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Last year, I had the opportunity to spend two months in Romania working with an organization called Children's Relief Network. It was incredible, partly because working with orphans and kids in need has been a dream of mine since I was really little.

What I saw totally gave new meaning to the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?" for me. Because I saw all these dirty, hungry and smelly kids that looked hopeless. Kids who had sniffed glue to escape their problems. Kids who lived underground in sewers. But I felt like God wanted me to reach out and hug them, to find out their names. I know that's what Jesus would have done, and what he did do when he was on the Earth.

This year, I've been doing a Bible study in the book of James. I feel like my Romania experience gave me a chance to live out quite literally what James talks about in his book—that we have an obligation to help the widows and orphans.

But I've also noticed that in America, and Australia where I'm from, we're also very much in need. It's just that we're able to veil our problems. The kids in Romania can't do that—they're obviously in desperate physical need. But I'm learning that we are just as much in spiritual need—if not more. We're hurting, too. As I've tried to connect my months in Romania to my life here, I'm recognizing that all people are in need of Jesus' hope and Jesus' lasting love.

I want to show people that love. I think it's a daily thing, learning to love God with all my heart and to love people. I'm going to fail a lot—and I do—but that doesn't change my desire.

The Columbine High School tragedy was life-changing for me. After it happened, I asked the same kinds of questions we all asked, like "What if this happened in my town?" But another question has been on my mind for over a year, and it's this: "If I died tomorrow, what kind of legacy will I leave behind?"

God is teaching me that professional success isn't enough. Selling millions of records isn't enough. Having celebrity perks isn't enough. If that's my legacy, then I've failed. You know, when I think about past years, I see that awards I've received have meant more to me than they ever should have.

Lately I've been asking myself, "What do I want my legacy to be?" In a nutshell, I want my legacy to be that I was a God-fearing man who loved his wife and kids well. That I was a man who poured his life and his resources into furthering the kingdom of God and impacting culture. And I think through God I am working toward that legacy.

I hope music will always be a part of my legacy. My last album (This is Your Time) might be the best-selling record I've ever had. Maybe I'll be asked to be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno or other TV programs—I don't know.

But I'm finding that I really don't care as much about notoriety or fame as I used to. I believe that's the work of God in my life. When you fall in love with God and find out what really matters to him, the attraction of success really diminishes. I'm freer today than I ever have been.

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