Matthew West says new album ‘Jesus Is King’ challenges culture of self-empowerment

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Entertainment Editor Wednesday, September 23, 2026

After nearly three decades of writing songs about faith, hope, redemption and even penning a viral Thanksgiving ballad, Matthew West’s latest album began with the question: Who is Jesus, really?

For the five-time Grammy-nominated artist, the answer became Jesus Is King,a 12-track album set to release Sept. 25. According to the artist, the album is a declaration of faith and an examination of what it means to surrender control in a culture increasingly centered on self-determination.

“I've been a Christian for a long time,” the 49-year-old Illinois native told The Christian Post. “I'm a preacher's kid. I gave my life to Christ at the age of 13. I made a renewed commitment in my faith as a freshman in college, like once again, just kind of declaring, like I want to follow Jesus.”

But decades into his faith journey, West said he increasingly realized the biblical truth that Jesus is not merely someone to believe in, but a King to whom Christians surrender their lives.

“I think I'm looking at the world around me, and I'm seeing a society that gets obsessed with self-empowerment and control,” he said.

“As a follower of Christ, I think we see surrender to a king in a different light,” the singer continued. “I think a lot of times people equate acknowledging a higher authority [with] imprisonment or a loss of freedom. But as a follower of Christ, what I've discovered is when I surrender my life to a higher authority, I find freedom, not imprisonment. I find true strength and true power, not weakness.”

For Jesus Is King, West returned to the basics of Scripture to examine who, or what, was truly occupying the throne of his life. The artist shared how he storyboards each album on a dry-erase board, waiting for a song to emerge that captures the larger message of the project. He began writing a question on the board: “Jesus is ____,” and each song became another attempt to fill in the blank. 

The result is tracks including “Good,” “Younger Me,” “Back to Jesus,” “Here and Heaven” and “Shame Is Not My Story,” which incorporates 2 Corinthians 5:17 and its declaration that anyone in Christ is a new creation.

That process, West reflected, made him realize just how easily Christians can look elsewhere for wisdom while neglecting the source of all truth.

“Nothing in that Scripture says trust in ChatGPT with all your heart. Nothing says trust in the Instagram influencer with all your heart,” West said, adding that while podcasts, social media personalities and even pastors can provide wisdom, none can replace Scripture.

“There's not a self-help book on the shelves that will offer you the keys to a successful life like God's Word can,” he said.

West, who also recently announced a 17-stop "Jesus Is King Tour," said that revisiting Scripture also meant confronting the temptation to settle for a surface-level understanding of a faith, adding: “I don't want to do that. I want to go deeper.” He pointed to Christ willingly enduring mockery, a crown of thorns and crucifixion as the ultimate example of a King whose authority is expressed through sacrificial love.

“When you watch a movie, you see a king that rules with an iron fist. You see a king that is separate from the people,” West said. “And as I read my Bible, I read about a humble king. ... We have a humble king. We have a good king. We have a king who doesn't keep us at an arm's length.”

The songwriter said that realization wasn't necessarily new, but a “rediscovery” of truths that can take on deeper meaning throughout a Christian's life.

“That's the beauty of a walk and a talk with Jesus,” West said. “It's not just a one-time decision and then you're on your way. It's a choice to follow Christ, but then to walk with Him throughout your life.”

West's latest project arrives at a milestone moment for the singer, as his lead single, “Good,” recently became his 39th No. 1 as an artist and songwriter. After decades in the Christian music industry, the “Truth Be Told” singer said he’s excited about the next generation of artists and their ability to discern real, lasting faith from something transient. 

“There's a younger generation that is longing for something authentic, something real,” he said. “They're trying to find something that is a firm foundation to build their life on.”

West said he has witnessed that hunger personally through his teenage daughters. His oldest daughter, Lulu, left a traditional university path after a semester and participated in Youth With A Mission, or YWAM, where she joined other young adults in worship and missions.

“When I start to look and think this society is lost or this world is beyond hope, I look at situations like that, and I say there is hope,” he said. “God is moving, God is alive, and people are seeking out something real in their life.”

He said he sees similar opportunities developing in faith-based film and other forms of entertainment, giving Christian artists new avenues to communicate their beliefs.

“We can point people to Jesus in all forms, in all different art forms, and I'm excited to be a part of that,” West said. “It's never easy to be honest, but it's never been more necessary.”

West recalled writing his hit “Truth Be Told,” in which he acknowledged the tendency to tell others “I'm fine” while privately struggling. He initially expected the song to be buried on an album; instead, his label selected it for radio and it became a No. 1 hit.

“The more vulnerable and honest I'm being in my songwriting, the more somebody else is likely to hear a song and go, ‘Oh, I'm not the only one. Me too,’” he said. “That's scary, but it's necessary. I do hope that as I've made records for a long time now, I've gotten more comfortable wrestling with and living in that fear of being vulnerable, leaning into it, knowing that it has a greater chance to touch somebody's life.”

West said the stories he has heard from listeners over the years, from accounts of cancer, grief, anxiety, shame to other hardships, continue to shape the music he writes and fuel his desire to point people to the hope found in Jesus. 

“Not a single one of our lives goes untouched by brokenness, tragedy, anxiety, shame,” he said. “I want to be real with the brokenness of life in every song that I write, but I want to be just as real with the hope and the redemption that we have in Jesus,” he said.

West said he prays his songs, from those written decades ago to those on Jesus Is King, serve as three-minute “lifelines” for people struggling to keep their heads above water. Ultimately, however, he stressed that the power isn't in the song or songwriter, but in the One they point to.

“It's not a song they're holding on to,” West said. “It's the promise of Scripture that they're holding on to. It's God's Word, at the end of the day, that's gonna change our lives more than any clever song I could write.”