Skillet's John Cooper found himself at a juncture in his career a decade ago when he was offered greater recognition if he would refrain from speaking so much about Jesus.
Speaking at a Focus on the Family episode that was aired on Monday, he said that the incident happened approximately 10 years ago, when Skillet was on the rise in the rock music industry.
He explained that, after a performance, they were on tour with some well-known artists. They did openings and were just starting to get a little bit of traction in terms of popularity.
"This guy, in his defense, he was being very nice," Cooper continued.
Journalist Michael Foust, writing for Christian Headlines, cited Cooper from the interview as saying:
"... And he pulled me aside, and he said, 'John, I want to tell you this, because no one else is gonna tell you. You guys, I believe, could be the biggest band in the world. ... You guys have the look, you've got the sound, you've got girls in your band ... And you guys also sing about very spiritual things.'... And he's saying, people really want spiritual music, and you've already got it, you've been doing it."
The subject of Cooper's religious beliefs came up later in the discussion. Skillet, a Christian rock band that has had many crossover successes, is comprised of members who are unapologetically Christians.
"And he said, 'So it's your time. But you have got to disassociate from Christianity. You've got to stop talking about Jesus so much. ... Don't do Christian interviews, don't do Christian music festivals. If people ask you what your songs are about, I'm not telling you to lie. Just don't offer up the information about Jesus."
The man went on to speak more, but the words that caught Cooper's attention, and which he also felt were intriguing, were the following:
"He said, 'But John, think about the good you could do for your faith. If you got rich and famous, think about what you could do for Jesus, if you stop talking about Jesus.'"
Cooper referred to it as a "turning point" in his professional life because there was a grain of truth in what the guy was saying.
"I went to the bus. I told my wife about the conversation. We prayed about it. And it was ... almost instantaneous. I know that that is not the Lord.
Cooper noted that in trying to persuade him to lay low in terms of being vocal about his faith, the guy ended up having the opposite impact.
Further in the interview, Cooper shared that his mother was the pivotal figure in his spiritual development. He trained him to pray and made him memorize scriptures when he was a child. His own spiritual encounter with Christ came when God instilled the following revelation in his heart.
"And I just remember saying, 'Jesus, you're my boss'...And I just realized Jesus is my boss. And, in the end, I, I wrote about it 'cause in the end that's actually a childlike deep theology of the lordship of Christ. That's what He is. He's the boss," he declared.
Cooper also speaks about the events of his life in his new book, "Awake and Alive to Truth."
Watch John Cooper talk about that pivotal moment in his life below:
