Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix Says Christianity Rescued Him: ‘I’m a Full-Blown Believer’
Michael Foust
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By Michael Foust, Crosswalk.com
The lead singer of the Grammy-nominated rock band Papa Roach is speaking candidly about his faith journey, saying Christianity has given him a peace he never imagined and helped him overcome alcohol addiction.
Jacoby Shaddix is the unmistakable voice of Papa Roach, best known for the breakout hit Last Resort, but also a steady presence in rock music with 14 million monthly Spotify listeners and multiple award nominations to the band’s credit – including two Grammy nods.
“The two things I never wanted to be in my life was sober and a Christian,” Shaddix said while laughing during an appearance on the Dumb Blonde podcast hosted by Bunnie XO. “And look, here I am now – a follower and a sober guy.”
But Shaddix said his faith has represented a turning point in his life.
“My faith walk has been like a wrestling match,” he said, explaining it was sparked when he began meeting with others who battled addiction. “I started going to meetings and going to recovery houses and stuff like that. And they’re like: You need to find God or a God of your understanding.”
In the end, Shaddix embraced the God of the Bible.
“It was a rocky path to find that – and a lot of failure and a lot of questioning, and turning my will over to God and following [God] – and then taking it all back, and then living my way, and then, repeatedly finding myself just in that deep, dark hole.”
Shaddix described a cycle of following God and then falling back into sin before he became more serious about his faith.
“I finally put the bottle down and [was] like, that foxhole prayer, where I'm just like, ‘God, do You just hear me? Can You hear me? I need a miraculous change. I need something beyond what I can do.’ Because I kept trying to control the change in my life.”
A friend and mentor who is a Christian helped Shaddix deepen his faith.
“I was very skeptical and very – like, ‘These church people are weird,’ you know? And then when I saw this faith walk alive in front of me and somebody talking the talk and walking the walk, and I saw the transformation, it became alive to me, and then it became – I was less fearful of it. ‘I'll try to believe,’ you know. And then it became like: I'm a full-blown believer. Now it's like, I'm doing a Bible study with a buddy of mine, and it's tripping me out.”
Shaddix described a new life in which he is changing how he lives, seeking to please God and leaving behind bad habits he once embraced.
“I'm starting to experience different levels of freedom,” he said, adding that “things that maybe I once thought were acceptable in my life – now I'm like, ‘Man, that ain't serving you. Man, it's not working for you anymore. It's hindering your growth. It's messing up relationships. This is a little secret that you're keeping back, tucked away over here,’ you know what I mean? The more that I purge these things and turn it over and just walk in the light – I feel like it's the way, it's the path.”
He added that he has tried living the ways of the world – and it didn’t bring peace.
“And because I've tried the other way – you know what I mean – and it's like, the whole rock and roll [way], and I'm like, ‘I'm trying to break that chain.’”
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Photo Credit: ©Getty Images / Kevin Winter / Staff
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.
