Louder Than The Music

"Why I Wrote a Song About the People We Least Expect to Find in Heaven" - By Rick Lee James

Rick Lee James is a singer-songwriter, author, hospital chaplain, and host of the Voices In My Head podcast. His songs explore grace, hope, suffering, and redemption through a blend of Christian faith, Americana, and folk music. He serves as a full-time chaplain at Springfield Regional Medical Center in Springfield, Ohio, where the stories he encounters each day continue to shape both his ministry and songwriting. His new single, Heaven Is Full of Criminals, featuring Phil Keaggy, releases July 24, 2026.

I spend my weekdays walking hospital hallways. I’m a healthcare chaplain, but I’m also a songwriter, so it’s not unusual to see me making my rounds with a guitar slung over my shoulder.

Some days I celebrate the birth of a child. Some days I commemorate the loss of one. Some days I sit quietly with a family saying goodbye to someone they love, whispering with the psalmist, “How long, O Lord?” Day after day, I have conversations with people carrying fear, regret, grief, addiction, and questions they’ve never spoken aloud to another human soul. Sometimes all of these happen on the same day.

Those hallways have become sacred ground to me. They have taught me that beneath all our different stories, many of us wrestle with the same questions:

“After everything I’ve done, could God still want me?”
“Is there any hope left?”
“Is my loved one going to make it?”
“Am I beyond saving?”

Those hospital hallways are where Heaven Is Full of Criminals was born.

The song’s title usually catches people off guard. Some might assume it’s meant to shock. It isn’t. It’s meant to remind us of something the Church has always proclaimed but sometimes forgets: the Kingdom of God is made up of imperfect people in need of grace.

There is a quote attributed to St. Augustine that I often dwell on in my work as a chaplain:
“Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves was damned.”

This quote makes me think about the kind of imperfect people Jesus calls to follow Him: the thief on the cross beside Jesus, Paul the persecutor of Christians, David, whose monumental victories were matched only by his colossal moral failures, and Peter, who denied Jesus not once but three times. None of them entered God’s presence because they had spotless records. They entered because of God’s grace.

So, this takes me back to the hospital halls.
Hospitals exist because people need healing. The gospel exists because people need salvation. Hospitals don’t decide who is worthy of care; they provide healing care to all who come through their doors. In much the same way, I believe God’s invitation is extended to all. I don’t believe everyone accepts His generous welcome, but I believe it is extended to imperfect people.

That is the hope I am singing about in Heaven Is Full of Criminals.
When Phil Keaggy not only told me how much he liked the song but also agreed to play guitar on the recording, I can’t begin to describe how thrilled I was. Phil has spent decades creating music that points people toward Christ with humility, authenticity, and unmatched musicianship. His contribution didn’t just elevate the recording musically; it reinforced the heart behind the song. Phil seems to make every note he plays an act of worship, and it adds a sonic richness to the recording.

Ahead of its July 24 release, Heaven Is Full of Criminals has begun finding an audience at Christian radio, reaching the Top 10 on the Play MPE daily streaming and download charts. I’m grateful to every radio programmer who has taken the time to listen. I didn’t write the song to become a hit, but I did write it to be heard.

I wrote Heaven Is Full of Criminals for the person sitting in a hospital room wondering if they are beyond forgiveness.
I wrote it for the lifelong church member who secretly doubts their faith and believes everyone else’s testimony is somehow more valid than their own.
I wrote it for anyone who has confused the gospel of grace with working hard enough to earn God’s approval.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through ministry, whether as a hospital chaplain or serving my community, it’s that none of us comes to Christ because we’ve earned the right. We come because He welcomes us.
That is the good news of the gospel.

And that’s why I believe heaven is full of criminals.

Rick Lee James