Walker Hayes is a much different man than he was just a few years ago. When the 42-year-old first wrote and released the song, “Craig,” about his friend, Craig Cooper, who gave him a minivan when he was broke, Hayes was unwilling to talk about anything spiritual, much less sing about it. Now, Hayes has a new book coming out, Glad You’re Here, written with Cooper, speaking openly about his faith.
It’s a leap even Hayes admits wouldn’t have seemed possible a few years ago, speaking about his Christian beliefs in a book. But now, it’s what the father of six wants to talk about the most.
“Honestly, I don’t care about sharing anything else,” Hayes tells Everything Nash. “To be quite frank with you, I don’t think there’s anything else worth sharing than what Jesus has done with me and the redemption I’ve experienced here on earth, and will continue to experience from knowing Him. That’s it. That’s why I wanna share my story.”
Hayes still vividly recalls the moment he realized change was happening in him, although he wasn’t ready to talk to anybody else about it at first.
“About two and a half years ago, I snuck into Barnes & Noble, and I bought a Bible,” Hayes recounts. “I was embarrassed, and I was proud. I hid it in a bag for about a week or two. My wife was a believer, and I didn’t want to admit that I was curious, and that I was weak, and that I might believe. And then it all came out, and my kids were blown away.”.
Hayes included “Craig,” on his latest Country Stuff The Album, joined by MercyMe‘s Bart Millard on the song. Although the entire record has a wide variety of songs, including his viral hit, “Fancy Like,” “U Gurl” and more, Hayes hopes that his songs, and his story, will inspire others who are where he once was.
“My hope is that even if they don’t read the book, or listen to ‘Craig,’ I hope people hear “Fancy Like,” and they go, ‘What does that dude have? I want some of whatever that is,” Hayes says. “And hopefully, they recognize it’s Jesus.”
Hayes has overcome so much, including his battle with alcoholism and the loss of his daughter, Oakleigh, stories that he freely shares in Glad You’re Here. As the world continues to struggle with the pandemic, financial challenges, and more, Hayes has a strong word of encouragement for others.
“Things are changing all the time,” Hayes concedes. “I need mercy. We all need a lot of mercy and we need to give a lot of mercy. My only hope is Jesus. That’s my message. And I think He’s everybody’s. And to me, there’s a freeing thought that life is not the end all be all. It’s beautiful, but it’s gonna let us down continually until it’s over. There are beautiful, beautiful things to behold in it and about it. Life isn’t the answer, but Jesus is. That’s my message.”
Hayes will kick off his Fancy Like Tour on January 27 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Find tour dates, and purchase Country Stuff The Album, at WalkerHayes.com.
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