoming a very public prayer thing that.

[Podcast Host]

That's all. You can't help but just sob when you know the true meaning behind it and you know, like when you want Jesus to come back, like, you know that that's the life. Like that. We're not living the life now. That will be the life.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah, no, we're alive now through him, in him. But, yeah, the fullness, the completion, that's the return of Jesus. And that's a wild thing that I could talk about for a very long time. But that was like six years ago that we wrote that song and God's still just doing the craziest things, so that kind of just really. That's it. We do music all day.

[Podcast Host]

And how many kids do you have?

[Stephen McWhorter]

We have three. Three boys. Oh, yeah, they're awesome.

[Podcast Host]

That's. That's. I love. I'm always like, my little brother and I are like, so close.

[Stephen McWhorter]

And I'm three redheaded boys. And, you know, our two of them are older, like teens, you know, and stuff. And we have an 11 year old. Huh.

[Podcast Host]

Have they read your book?

[Stephen McWhorter]

What?

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

No.

[Stephen McWhorter]

No. They will. They've heard my story. I've told I. On the complete opposite of the way I grew up. Like, my kids have to deal with me just being totally real with them, like, all the time to grin. They're like, could you just. Just, you know, let that out sometimes? My wife's like, well, they're not being as bad as we were when we were kids. I'm like, that's a low bar, man. That's like being like, hey, they haven't killed anybody. You know, it's like.

[Podcast Host]

But is there anything in the book that they don't know?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yes, they will find some things in it that are going to be, I mean, 11 years old. I don't know that I want him to read about some of the really dark stuff yet.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

But as he gets older in life, he can. He can read it and he'll be able to understand it. I mean, he knows what I went through, but not the details that I go into that were.

[Podcast Host]

And when you're sitting reading the details, it's a lot.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah, it's a lot.

[Podcast Host]

Wow. I cannot even. That just. I just hear your story. I can't wait to read the book. I'm like, all right, my mom's gonna read it. I'm reading it. I also look at your story, too, and think of. I mean, granted, both my parents were in prison, but I got the opportunity to meet a lot of men and women that are in there and their stories and what they've gone through. And it's so hard to find hope. And even on the inside, it's hard to fight addiction. It's hard to.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I love going to that. I'm going with God behind bars to San Quentin to do a worship thing in February. And. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Have you been before?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Not St. Quentin, but I've done prison stuff. This is gonna be great. I love this kind of stuff.

[Podcast Host]

And when you go into pr, what is the feeling that you get?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Oh, no. I mean, I don't know. I think for me it's more like, okay, we're going to do this. You know, we. I've. I don't know what God's doing, but there's a grace in my life. And what I mean by that, if you don't know, is like, basically, if I share my story and I do an altar call, or like, I ask people to come to Christ, we see about 20% of every room come to Jesus. And that. I'm telling you, I'm not an eloquent speaker. It's not like I'm some kind Billy Graham. I just. Just share my story. I just share my story. And for some reason, people go, yeah, yeah, I believe this.

[Podcast Host]

Well, I think it's just so amazing that you're going into these places because I've always said if we had more people, more people who have been through things and are now successful and CEOs of companies and like, if we had all these people that would go into these prisons and invest in these men and women, it would give them hope.

[Stephen McWhorter]

And I find it interesting. Like, you could. You never know where you're going to end up. I was in an amway thing with 15,000 people, and the person asked me to come and saying, come, Jesus, come share my testimony. And 3,000 people came to Jesus at the end of my testimony, not because of me. We had, like, Muslims getting saved, everything. I was just like, it's really simple. You share what God did and you believe what he did and you just tell people it's real. You keep it authentic, you keep it honest, and you let God do all the heavy lifting. Not be showy.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

You know what I mean?

[Podcast Host]

Well, because when you're preaching to people, it's not.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

A lot of times it just doesn't hit. You know, it just. They just don't relate. And it's just like, be authentic about your story. There's nothing to be shameful about because you learn something.

[Stephen McWhorter]

No, I'm always like, man, when. After you've left here, you give your life to Jesus. I pray that tonight, you know, when you lay your head down in bed, that moment right before you go to sleep, because everything's dark, you start thinking weird thoughts. Do you know what I'm talking about? You're like, I'm going to die someday.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. You start thinking the most crazy, outrageous thing.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I always go in that moment. May an awareness of the realness of God be even, like, more overwhelming than right now? In a room where somebody's talking, there's music.

[Podcast Host]

I'm like, wow.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Because it's real. It's all real.

[Podcast Host]

So where can people find your book?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Well, really kind of Amazon, anything like that. But radicallyrestoredbook.com is. I gotta. I Got a website and everything. I'm all grown up.

[Podcast Host]

You're all official. What in the world?

[Stephen McWhorter]

Or you can go to worshipJesus life, which is my website, which is a lot easier to spell than Stephen McWhorter.

[Podcast Host]

Yes. Stephen McWhorter. I said it. I said it without a.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Now it's in there.

[Podcast Host]

It's in there.

[Stephen McWhorter]

You'll stub your toe.

[Podcast Host]

Radically restored.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yes.

[Podcast Host]

That's amazing. I love it. And then on social media. Is it just your name? Yeah, we'll tag it all.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I'm all over those places. But it's kind of like, we don't need more fans. We need people.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

The people matter.

[Podcast Host]

They do.

[Stephen McWhorter]

It's crazy.

[Podcast Host]

They do. And. But, hey, when people come to your site and your social media and they get a hold of this book.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I feel like it's going to just radically change people's lives.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Stephen McWhorter]

I mean, even if you're watching this right now, for some reason, you don't get the book. I feel like people are just like, how do you know God's real? Or blah, blah. I'm like, look, I don't even know why we're having this conversation, okay? I'm, like, the worst person to talk to about that. Okay. Because I know he's real. I just don't even want to bother with this conversation. But I would just say to you right now, just ask him. I need you to show me you're real. I want to meet you, like, for real.

[Podcast Host]

If it's real, meet me where I'm at.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Yeah, that's it.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[Podcast Host]

Well, thank you so much. You are amazing. Thank you for changing the world One step at a time.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Thank you for this comfortable couch.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah, right.

[Stephen McWhorter]

Awesome.

[Podcast Host]

I love you. You're amazing.

[Stephen McWhorter]

It's fun.

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[Podcast Host]

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[Stephen McWhorter]

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[Stephen McWhorter]

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[Stephen McWhorter]

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[Stephen McWhorter]

You're welcome.