Chris Rice Maintains Public Silence Following Abuse Allegations; Focuses on Writing and Speaking

Chris Rice, the former Dove Award-winning Christian music artist best known for songs such as "Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)" and "Deep Enough to Dream," has remained absent from the music scene in recent years, with no new musical releases since 2019. Instead, Rice has quietly returned to public life through occasional blog posts and writings focused on reconciliation, faith, and community formation.

Rice's blog, hosted at ChrisRiceAuthor.com, features several entries published in early 2025, including reflections on spirituality, nonviolence, and hope. His most recent post, dated March 20, 2025, is titled "On being people of the dawn: hope in a time of might without morality."

Despite this re-emergence in the public discourse, Rice has made no public statement regarding the credible sexual abuse allegations made against him. In 2020, Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, commissioned an investigation by GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment). The inquiry focused on allegations stemming from Rice's involvement in youth ministry events between 1995 and 2003. In June 2022, GRACE concluded that the allegations were credible, citing multiple accounts of inappropriate behavior toward male minors.

Since the GRACE findings were released, Rice has neither issued a formal response nor participated in public interviews, social media, or musical performances.

Rice's most recent music release was Untitled Hymn: A Collection of Hymns in May 2019, a reflective album that reimagined classic church hymns. His last album of original material was What a Heart Is Beating For in 2007.

Rice rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s within Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). With chart-topping songs, Dove Award nominations, and a reputation for contemplative songwriting, Rice became a household name in Christian music before stepping away from public performance in the early 2010s.

 

 

 

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