Veteran Christian artist and worship pastor Scott Riggan is venturing into uncomfortable territory with Shepherds and Wolves, an emotionally raw album that confronts betrayal, spiritual abuse and the painful failure of church leaders entrusted with protecting their congregations.
Arriving August 28, the 12-track project is described as Riggan's most honest and vulnerable album to date. Rather than offering another collection of polished worship anthems, Riggan explores what happens when flawed human shepherds fail their flocks-and when wolves are allowed to hide behind religious authority.
At the center of the album is the hauntingly titled "Song of the Wolf," which directly addresses abuse and the misuse of power within the church. Its inclusion gives Shepherds and Wolves an unusually provocative edge, especially in a Christian music industry that does not always confront institutional failure so openly.
Yet Riggan is not walking away from the Church or abandoning his faith. The album repeatedly distinguishes unreliable human leaders from Jesus, the Good Shepherd who remains beside His people when others betray them.
That tension runs throughout the record. "Bring Me Home" becomes an anthem of rescue, while the Psalm 23-inspired "Song of the Shepherd" returns listeners to the voice of Christ. "You're Forgiven Now," "Broken Pieces" and "Song of Peace" wrestle with the difficult distance between being wounded and becoming whole again.
Riggan also turns to darker imagery on "The End of the World," a sweeping lament about enduring personal devastation while everyone else appears to continue with life as usual. The song acknowledges those frightening seasons when God seems far away, even as faith refuses to disappear completely.
Musically, Shepherds and Wolves moves between cinematic Christian pop, intimate piano arrangements, guitar-driven performances and soaring choruses. Riggan's use of prominent real instruments gives the project an organic quality that separates it from the heavily programmed sound dominating much of contemporary Christian music.
The album also includes Riggan's interpretations of Andrew Peterson's "Always Good" and Cory Asbury's "Kind." Both selections reinforce its central question: Can believers continue trusting the goodness of God after experiencing cruelty, betrayal or disappointment at the hands of His people?
Riggan, whose devoted listeners call themselves the "Rigganators," has built his independent career by writing candidly about doubt, grief and resilient hope. With Shepherds and Wolves, however, he appears ready to have an even more difficult conversation-one that could resonate deeply with listeners who have been hurt inside the very communities that promised to protect them.
The record concludes with a reprise of "Song of Peace," refusing to allow the wolves the final word. Its ultimate message is not that every human shepherd can be trusted, but that Christ continues walking with His wounded flock through heartbreak, healing and the long road toward forgiveness.
Shepherds and Wolves will be released August 28, 2026.
Track Listing
- Bring Me Home
- Song of the Shepherd
- You're Always in My Heart
- Song of Peace
- Always Good
- Song of the Wolf
- The End of the World
- You're Forgiven Now
- This Is Who I Am
- Broken Pieces
- Kind
- Song of Peace (Reprise)
