![\"AmerIdolFinal-1\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/121\/2016\/04\/AmerIdolFinal-1.jpg\")
<\/a>(Photo property of Fox<\/em>)<\/p>\nIf God were a regular TV watcher, I suspect \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d would qualify as one of His favorite shows (or at least make it onto His DVR).<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because since it debuted in 2002, \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d has featured many contestants who come from a background of singing in church, either as a member of the congregation or part of the choir. That doesn\u2019t mean these contestants necessarily sang Christian songs on the show, but they often brought a soulful, gospel-tinged quality to even secular music.<\/p>\n
Couple that fact with the current judging panel\u2019s own religious background<\/a>, and the show will be sorely missed as a place where teens and young adults with both talent and faith can pursue a career in the music industry.<\/p>\n Over the years, I\u2019ve had the opportunity to interview a number of \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d contestants about their spiritual lives. In light of the show\u2019s final episode on Fox on Thursday April 7th at 8\/7C, here\u2019s a look back at some of those conversations. Scotty is known for wearing a wristband that says \u201cI Am Second.\u201d The purpose is to remind himself that God comes first in his life. The \u201cI Am Second\u201d movement exists all around the country, but the Garner, North Carolina native first heard about it in high school when his local church started feeding the football team dinner before games on Fridays. They\u2019d gather to eat while listening to a message from someone in the community, always with the theme \u2018I Am Second.\u2019 All the players would then head to the game and walk onto the field wearing their wristbands to remind them there was something bigger in life\u2014even bigger than Friday night football in the South.<\/p>\n That reliance on his family, friends and faith didn\u2019t go away once McCreery arrived in Hollywood to compete on \u201cAmerican Idol.\u201d He noted that the fame and constant pressure to perform came hard and fast. But he had a way to deal with the pressure. He said, \u201cSometimes, I would Skype with my church group back home when they were doing a service with the youth. I\u2019d say hello, and we all prayed together. Then I\u2019d go do the show.\u201d<\/p>\n (Full interview here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Brooke White (5th Place, Season 7)<\/strong><\/p>\n In May 2012, Brooke gave birth to her and her husband Dave\u2019s first child: a daughter named London. Since I had seen the movie \u201cLes Miserables\u201d a few days before interviewing Brooke, I had the lyric \u201cTo love another person is to see the face of God\u201d in my head. I asked her if that reflects how she feels about her daughter.<\/p>\n She said, \u201cI agree with [that lyric] completely. The other day, I had just gotten home from New York and performing at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting, which was incredible. I laid her down to take a nap and she locked eyes with me. For such a little person to make such meaningful eye contact, I was just stunned\u2026I was stressed out at the moment and a little overwhelmed \u2013 and she looked at me and, truly, it was like the face of God. It\u2019s like she was telling me, \u2018This is what\u2019s important, and it\u2019s okay.\u2019 That was such a blessing. I needed it in that moment. Since she was born, everything shifted in my mind. I know most every parent goes through some sort of transformation, but for me it was instant with London. She came out not crying; her eyes were open, and she was this alert little person ready to live. I can\u2019t wait to see this little person blossom and grow. I love her. She\u2019s perfect. She is love.\u201d<\/p>\n (Full interview here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Tony Rossi: Listening to the song \u201cStronger\u201d and other songs on \u201cWhat If We Were Real\u201d reminded me of something the actress Patricia Heaton said on this show last year about confronting tough times. \u201cThe life of a Christian,\u201d she said, \u201cdoesn\u2019t guarantee sunshine and lollipops.\u201d And I think that\u2019s the impression some people have of Christianity: that if you accept Jesus, all your troubles will disappear. But it\u2019s not that simple. How has centering your life in Christ helped you better deal with the hardships we all encounter?<\/p>\n Mandisa: I think so often as Christians, we feel like we have to put on our brave face and show the world how wonderful everything is. The fact of the matter is, we\u2019re not promised that everything is going to be wonderful. We\u2019re actually promised the exact opposite. We\u2019re promised that in this world, we will have troubles. But the solution to that is not the absence of troubles. The solution is that we have the opportunity to walk out of those troubles with the Lord.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not to say that we\u2019re perfect. It\u2019s to say that we\u2019re to bring our imperfections to Him, the only one who truly is perfect, and that He\u2019ll help us to walk those things out. \u201cStronger\u201d recognizes that we\u2019re going to have difficult times, but it also recognizes what we can get out of those difficult times. One of my New Year\u2019s resolutions is to memorize a new passage of Scripture every month, and my passage for January was 1 Peter 5:6-11. Verse 10 says, \u201cAnd the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.\u201d<\/p>\n I love that. It owns up to the fact that we\u2019re going to suffer a little while. But it also says that at the end of that suffering, we\u2019re going to come out stronger. So I try to remember that when I walk through difficult times. It doesn\u2019t mean that God has left me; it means He\u2019s walking me through those and I\u2019m going to come out stronger in the end.<\/p>\n (Full interview here<\/a>)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Colton Dixon (7th Place, Season 11)<\/strong><\/p>\n Before appearing on Idol, Colton and his sister were part of a Christian rock band called Messenger \u2013 and his fans are now known as Messengers. That word is especially important to the young artist. He says, \u201cI went with Messenger because of the verse John 13:16, \u2018No servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.\u2019 It keeps things in perspective. Whenever I would walk out to that crowd, I would realize God is so much greater than I could ever be. I\u2019m just here to share His word. So if He can use me to lead you to Him, great. That kept things in check for me and kept me grounded.\u201d<\/p>\n As much as Colton wants to be a witness for Christ, he admits he falls short sometimes so people should be wary of putting too much faith in him: \u201cI think what outsiders looking in on us have to realize is that you\u2019re not following us; you\u2019re following a guy named Jesus. We\u2019re not perfect and we\u2019re never going to be. We\u2019re trying just like everyone else. We\u2019re trying to welcome people with open arms, so that\u2019s what I try and tell people who are Christians. There\u2019s always someone watching, so you always have to be on your \u2018A\u2019 game no matter where you\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n (Full interview here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Danny Gokey (3rd Place, Season 8)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFear and faith have one thing in common: they both ask you to believe in something that hasn\u2019t happened yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Former \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d contestant and country singer Danny Gokey lived those words after his wife Sophia died due to a congenital heart defect during their fourth year of marriage.<\/p>\n Sophia had experienced ongoing medical problems since 2005, but during a surgery in 2008 meant to correct the issue, she had a negative reaction. During a follow-up procedure, her heart failed and she was put on an artificial heart. She never regained consciousness and passed away soon after.<\/p>\n For Danny, this was a devastating time, especially because both he and Sophia had grown up as faithful Christian believers, who constantly prayed for healing\u2026<\/p>\n Danny continued to pray for God to give him some direction \u2013 and one day, he got an answer. But it wasn\u2019t one he liked. He recalled, \u201cThe answer that I got was, \u2018Force yourself to let it go.\u2019 I was like, \u2018You\u2019re telling me I have to let it go, and I didn\u2019t even cause the problem? You\u2019re the Creator!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It was at that point Danny realized he had to make a choice: anger or hope. Hope, he realized, was an act of the will, not an emotion.<\/p>\n He said, \u201cI sat on my bed with tears coming out of my eyes and I literally pictured myself with one hand hanging onto Sophia\u2019s casket. In my other hand I pictured a hammer. I pictured banging my hand and breaking my hand off the grip of the casket and forcing myself to let it go. When I did that, it was a process, but it was like someone pulled a plug from my heart. The toxic emotions \u2013 the injustice, the bitterness, the questions of, \u2018Why? I don\u2019t understand, it\u2019s not fair!\u2019 that built up this toxicity of emotions \u2013 they just drained once that plug was pulled out. I started realizing how the condition of our hearts affects the way we see. If your heart is full of bitterness, anger and resentment, you\u2019re going to look at this world as a very evil place. That\u2019s exactly what I was doing. Once I let that go, I found this beautiful place. The sky was bluer, the grass was greener, I don\u2019t know how to explain it. It\u2019s powerful to have a pure heart.\u201d<\/p>\n (Full interview here<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To listen to more \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d interviews, visit www.christophers.org\/americanidol<\/a><\/p>\n Stay in touch! Like The Christophers on Facebook:<\/em><\/p>\n
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\nScotty McCreery (Winner, Season 10)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMandisa (9th Place, Season 5)<\/strong><\/p>\n