Todd Dulaney Returns to Scripture With Back to the Book II

Worship artist Todd Dulaney has released Back to the Book II, a new album built entirely on songs drawn directly from Scripture, with the lead single "We Say Yes" turning surrender into a personal challenge he admits he is still learning to live. The album was released on 2 October 2026 under his own DulaneyLand Music label, and was featured by GL365 Network on 5 November 2026.

Then came the admission that gives the album its edge. Dulaney wrote a song about saying yes to God — and then found the song confronting him. "I don't know why God would get me to write a song called 'We Say Yes' in the season that is so hard to say yes," he said. It is the kind of honesty that makes a worship album feel less like a product and more like a confession.

"We Say Yes" Carries a Personal Cost

"We Say Yes" was released as a single on 24 July 2026, ahead of the album, and it quickly became the project's calling card. But Dulaney has been clear that the song is not a slogan he asks audiences to repeat. In interviews leading up to the release, he described it as a personal challenge, not simply a statement for a crowd to sing back.

During an appearance on The Nightly Spirit with Darlene McCoy, reported by Black America Web on 17 August, Dulaney spoke candidly about the tension behind the single. Saying yes, he explained, was not the end of difficulty. It could mean accepting a more demanding responsibility. "Every time I say yes to you, you elevate me into something harder," he said.

That is a striking thing for a worship leader to say out loud. Most songs about surrender make it sound like a single brave momment. Dulaney is saying it is a door that keeps opening onto harder rooms, and that the song he wrote to encourage other people ended up preaching to him first.

Why Dulaney Keeps Returning to the Bible

The album's title describes the method behind the music. In a July appearance on Get Up Mornings with Erica Campbell, Dulaney explained that he builds his songs directly from the Bible. Personal emotions can change from day to day, he said, while Scripture provides a steady foundation for his writing and keeps the focus on God rather than on fluctuating feelings.

That approach is not new for him, but Back to the Book II makes it the whole point of the record. The words are not only material for songwriting. They are a standard the singer says he must live by, and the album's rollout has kept returning to that idea: worship as a lived commitment, not just a performance on a Sunday morning.

His 2021 live album, Anthems & Glory, was introduced the same way, as music inspired by the written word of God. Recorded at All Nations Worship Assembly in Chicago, that 17-track project featured Kierra Sheard, Todd Galberth, Smokie Norful and Tamela Mann. Its release materials described a desire to direct listeners toward Scripture for hope, comfort and guidance.

Faith Beyond the Stage

Dulaney's recent interviews have also connected his spiritual reflections to life outside music. Speaking with McCoy, he discussed coaching baseball alongside his son and learning that guidance requires more than simply issuing instructions. His son, he explained, has his own mind and voice, and the conversation became a reflection on patience, independence and trust.

His July interview with Erica Campbell offered another part of that picture. Dulaney discussed running a baseball training facility intended to develop discipline and character in young athletes. Alongside the new music, that work showed his interest in putting conviction into practice beyond a worship platform. Dulaney is a former New York Mets baseball player who became a gospel artist, and the two halves of his life keep meeting in unexpected places.

A Season of Worship Music

Dulaney's album arrives in a rich season for worship music. JJ Hairston has just released Anthems & Prayers (Live), built around a nearly 20-minute prayer from his wife, as reported in JJ Hairston Unites Worship and Prayer in New Album. Josh Baldwin's recent release called hearts to total surrender, covered in Josh Baldwin Releases 'Worth Everything' — New Worship Album Calls Hearts to Total Surrender, while Josiah Queen's Damascus Road album sent its vinyl proceeds to persecuted Christians, as reported in Josiah Queen Damascus Road Album: 14 Songs, Vinyl Proceeds to Persecuted Christians.

New voices keep joining the conversation too. Kevin Downswell called his latest album his most vulnerable and personal project, covered in Kevin Downswell Joy Is Here Album Released October 30 2026, and Chinwe Zoe said pain taught her to worship, as reported in Chinwe Zoe Says Pain Taught Her to Worship as Jesus Don Win Marks Third Single. Nathaniel Bassey filled midnight hours with his Hallelujah Challenge, covered in Nathaniel Bassey Hits One Billion YouTube Views as Hallelujah Challenge Fills Midnight Hours, while nearly 600 students turned to Christ at a university worship night, as reported in Nearly 600 Students Turn to Christ at University of South Alabama Worship Night.

What sets Dulaney's project apart is its honesty about the cost of the message. He is not pretending that saying yes is easy, or that singing about surrender means you have finished surrendering. He is saying, plainly, that the words he wrote are still working on him, and that the album is an invitation to let them work on the listener too. The same candour is showing up elsewhere: Sophie Cunningham told Theo Von she feels a revival happening, as reported in Sophie Cunningham Tells Theo Von She Feels a Revival Happening and Relies on Faith, and Hannah Harper thanked God for answered prayers one year after her audition, covered in Hannah Harper Thanks God for Answered Prayers One Year After American Idol Audition. Dunsin Oyekan is planning a permanent home for his Upper Room gatherings, as reported in Dunsin Oyekan Plans Permanent Home for Upper Room, and the 1,600-year-old papyrus that may hold a lost sermon on Jesus has scholars talking, covered in 1,600-Year-Old Papyrus May Hold Lost Sermon on Jesus.

For now, the songs are out, the single is being sung, and the question behind the album is still open. Saying yes to God sounds simple in a chorus. Dulaney's whole record asks what it costs when the music stops — and whether the listener is ready to find out.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.