Evans also being inspired by those desires is entirely intentional. Related to Pendergrass, he, in 1982, occupied a similar position to Evans, but in aiming for an R&B to country crossover.

Tony Evans Jr. has never been one to seek out the spotlight. "There was a time when I kind of took on this lonesome warrior-type persona," Evans, 25, tells PEOPLE in an interview.

His radio broadcast, “The Alternative with Tony Evans,” can be heard on more than 1,400 U.S. outlets daily and in nearly 130 countries worldwide.

Pastor Tony Evans, left, and his daughter, Priscilla Shirer, talk upon a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, during a 2018 trip to the Holy Land.

Tony Evans Jr., who was set to join the University of Wyoming’s football team next season, was gunned down by an unknown suspect inside room 221 at the hotel.

A murder investigation is underway after 17-year-old Tony Evans, Jr., a Lancaster High School football player and University of Wyoming recruit, was shot inside a hotel room in Dallas early Sunday.

Tony Evans is senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, president of The Urban Alternative, and an author and evangelical speaker. He wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.