GIVING UP WORLDLY WAYS: MARTY HAGGARD ABANDONS NASHVILLE CAREER FOR JESUS

Although Marty Haggard picks up a guitar instead of a Bible when he heads to the stage where a single microphone stand and a black stool sit beside a pulpit, he'll be preaching the Gospel all the same.

Haggard, son of legendary country musician Merle Haggard, performed last week at Bethany Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. He plays each Sunday at a new church started in Branson, Mo., and spends the remainder of the week with his family in Conway, Ark.

Haggard jokes about not knowing whether he's a singer who likes to preach or a preacher who likes to sing. Truth be told, it's a little of both.

Haggard has been performing in churches for the past three years, coming to share his music, his testimony and the faith he's found in Jesus Christ.

It's a ministry based in faith, a place where Haggard said he feels most grounded. He doesn't solicit bookings to fill his calendar but depends on people who hear him sing to tell others.

So far, it's working.

"When the hard times come, it's not that hard to fall back on God because you're living and working by faith," he said. "I don't know how, but I know who."

Work by referral

There was a time in his life when Haggard felt like his music career had torn him away from God, so he gave it up. Eventually, someone at Meadowlake Missionary Baptist Church in Conway, Ark., recognized him and asked him to sing.

At the time, Haggard had written only one new song and had to borrow a guitar just to play it. A few months later he was asked to sing at another church in town, and the requests kept coming.

By 1998, he began Marty Haggard Ministries. His wife, Tessa, handles his engagement calendar and promotions.

Haggard isn't in the entertainment business, where everything is about selling yourself, he said. His songs are a means of expression and a springboard into conversations about how God has worked in his life.

"Every one of them is from my personal life and study of the Bible," he said.

He begins each performance differently but always likes to keep the focus on God. His first selection Friday was "His Name Is Wonderful," and Haggard sang it with the country twang that makes his voice a distinct but familiar one.

"He sounds a little like his father," said the Rev. Donny Ford, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church. "And he looks a little like him."

But Haggard doesn't dwell on his family connections, admitting that the curiosity of his name often draws out a crowd.

"I never know what folks come expecting to hear," he said. "They are curious about my dad, and I understand that basic curiosity."

The family name

Marty Haggard was born two months after his father was sentenced to San Quentin Prison in 1958. His family grew up poor, living in a converted box car. At age 12, Haggard moved in with his father, who was a rising country star.

Despite his musical roots, Haggard doesn't sing when he's at home. His days are mostly spent in Bible study. He reads Scripture daily and discusses his questions and insights with a pastor friend.

Haggard accepted salvation at a little Baptist church in Bakersfield, Calif., in 1984. Shortly thereafter he moved to Nashville, Tenn., to begin working on a solo music career but let his faith flounder.

"I didn't intend on losing my focus, but I didn't understand the Bible's value and the strength of a church family," Haggard said.

He gained success rather quickly and said that his family name didn't really help like many people would expect. Having a relative who's already proved themselves in the music industry just means that more is expected, he said.

After releasing some best-selling singles and a video, Haggard -- who was nominated for the top new male vocalist award along with Lyle Lovett, Ricky Van Shelton and Larry Boone -- still didn't feel satisfied. "I was living like the world," he said. "I was not unhappy, but there was no joy in my life."

His career was consuming his life. So in the mid-1990s, Haggard started writing a song about his feelings. He chose a period in his life when he'd known peace. That song tells the story of his wanderings and reassurance found in God's love.

The simplicity of faith still astounds Haggard. "It's just me and Jesus, that's all you have to have."

"Sometimes you can get too busy serving God that you forget about God," he said. "That's what I did the first time."