Jelly Roll and life's hard fought hallelujahs

. . . Give me what he's having

I do not personally know “Jelly Roll.” I’d heard his name a lot, but if you had asked me six months ago, I would be unable to name even one of his songs. Not one.

Then, watching the 2024 Nate Bargatze Christmas special, there was Mr. Roll doing a bit on the show. He was funny. Engaging. He had a lot of tattoos. That’s all I knew.

Just after the Christmas special, my sister was in town and one of my sons pointed out that Mr. Roll lives nearby, so he offered to show my sis his house. Whatevs. We had time on our hands so we took a quick detour and Voila! Jelly Roll lives only 8 minutes from my house. I’m big time!

Actually, I’m not big time. Mr. Roll has a big house. On a secluded cut through road we take to get barbeque. He may be only a few minutes away, but we are not in the same financial Zip Code.

I won’t give out the address. If you live in the Nashville area (we are a half hour or so out of the city), you know there are a lot of “stars” here, but they like our vibe, which is to avoid making a big deal out of them. They get to live their lives without constant paparazzi or other types of pizza.

Once, Jenn (then my future wife) was walking into a restaurant and a nice guy opened the door for her. She looked back to thank the stranger and it was Garth Brooks. Dang. Glad Garth was married at the time.

Of fancy cars and the police blotter

But Mr. Roll’s home is large. And there are a ton of cars in his driveways. Classic cars. Vintage cars. I think I saw an old ambulance. It’s cool.

Jelly Roll is in the news around here because the pardon and paroles board in Tennessee is recommending our Governor, Bill Lee (an Auburn alum like me!), grant a full pardon to the Country/Christian music star.

Until I saw the stories, I had no idea Mr. Roll had a police record. It’s an interesting one. He has a complicated past, no doubt. And a lot of tattoos. But I already said that.

I’m not here to weigh in on this topic. I suppose if the Governor called and asked for my opinion, I’d give him one—but Governor Lee graduated Auburn when I was wrapping up my freshman year. I don’t know him either.

So that’s two people I don’t know: Jelly Roll and our Governor. Oh, and I mentioned Nate Bargatze a few paragraphs back. Three.

But what I do know about Jelly Roll I saw when he and the amazing Brandon Lake sang their duet—an anthem if you will—“Hard Fought Hallelujah” on American Idol.

It was incredible. Here it is:

Now, after looking up a bit of Jelly’s story (I’m going to stop calling him Mr. Roll—I sense a greater closeness to him now), this song resonates in a huge way. He’s been through a lot—a lot I don’t need to know about. The stint in prison. Other stuff.

Yet here he is, singing about his faith. This song is about messy faith. Less than perfect faith. A faith which probably does not include a smooth road of Bible study, men’s accountability groups, marriage seminars and all of that.

But it is his faith. He says his journey re-started with a relatively recent “Road to Damascus” moment. Good.

Now, I’m sure someone will read this and find something negative to say about this guy. And for all I know, there may be some stuff in Jelly Roll’s life which I might disagree with. Fair enough.

The bottom line of a messy faith

Yet for all I don’t know about Jelly Roll, I do know this. It looks to me like he is trying. So am I. And it looks to me like he wants to be public about his faith. Me, too.

One more thing: I believe he wants to invite others to join him on his journey. Hmmm. Me too.

You know, while it isn’t easy for us to admit, chances are most of us identify with the lyrics below more than we do the perfectly theological, never-miss-a-day of Bible study, always smiling because “God is good, all the time!” faith.

There's times when my hands go up freely
And times that it costs

There's days when a praise comes out easy
Days when it takes all the strength I got

I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt
Been-through-hell hallelujah

And I'll bring my storm-tossed, torn-sail
Story-to-tell hallelujah

'Cause God, You've been patient
God, You've been gracious
Faithful, whatever I'm feeling or facing
So I'll bring my hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah
Hallelujah

Yep, I get this. I’ve had those moments when it seemed impossible to worship or even talk to God. Maybe this is you, too.

But somehow, we fight through and because of His faithfulness, we find a way.

It is a joy to see those who started their faith journey at a young age, then stayed strong through the storms, holding fast and doggedly pursuing Jesus day after day, month after month, year after year. They can teach us so much, and I’m thankful.

Ironically, from what little I know of Brandon Lake, his is a faithful road from a young age. He grew up as a son of a pastor and matured into an incredible worship leader. He appears humble and faithful. His song, Gratitude, was K-Love’s Worship Song of the Year in 2023. I got to hear him perform it at K-Love’s Fan Awards that year—good stuff, to understate the obvious.

Yet he chose Jelly Roll to collaborate with and join him on Hard Fought Hallelujah. Brandon Lake made a wise choice.

So, just like we need the long-time faithful, we need the Jelly Rolls to show us faith can take hold on rocky, winding roads, too.

Because sometimes, worship comes through those “Been through hell” moments, and lifts us to places we can’t imagine. You probably know this, already.

Me too.

Kirk’s Notes . . .

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