"I'm like the man whose big debt was cancelled in the parable in Luke 7," says Ferguson. "I am so thankful for grace. Because of grace, I don't have to carry around all the past junk in my life. I want everyone to experience the relief and freedom I've felt from God's forgiveness through Jesus' sacrifice.

"For a long time, I thought salvation and forgiveness were something you had to earn. When I was younger and realized I couldn't be perfect, I just gave up - thinking I was lost anyway. Thankfully, later in life, I came to understand God's grace as His gift to all imperfect people and that Jesus continually covers my sin. That's when the joy kicked in!"

Roger has loved music for as long as he can remember. Born in 1952, he believes he grew up at a perfect time. "I experienced the birth of rock and roll-- Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Buddy Holly, and then everything since!"

His first records were "50 Million Elvis Fans Can?t Be Wrong" and "The Chipmunks Christmas." According to him, there was always music around his house. His parents loved big bands, swing, and pop music, and singing along was always encouraged. In fact, some of his earliest memories include he and his sister, Leanne, and his parents riding in the car and singing harmony.

Roger's desire to do more than just sing along was really sparked in February of 1964 when The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. "That was what I wanted to do! I begged for a guitar," he said. "And I got one - a massive Harmony Sovereign that was incredibly hard to play. With that, and the Mel Bay Chord Book, I was on my way."

At age 13, he played bass in his first band-- The Coachmen - "I wasn't very good at it," admits the self-taught musician. But that didn't stop him, and he kept playing and singing until he got better. At 15, Roger wrote his first song "because that's what John and Paul and Bob Dylan and Brian Wilson were doing." It was "a love/protest song - and not particularly good." It was recorded on two reel-to-reel recorders at his friend R. Stevie Moore's house.

Growing up in Nashville, he was surrounded by musicians including three he met in church as a youngster- R. Stevie Moore, Billy Anderson, and Myron Bryant.

"We've all been connected musically in some form or fashion ever since. Billy is a successful Nashville producer, engineer and writer. He and I have written around 100 songs together and recorded as The Mighty Rams. Steve (rsteviemoore.com) is a do it yourself underground musical legend and creator of a massive body of excellent work. We have also written several songs together. Myron, Billy and I continue to play live together, and Myron plays drums on 'I Need Your Mercy.'"

As a songwriter, Roger has had several songs cut by other artists - including gospel artist Brice Henderson. One of the songs - Midnight Rain - received quite a bit of regional airplay.

It wasn't until 2003 that Roger decided to try his hand at writing Christian songs. "Up until then, my songs were all secular," he says. " I thought all the great church songs had already been written, and to be honest, I wasn't excited by much of what I was hearing on Christian radio. I did like a lot of the newer praise and worship songs. So, one night I had the thought that, if I wasn't satisfied with what I was hearing, I should write something that I like, and that's what I started doing."

Growing up listening to Elvis and the Jordanairres, The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Hollies and many others, as well as attending a church that sings great four-part a cappella harmonies gave Roger a strong love of harmony. "I believe the sound of human voices blending together in harmony is the closest thing we have to heaven on earth. I still love singing a cappella songs in groups and continue to sing tenor on a praise team at my church."

That love for harmony can be experienced in his first Christian album -- "The Mercy Beat."

"I was working on the song "I Need Your Mercy" and was in the middle of moving from Kentucky back to my home near Nashville and was without my recording equipment, so I prevailed upon my son, John, to let me record a rough draft in his home studio. When I was done, he handed me the cd on which he had written "mercy beat" - a word play on Mersey Beat, a term which was synonymous with The Beatles 40 years ago. This was only the second song I had written for the project, but that inspired me to write several of them with a Beatles flavor - which I naturally tend to do anyway since they are still my favorite group after all these years!"

While Roger enjoys singing and playing his music as well as the music of others, his real desire is to hear his songs used in praise and worship. Already, his song "Glorify the Lord With Me" is being sung in the congregation where he worships.

Roger lives with his wife, Dawn, and their dogs - Blossom and Mikki - in Middle Tennessee near Nashville. He has one son, John (who has a great band called Big Fresh!), who lives with his wife, Kendra, and their baby, Violet, in Kentucky.