Kenny Bishop - “A Story of Grace”
Kenny Bishop - "A Story of Grace"
The Bishops were one of the most popular and beloved groups to ever grace a concert stage or church platform. After 17 years of awards, #1 songs, hit recordings and building a solid and loyal fan base, 2001 saw the group come to a grinding halt with little to no explanation. Many fans were left bewildered and stunned as September 2001 left us with many changes both industry-wise and nationally. With the disbandment, Mark Bishop continued on as a soloist, Kenneth Bishop retired and Kenny Bishop tried to run as far away from God as he could. Fast-forward 5 years and you'll find Kenny has returned home, much the wiser. While he was running away from God, he ran right into Him and discovered that Grace really is greater than all his sin; and this is Kenny's story of Grace.
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James: September 2001 was a trying year for Southern Gospel Music. Not only were we dealing with 9/11, but also the industry was dealing with major changes that included the change with the Kingsmen, as well as the loss of one of the most beloved groups, the Bishops. What are your thoughts about that time?
Kenny: I learned a lot about myself, humanity, about God and the church during that time. I'd love to say that everything I learned was good and positive, but to be honest with you James, early on in September and especially as soon as the Bishops came off the road, I found myself on the floor with my face in the carpet, blaming myself for a lot of things. I had no idea the days before 9/11, when I was facing my own tragedy that our country was going to face its own terrible tragedy. But I did know that in my life, a lot of reckoning needed to go on. A lot of people, who I never really expected at that time, tried to wrap their arms around me and love me, but I wouldn't let them. I won't gloss over anything and I don't expect anyone to believe that my crimes, and I'll call them crimes because they were crimes against God and against my family, were decisions I made on my own, and I had no one else to blame. I had convinced myself that I had pretty much forsaken all of my opportunities and rights to ever minister again. But those people who wrapped me in their arms and loved me during that time, allowed me to eventually restore that hope within me.
James: Is there anything you would have done differently?
Kenny: When you sense that your walk with God is becoming weaker and weaker by the day; when what is a busy day that robs you of your time of devotion and prayer with God, turns into a busy week and other things become a priority and other things mean more to you than your relationship with God and your family, you know that something's wrong. If there was one thing that I could have changed in my life and do over again, it would be that I would not have allowed the enemy to rob me of my devotion and prayer time with God, as gradual as it was. That was when the defenses fell, and the foundation began to chip away. I am convinced that if I were able to maintain that relationship, then all the other relationships that have been wounded since then, wouldn't be in such disrepair.
James: Now, 5 years later you've returned and you've got a great record company behind you. Has there been any resistance or hesitation within the industry to accept you back? Or has the industry and fans alike welcomed you back with open arms?
Kenny: The response that I have received has been most overwhelming. Any resistance that I have experienced, I wouldn't even call resistance as much as people who stand back and wait to see if it is genuine and real. And you know what? I understand that, because I stood on platforms and stages for a long time and told people about the goodness of God and the miracle working power of God and the grace of God.and for awhile I stood on those stages and wasn't even convinced of it myself. That's hypocrisy! So I understand why people would want to stand back and say, 'you know what.he conned us once, we're not going to let him con us again.' So I understand why people hesitate and I don't blame them.
James: Tell me about your new CD.
Kenny: It's all about grace. Every single song is about mercy and grace, or some aspect of it. Even before I knew I was going to have the opportunity to record or sing again, I said that if I ever have a chance to make another recording, it's going to be about grace and it's going to be about mercy; mainly because that is what I know the most about now. When we started looking at songs, I told the record company what I wanted for this record. Daywind was unsure we were going to find ten songs that would tell the story the way I wanted. There are loads of grace songs out there, but I knew specifically what I wanted to say. In the end, we had trouble narrowing it down. I couldn't be more excited about the response from people. I hear from people all the time now that say they have a renewed hope and belief in grace.
James: This recording made some news earlier this year by being nominated for a Grammy Award.
Kenny: There were some pretty surreal moments connected to the Grammy nomination. Walking the red carpet along with so many well-known music figures whose music I admire and to be among them was a real honor for me. The photo-op with dozens of camera flashes and just as many photographers yelling my name for the "face on" picture was breathtaking.
Because of this nomination, the opportunities I've had to share my motivation, reasons for believing in grace and forgiveness, and the God who loves us have been tremendous. Any platform is good, but to be able to look into television cameras and speak with reporters and journalists who are usually interested in relationships and fashion and tell them that I am here because God loves, receives and accepts every person who takes Him up on his offer, has been the real joy of the whole experience.
James: Your first single, "The Prodigal's Dad" was pretty much your testimony in a lot of ways.
Kenny: All the songs that I had an opportunity to sing with my dad and brother, were all from the heart and they were all sincere, however I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to sing a song that comes from any deeper inside my heart than "The Prodigal's Dad." Most every night when I have a chance to step out and sing and share my testimony, it moves me more than anything else to have those moms and dads come up to me, or a spouse waiting on their prodigal spouse to come home, or even children waiting for their parents to come home, come up to me and say that their hope is renewed because of the song. They say that they have every reason in the world now, to step out on the porch at night and scan the horizon and wait for them to come home.
My own dad and mom never gave up on me.they continued to pray, they continued to believe. When I was trying to forget them and rebel against them, they were praying for me. When I was cursing God and the church, they were still praying for me. It's easy for me stand up and sing a song like that, knowing that I was the source for a lot of grief, worry and sorrow. They never once stopped telling me that they loved me and they showed me that they loved me. I am convinced that if the church has a weakness today, it is we prefer judgment over mercy. We feel like it is wrong to tell the person who is living and walking in sin that we love them, because for some reason we're afraid that we're giving the impression that we approve of their conduct. However, we are the heart of Christ and we are the arms of God on the Earth today, and it is our duty to wrap our arms around them and attach our hearts to theirs and love them. You will never, ever convince them that God is love when you're shaking a finger at their nose and you're trying to remind them of the sin they live in. We're not here to talk about their sins; we're here to talk about His grace. That is what converts them.
James: That kind of goes back to one of the songs on the recording, "Out of Mercy's Way".
Kenny: Exactly! You mention that song and it's really interesting that a year ago at the 2005 National Quartet Convention, I ran into Gerald Crabb in the exhibit hall. He walked up to me and asked how I was doing. I told him I was just trying to get out of God's way and let Him do His thing. When we left, he went to work writing the song and when I started working on this recording, I called him and asked Gerald if he had any songs that says what I wanted to say on this recording. He told me he has a song that I had inspired him to write and he reminded me of the conversation we had. He said after the convention, he went home and wrote "Out of Mercy's Way". It's a powerful song. Sometimes we just need to get out of the way, and let God take over and do what He needs to do.
James: I know the common theme of the recording is mercy and grace. A lot of people would come back from where you've been and release an angry album of sorts, but you didn't. You got your message across with a lot of love and tenderness.
Kenny: I think it's very important that we do that. My heart is not angry. If I'm angry at anyone, it's me. I'm not angry with God or the church. To be honest with you, I'm not necessarily angry with the enemy. Satan's nature is to do what he does. It's very natural for him. It's God's nature to counter that. The good thing is that God always wins. There was a time when I was angry, but thank God He showed me that you don't accomplish much with anger. If we're going to win the world, it's not going to be through anger, but by His love.
James: I know you've been involved in politics for years. What exactly do you do and how do you juggle that with your singing?
Kenny: For a long time when we traveled and sang, my livelihood was gospel music, and I did some political consulting on the side. When we came off the road, almost immediately I went to work with then US Congressman Ernie Fletcher in the Congressional campaign and office. Of course, he is now the governor of Kentucky and I still work for him. Now it's kind of opposite, what I used to do on the side, I now do for a living.
Sometimes it's difficult to juggle, but Gov. Fletcher is a great man of faith and I don't have to hide my faith or my commitment to Christ around him. As a matter of fact, I was working in my office late one night and he came in and sat down and told me that he and his wife had prayed about it and they believed in me and believed in the work God was doing in my life and they felt like I should be out singing and ministering and sharing my story. I looked at him and told him that was the nicest way I've ever been fired! (laughing) He promised he wasn't firing me, but he felt God wanted to use me. So I told him that I would keep it in the back of my mind and if the door opens up, I would take advantage of it. Only a few days had passed that the door opened up and God made the way. It's not difficult to balance, however most people don't have a favorable opinion of politics or politicians. Sadly, there are corrupt people in politics, but we try to counter that. I love what I do and it's a chance to influence a political body with the heart and mind of God. I take it as a very serious calling.
James: A lot of people say politics and religion just can't mix. What do you say to that?
Kenny: If my relationship with God is going to affect where I go, what I read, what I watch on television, what music I listen to, what books I read, what I wear and so on.why shouldn't it affect the way I vote? If it's going affect every other aspect of my life, why shouldn't it affect the most important civic obligation that I have? To me, there may be some things that politics doesn't mix with, but religion is not one of them. If our relationship with God is the cornerstone of our life, and we choose to exempt our political understanding and our political beliefs with that, then we've chosen to allow our relationship with God to affect every other aspect of our lives, except one of the most important things.
James: With all that has gone on in your life, what is the greatest lesson that you have learned?
Kenny: Probably the most important understanding that I have come away with is that after being brought up in church, there are a lot of different things that the church and myself have majored on, that God has seen as a minor issue. We've laid out a set of rules that we expect the world to live up, and we've drawn lines that God never drew. We've decided to not reach out to certain segments of society that God is trying to reach out to. If we ever decided that there is a segment of society that is not worth reaching out to or not worth ministering to, we're basically saying to hearts and souls that the enemy can have them. I don't want my son or daughter to ever get the impression that God doesn't love them. We may be God's ambassadors on this Earth, but that doesn't mean we always get it right. The fact of the matter is our personality supercedes God's personality many times. Our limited belief system, many times supercedes God's love, mercy and grace. If I have a message at all for every believer, it would be don't let your desire to protect your righteous reputation, keep you from reaching out to dangerous places for the cause of Christ.
I'm still convinced that God heals, that He delivers, that he sees us through our trials.but more than anything I'm convinced that he saves us from our sins. And to be honest with you James, I'm convinced that he saves us IN our sins. As a matter of fact, absolutely no one who's ever called out on the name of Christ and asked for deliverance and freedom and salvation, ever did it in their own righteousness. They were not righteous enough to be saved and they were not righteous enough to be redeemed. I grew up in church all of my life and I know very well what the Gospel says. In the seminary, I've studied the life of Christ, so I know how the law works and how grace works. But it's kind of like somebody who is facing a terminal illness.they have to believe that God heals and that God intervenes sometimes and heals those inflicted with diseases. It's a matter of faith with them, until it happens. Then when God heals them, what was a matter of faith, becomes a matter of fact. And that was pretty much the way I was when I would stand and sing or preach about faith. I believed it by faith that grace works, but I never felt that I needed a great measurement of it because I grew up in church all my life and did my best to live right anyway. But when I found myself sitting on a bar stool in a nightclub in Lexington, Kentucky and spiritual conviction came into a place like that and gripped my heart, I came to myself and I called on God. That is when grace went from a matter of faith, to a matter of fact with me. I knew it was real.
James: So what's up the road for Kenny Bishop? Any new projects in the works?
Kenny: I'd love to tell you I have a map and a plan for the rest of my life and career. However, I'm still waiting. The opportunities I've enjoyed have been remarkable. I've shared grace with so many I never have expected, and it has done more to boost my faith in God than I can relate. So knowing that, I'm excited to see where all of this goes and who comes along.
We've enjoyed a lot of unexpected successes with the last album, so the demand to make another is mounting. I had hoped to avoid the once-a-year schedule of releasing a new recording, so I'll be sitting down with my advisors and others to make some decisions on a new recording soon.
James: Okay, I've just got to ask this.is there any chance of the Bishops ever coming back?
Kenny: Well you know, dad was the cornerstone of our group. Before we ever made our first recording, if any one of the three ever decided to come off the road then we were not going to continue as the Bishops. Although we didn't expect things to come to the end like they did, dad was ready to retire, I obviously needed some time to stand back and get things straightened out with God, and Mark continued on with his work. But you never know what's going to happen. In a couple of years, it would have been the 25th anniversary of the Bishops, so you never know what might happen down the road.so stayed tuned!
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Find out more about Kenny at his website: http://www.kennybishop.com
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[7] Comments
What a wonderful interview. Kenny, thanks for being honest & transparent. May God continue to bless you in whatever you do for His glory.
Dan,
Written: 03/15/2007 
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