A Pardon for Jelly Roll

Jelly Roll—for those of you who don’t know him (I didn’t until recently)—is a contemporary country rapper and singer. At the Grammy Awards in 2026, he won several awards, including Best Contemporary Country Album. In his acceptance remarks, he gave full credit to Jesus Christ for saving his life and told the audience that Jesus is for everyone.

Four days later, Bill Lee delivered the keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast. Before entering politics, Lee was a businessman living with his family on a farm in Tennessee. One afternoon, he arrived home from work and heard his four-year-old screaming. He jumped out of his car and ran toward the sound, where he found his wife lying on the ground, the horses she and their daughter had been riding standing nearby. He knelt beside her and searched for a pulse—there was none. As he called 911 from his cell phone, he pulled his daughter close and tried to comfort her.

A few days later, his wife was laid to rest in a family cemetery on their farm. Bill then faced the overwhelming task of helping his four children make sense of such a devastating loss. In response, he decided to involve the family in mission work as a way to move beyond themselves and their grief. As they helped charities feed the hungry, build homes for the homeless, and minister to the marginalized, Lee began to sense a call to public service, believing he could help even more people through politics.

Years later, Bill Lee was elected governor. Among his responsibilities was the authority to pardon prisoners. On one occasion, a man scheduled to receive a pardon for drug possession and related offenses was invited to the governor’s office. As soon as he entered, he said, “I know you—but I know you don’t remember me. Years ago, you came to my prison and gave a speech. You talked about how Jesus Christ had changed your life. I cried the entire time. That day, I gave my life to Jesus. I developed my music and dedicated my songwriting to serving God. That was before you were governor—and before I was Jelly Roll.”

Governor Lee later reflected, “While I pardoned Jelly Roll and others, I was the one who truly needed a pardon—and there was only one way for me to receive it.” He went on to share his faith in Jesus Christ as the only way his own sins could be forgiven and his slate wiped clean.

Everyone I spoke with agreed that Bill Lee’s address was the most powerful speech of the entire National Prayer Breakfast event. Ironically, he had only been scheduled to introduce the keynote speaker. When the keynote speaker was unable to attend at the last minute, Lee was asked—with very little notice—to step in. Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways.