The frontman of the award-winning Christian band We Are Messengers says his testimony is proof that Jesus can save anyone. Even the members of a rock band who rejected God and spent countless nights sleeping and partying with strangers until they blacked out could be saved.
Darren Mulligan and his band We Are Messengers released their fourth album, “We Are Messengers” last month. where is the joyThis testifies to the hope and joy he has had in Jesus since he became a Christian in his late twenties. Singles from that album – Glory to God – is currently No. 14 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart. In 2019, We Are Messengers won Breakthrough Single of the Year at the K-LOVE Fan Awards (it’s probably OK).
But a few years ago, Mulligan felt lost in life, he said.
“I tried to fill my loneliness in the presence of Jesus with alcohol, orgies, and all sorts of other things,” Mulligan told Crosswalk Headlines.
Originally from Ireland, Mulligan began drinking heavily as a teenager and went to university to study philosophy and search for answers to his life. he couldn’t find them.
When he was 19 years old, he met Heidi, who would become his wife. He was in love, but not yet happy. He went on tour with his band while Heidi stayed home.
“I played music for a long time, in heavy rock and roll bands and screamo bands when I was younger. And I lived a life of promiscuity and alcoholism and violence.”
He was angry when Heidi became a Christian. But eventually she convinced him to visit church with her.
“The dead cannot rise again, and the blind cannot make themselves see. Only Jesus can do that,” he said. “So when I was 27 years old, Jesus ran into my grave, pulled me up from there, and changed my life.”
Mulligan, once a Christian, gave up on music.
“I sold my instruments and everything and said I would never play music again. [that] with everything [bad] That’s what I’ve ever done,” he said. “And I had a long list of bad things that I had done. And a few years later, a small local church where I met Jesus needed someone to play the acoustic guitar. And I said modestly that he would go on Sunday morning.
A few weeks later, a friend asked if he could sing. Contrary to expectations, Mulligan had never sung in a band.
“What happened after that weekend in 2011 or 2012 was we started going around Ireland to small churches, community centers and halls telling people about Jesus,” Mulligan said. Ta. “And we were writing some songs and producing mostly covers. And it was beautiful. I never made a dime. On the weekends I packed up my car and left my kids. I left them with mom and dad and just went to share Jesus. It was really sweet.”
A prayer in 2014 changed the direction of his life. One day that year, as he was sitting outside his oldest son’s school, he said to God: I want you. “The next day, he received a call from Warner Bros. in Nashville, Tennessee, offering him a record deal.
he moved his family to the United States
“I remember the day we arrived in a small 700-square-foot apartment in Franklin, Tennessee, with three children and four suitcases. [we were] I sleep on an air mattress. And I thought we had made a big mistake. And the next day I got up and went to work. I wrote some songs. everything is lively and Expanding – Songs from the first record. And then everything started moving like a hurricane. ”
Mulligan hopes the band’s latest record will help Christians find joy.
“Joy has been ingrained deep in my bones these days. Even on the hardest nights when monsters come, I will be okay. The joy of the Lord is my strength and the Lord is with me.” Because we know that,” Mulligan told Crosswalk Headlines. “So this record is basically saying, ‘Life sucks.'” [and] Life is beautiful” – we talk about them all. But the joy of the Lord is what sustains us and enables us not just to live, but to stay alive, and He makes our sorrows into laughter, our sorrows into joy, and our feet into dancing. Please change it. ”
“We hope our music helps people move toward Jesus.”
Last year, Mulligan and his family returned to their native Ireland to be closer to family and friends.we are messengers trip This summer.
He credits his wife’s faith. He said she waited patiently when she was able to leave him.
“My wife changed my world because, like Jesus, she didn’t throw a stone. She put her arms around me and hugged me and kissed me, but at the same time she said, ‘Go away. He said, “Don’t sin anymore.”
Photo credit: Courtesy: We Are Messengers
Michael Faust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years.His story is published below baptist press, Christianity Today, christian post, of leaf chronicle, of toronto star And that Knoxville News Sentinel.
