Saved By Grace (feat. Stephen McWhirter)
Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley
PodcastOne
4.4 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 6 January 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
In this episode of Unlocked, Savannah Chrisley sits down with Stephen McWhirter for a conversation that’s raw, honest, and unexpectedly hopeful. Stephen opens up about growing up in a complicated faith environment, walking through addiction, anger, and deep family wounds, and the long road that eventually led him to sobriety, forgiveness, and healing.
Together, they talk about what it really looks like to rebuild your life when trust has been broken, faith feels confusing, and the past won’t stay quiet. Stephen shares his story without sugarcoating it, from hitting rock bottom to learning that redemption doesn’t always come in neat, cinematic moments. Sometimes it’s awkward. Sometimes it’s painful. And sometimes it’s choosing forgiveness even when it feels undeserved.
This episode isn’t about having it all figured out. It’s about grace, second chances, and the idea that healing can be a lifelong process, not a single turning point. If you’ve ever wrestled with faith, family, addiction, or the weight of your own story, this conversation will likely stay with you long after it ends.
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About Stephen McWhirter:
Stephen McWhirter is a Dove Award–winning and Grammy-nominated worship recording artist, songwriter, speaker, and now author whose story and music testify to the redemptive power of Jesus to radically restore even the most broken of lives.
Stephen, the son of an evangelist, was a drug addict who hated Jesus and Christians, encountered the love of Jesus in a way that completely transformed his heart and life. What began as a story of addiction and hopelessness has now become a testimony of radical restoration and unshakable faith. Through every song, message, and moment on stage, Stephen carries the same heart cry—that people would encounter the real, living Jesus who changes everything. You can read Stephen’s whole story in his book, “Radically Restored: How Knowing Jesus Heals Our Brokenness”
His breakout worship anthem, “Come Jesus Come,” has become a global prayer of longing and revival, reaching millions of listeners across streaming platforms and worship gatherings worldwide. The song earned him his first Grammy nomination with both CeCe Winans and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and its impact continues to grow—connecting deeply with believers hungry for the presence of God and the hope of His return.
Today, Stephen travels globally and has significant online presence as a worship leader and speaker, sharing his story and leading many to Jesus. Whether on stage, in song, or through his upcoming book, his mission is simple: to point people to Jesus, to find out who they are restored and fully alive.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to this week's episode of Unlocked. I am really excited about today's episode because I don't know about you, but I love a good comeback story. I also love hearing that everyone else has crap going on in their life too. We're not alone and everyone has a story. So I have, all right, ready, going into this, you already like gave me anxiety about your name. |
| 0:27.2 | Stephen McWhorter on. |
| 0:28.9 | You did it. |
| 0:29.5 | See? |
| 0:30.0 | Yeah, I practiced the last name a lot before coming on to this. |
| 0:33.5 | So welcome. |
| 0:34.5 | Thank you so much for coming on. |
| 0:36.3 | Now I'm just picturing you driving here going steam recorders. |
| 0:38.6 | Yeah, literally. |
| 0:39.3 | I was like, I just wanted to. |
| 0:41.5 | I don't blame you. It's tough. It's tough. It's tough one. All the time. No, it's great. Thanks for having me. Well, thank you for coming on. Your story is absolutely insane. and it's definitely something we talk about |
| 0:51.9 | on this podcast when it comes to religion |
| 0:53.9 | and how |
| 0:54.7 | I get why a lot of people and it's definitely something we talk about on this podcast when it comes to religion and how |
| 0:54.8 | I get why a lot of people hate the church or hate religion or pastors or whatever. |
| 1:04.0 | It's very easy to get wronged. |
| 1:06.8 | So why don't you kind of dive into your story a little bit? |
| 1:09.5 | Give people some background. |
| 1:10.8 | Just go. |
| 1:28.3 | This is so fun. Thanks for having me. Yeah, you know, my dad was an evangelist. And so we traveled a lot as kids growing up from like revivals to church camps. And I would watch this guy get up, preach about Jesus. People would get saved. And behind closed doors, though, the guy that I saw was totally different. |
| 1:33.3 | I would watch my dad physically abused my mom, right? |
| 1:36.3 | And as a kid, this is dramatic stuff to go through for anybody, but it's just... |
... |
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