Faith is a very personal thing. Everyone’s relationship with God is unique and over the centuries the world’s most celebrated psalmists, theologians, and songwriters have put their faith into words, but rarely has anyone tapped into a more creative spiritual current than you’ll find running through the Bellamy Brothers’ long-awaited gospel album, Jesus Is Coming.

In recent years, some of country music’s most acclaimed artists have released gospel records, among them Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Alabama and Brenda Lee. However, where most of those projects served up fresh versions of well-known hymns and church favorites, Howard and David Bellamy chose to write new songs. The result is a potent collection that explores the complexities of living out our faith in today’s world.
 
The songs on Jesus Is Coming resonate with the same passion, intellect, humor and quirky charm that have fueled the Bellamy Brothers’ music for over 30 years. “We’ve done gospel songs here and there over the years,” says Howard, “and we’ve always wanted to record a gospel album. Gospel was really the first music we sang.”
 
Though their roots were in the church, their musical tastes and successes have been far reaching. The Florida natives first emerged on the national scene in 1976 with the pop smash “Let Your Love Flow,” which became a hit in the U.S. and in Europe, remaining at the No. 1 spot on the German charts for more than two months. During the '70s and '80s, they dominated the country radio airwaves with such hits as “You Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie,” “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold it Against Me),” “Old Hippie,” “Kids of the Baby Boom,” “I Need More of You,” “Crazy from the Heart,” and “For All the Wrong Reasons.”
 
The songs on Jesus Is Coming reflect the two most powerful forces in Howard and David’s lives – faith and family. “Grandma’s God” is an autobiographical tune about the brother’s spiritual quest during the hippie days of the '60s and how they came back around to the faith of their childhood.
 
“We went through a lot of changes, just like many people in our generation did,” says David. “I was listening to Rick Warren one day and he was talking about how he went through spiritual changes, studying Eastern philosophies and all different things. His father was a preacher, so obviously he would have wanted Rick to follow in the path that he was doing, but Rick went through all the studies before he came back to where his father’s teachings were. I thought that was really interesting because that’s exactly what has happened to us, and I would imagine a lot of people.” 
 
“One day while soul-searching I discovered what was real. My mother’s mother’s faith came back and taught me how I feel. Grandma’s God is mightier than all the universe. His love is a real love like the love she had for us. She brought me round full circle though she did not spare the rod and when I pray today, you know I pray to Grandma’s God.” –From “Grandma’s God”
 
Humor has always been a key ingredient in the Bellamy Brothers' music, and the gospel album also serves up some tunes that will illicit smiles while driving home poignant truths. A perfect example is “Lord Help Me Be the Kind of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am).” “That’s really a bumper sticker song,” David says with a laugh. “I saw a sign actually that said ‘Help me be the kind of person my cat thinks I am.’ I kept thinking about it and thought well that’s a really good line, but it’s got to be dog because dogs are way more forgiving. Their love is without question. Cats kind of question you.”

“I try to get up every morning with a smile and apply the golden rule, but sometimes that old devil tempts me and I go acting like a fool. Dear Jesus I keep trying to be perfect, but I’m just a mortal man. Lord help me be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.” From “Lord Help Me Be the Kind of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am).”
 
Another song that will make folks smile and nod in agreement is the album’s first single, “Drug Problem.” The topical lyric speaks of people entering rehab to deal with their addictions, but in the song the Bellamy reveal how their upbringing helped them avoid such pitfalls. David takes lead vocals on the tune and the clever lyric talks about how he was “drug” to church on Sunday morning and to family reunions as well as being “drug” to work on his grandpa’s farm. That kind of moral guidance and family togetherness has lifelong impact.
  
“Those drugs are still running through my veins, still affecting everything I do and say. If kids today had those kind of drug problems, I believe the world would be a better place.” –From “Drug Problem”
 
Howard wrote and sings lead on “Faith Came Back to Me.” “I wanted a classic gospel tune on here,” says Howard, of the traditional ballad. The nostalgic lyric will remind any believer who has wandered from their faith that the Lord is never far away.
 
When His children are taught wrong from right, they will always come back to his side.  Faith came back to me. I was blind, but now I can see. I called out to thee ‘Oh Lord hear my plea’ and faith came back to me.” –From “Faith Came Back to Me”
 
Penned by David, “Spiritually Bankrupt,” is a vulnerable ballad about a man who finds himself going through a valley and overcoming the hopelessness of his situation by calling out to God. It represents gospel music at its most revealing and transparent. It’s a song many people will see themselves in. “’Spiritually Bankrupt’ is very deep,” David says of the lyric. “I’ve been there. I think we all have.”
 
“I was an empty vessel, void of all emotion, drowning in a pool of my own self-pity. Sold into slavery by the world and its possessions, rendering my gains to the sins of the city. Now I didn’t care to live but I did not want to die, traveling that low road made me tired of getting high. I didn’t hate nobody, but I was running short on love, spiritually bankrupt and looking for the Lord.” –From “Spiritually Bankrupt”
 
Musically the album displays the diversity fans have long come to expect of the Bellamy Brothers. From traditional country to more contemporary fare such as “Wings of the Wind,” the songs showcase ease with which the brothers move among musical styles. They give fans a taste of reggae with an innovative arrangement of the Albert E. Brumley classic “I’ll Fly Away.” “You’re the World” features David’s sons Jesse and Noah Bellamy. The album also features a special gospel remix of the Bellamy’s signature pop hit “Let Your Love Flow.”
 
The centerpiece of the album is the title track, a socially relevant song with an unorthodox hook that challenges mankind to think about Jesus’ reaction to what is happening in the world today. The song was inspired, in part, by a story in the New Testament. “Jesus was really angry and threw everybody out of the tabernacle for gambling and lending money,” says David, who wrote the song. “If that made him angry, imagine now. There’s a lot more to get angry about these days.”
 
Whether delivering insightful social observations or sharing heartfelt revelations, the songs on Jesus Is Coming are the most personal of the Bellamy Brothers’ long and extremely successful career. Yet the messages of hope, grace and redemption woven through these songs are the universal ties that bind all believers. 
 
“We could write endless songs,” Howard says of the inspiration they get from their faith in God. “It just came naturally. It never really felt like work and I hope we do get to do another one.”