‘God Showed Up’ for This Christian Artist Battling Alcoholism
By Movieguide® Contributor
Grammy-winning Christian artist Russ Taff is opening up about his struggles with alcoholism and how God showed up for him through the ups and downs.
“I’ve been very open about my story of growing up with family, with dad as a Pentecostal preacher and also an alcoholic,” Taff told The Christian Post. “I was 7 years old when I found my father drunk. I’d never seen drunk before. I was 13 years old when we were asked to leave the church. And these were the only people that I knew, and they walked away from us…I moved into my period of trying to quiet those condemning voices and began to drink.”
He shared that, for years, he managed to hide his own alcoholism, even as he performed concerts for thousands of fans.
“I knew how to do concerts, man, I knew how to make records, and I knew how to wow people,” Taff said. “But when I reached the end of myself, when I had nothing left, God showed up.”
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He continued, “Here I am, this big Grammy-winning Christian artist, and who do I trust? At the end of it, I was just calling out, ‘God, if you don’t come through, if you don’t show up, I’m going under.’ But each time, He would show up and say, ‘Russ, come this way.’ He would always bring people into my life that I needed at the time.”
In an episode of the “Jesus Calling” podcast, Taff shared, “It was years — it was years rewiring this brain to think like a child of God, to think like an heir to the promise. But the miracle…I would have people tell me that had been around addiction before, they would say, ‘Don’t give up before the miracle happens, because it’s going to happen. You keep doing the work. Keep doing what’s in front of you, and the miracle will happen.’ And it did. Happy, joyous, and free. I mean, they were telling me the truth. Today I’m happy, joyous, and free.”
Taff is now celebrating the release of his latest album, Cover Story, a collection of his take on songs that have changed his life, from Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel tracks to songs by U2 and Prince.
“Making Cover Story I was transported back to when I was 14 again with my acoustic guitar,” he said, via Music Row. “I would sing from this place that was unfettered. It was not thought through. It wasn’t rehearsed. I began to relive what brought me into this, what brought me joy and what brought me happiness, just throwing my head back in that little Pentecostal church and singing without thinking about it. I mean, what a gift from God to rediscover that feeling.”
Taff also explained that he hopes this record will go beyond his usual audience and touch listeners who might not be religious.
“Jesus didn’t just talk to church folks; He went where the people were,” he said. “I want to take this record to people who don’t go to church, who have been hurt by the church, who don’t know what to do with their lives.”
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