Deborah Evans Price has been a well-known and loved journalist in the country and Christian music industries for thirty years. She is the author of the COUNTRY FAITH series and co-founder of Country Faith LLC. She is a Country Music Association Award-winning writer, as well as a freelance writer for Billboard, Woman’s World, First for Women, Jesus Calling, CMA Close Up, and Country Top 40 with Fitz.

She and her husband live in Nashville, Tennessee and have one adult son.

 

If someone asked you to describe yourself with one word, what word would that be?

Blessed

The Author and Creator of our lives often writes in a twist that ultimately blesses us more than our original plan. I’m guessing that the Country Faith brand may have been just that. How did it all start more than ten years ago?

As a journalist, I’ve covered country and Christian music in Nashville for more than three decades. I never expected those paths to intersect the way they did with Country Faith, and it’s been a wonderful journey.

It all started when my friend Johnathan Clements told me he knew of a publisher who was looking for someone to write a book on country artists and their favorite scriptures. He set up a lunch meeting with Bob DeMoss from Zondervan Publishing. Part of Bob’s job was to find ways to get people more engaged in reading the Bible, so he had the idea for a book where country singers talked about their favorite scriptures. He thought it would be of interest to country music fans. By the time I left the lunch, Bob had offered me a contract to write the book. From there I had three months to deliver it and thankfully we were able to get 56 artists for the first Country Faith.

Let’s talk about your new book, Country Faith: 70 Inspired Stories from Leading Country Music Stars (February 2024, Dayspring). Please tell us about it.

I loved talking to artists about their favorite Bible verses for the first book, and I think the country community really enjoyed having a platform to talk about their faith. Contemporary Christian and gospel singers get to talk about Jesus every day. It’s kind of part of their job description. But country artists don’t always have that opportunity and Country Faith allows that. It paved the way for some of my favorite interviews ever.

I was so happy we got such great response to the first Country Faith book that we did a decade ago.  Last year, my business partners and I met with executives from DaySpring and were thrilled that they wanted to relaunch both the original Country Faith book, which is available now, and Country Faith Christmas, which will publish in October.

I loved getting a chance to have some really meaningful conversations in this new book. Even artists that I thought I knew fairly well, like Joe Nichols and Travis Tritt, I felt like I came away knowing them much better.

Who are some of the special Country and Christian music stars included in this book?

I loved having the opportunity to update Country Faith. There are so many great young country artists that weren’t around when we did the first book, so I really enjoyed getting to add Mitchell Tenpenny, Brett Young, Chris Janson, Jordan Davis, Breland, and Michael Ray, among others. Due to the fact that the first book was done on a tight deadline, there were some artists we couldn’t get at in time, but are now included in the new book such as Reba McEntire, JoDee Messina, and Travis Tritt.

One thing I appreciated about the team at DaySpring is that they also wanted to add Christian music artists with ties to the country community so the new book includes Zach Williams, Mac Powell, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Matthew West in addition to country legends like Alan Jackson, Barbara Mandrell, Wynonna, the late Charlie Daniels, Gene Watson, Jeannie Seely, and The Oak Ridge Boys.

It’s been such a privilege to have interviewed all these artists and talked to them about the scriptures they hold dear and why they have had such an impact.

I love what you wrote about the book and the Scriptures in your introduction. What is your personal favorite Bible verse. And why?

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

There are a lot of verses I hold dear, but I have to say that is my favorite. Whenever I’m having a stressful day or facing a challenge that feels insurmountable, I remember my favorite verse and immediately feel God’s peace and strength. It’s such a beautiful reminder that He always has our backs, and we don’t have to always be strong because our God is.

Thanks, Deborah! It’s great to have you back at Divine Detour.

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For more information about Deborah and this series, visit the Country Faith website.

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