Faithful over Famous

I can remember it like it was yesterday. Twenty-five years ago, standing in front of thirty-five high school students - my peers - with an overhead projector humming in the background and a guitar that was perpetually out of tune. I'd spend hours that week learning new songs, getting transparency sheets ready, praying that the projector bulb wouldn't blow mid-chorus. And you know what? I absolutely loved it. There was something pure about those Wednesday nights. No lighting design. No social media posts to craft. No comparison metrics. Just a group of teenagers encountering the living God through song, and somehow I got to be part of that. We'd sing our hearts out, God would meet with us, and I'd go home joyful - genuinely satisfied in what the Lord was doing in that little youth room.

Most of the time when I write, I'm thinking strategically about what worship leaders need - what they're struggling with, where they need encouragement, what practical tools might serve them. I'll map out a two or three or four-part series and work through a topic systematically. And I'll definitely return to that in my next article. But today? Today I just need to write something from my heart. Something that I struggle with - honestly, almost daily - and something I sense in so many of you as well.

Here's the thing: this particular struggle is prevalent in every vocation and applies to all of us to varying degrees. At its best, this desire shows up as wanting our lives to matter, wanting to multiply our talents, and wanting to work hard for the glory of God and for the advancement of His Kingdom. That's where I have to continually, almost daily, reframe my brain to work toward. But my flesh? My flesh wants to draw me to the worst version of this - where we become glory thieves, where we're building our own particular kingdoms, all castles of sand destined to wash away.

Here's the root of what I'm talking about: we want to be loved, and we want our lives to matter. Now, there are some deep idols lurking underneath this (thanks, Paul Tripp): control, approval of man, comfort, appreciation, self-worth. But I want to specifically talk about how this affects us as worship leaders, and I don't want to overplay my hand here, but I do need to show you how social media has absolutely magnified this struggle to an unprecedented degree.

The Highlight Reel That Never Stops

Fast forward seven years from that youth room to my first full-time worship leading job. Man, I thought I'd made it. My first few years were rough - I was a young twenty-something leading in a church of 2,000 people - but it was awesome. And here's what I remember most: there wasn't much social media yet. I would lead a Sunday, be happy or sometimes a bit discouraged depending on how the morning went, and then I'd move on. I didn't have Instagram in my face showing me the pristine highlight reels of every friend and known worship leader from their Sunday morning - every hand raised, every perfectly balanced online mix, every "spontaneous" moment that was actually carefully curated. I just had my church, and I was good with that.

Today? Man, it is tough.

I'll be honest with you - I catch myself opening Instagram on Sunday afternoons or during the week, and within minutes I'm wrestling with jealousy or frustration. There's a worship leader I respect posting about their incredible Sunday. There's another friend whose church just grew by a thousand people. There's someone else whose song just hit a million streams. And suddenly, the faithfulness of my morning - the quiet moments of genuine encounter with God, the teenager who came to faith, the elderly saint who told me the hymn helped them remember God's goodness - all of that feels small. Insignificant. Less than.

And I know I'm not alone in this. I've coached enough worship leaders to know that this quiet comparison game is eating us alive. Not only are you having to guard your heart against "influence" and "fame" by comparing yourself to other worship leaders, but you're also having to compete against the biggest names in the worship world via live streams, Spotify, and social media. Their highlight reel versus your behind-the-scenes reality. Their best moment versus your average Tuesday. Their platform versus your faithfulness.

It's suffocating. So what do we do?

I want to give us three anchors to hold onto as we fight to be faithful over famous.

Apply the Gospel

If you ever get to hang out with me, you're going to hear over and over again my desire to keep my life, my family, and any ministry close to the gospel. This especially applies to crushing our worship ministry idols and fighting to reframe our brains toward - yes, aiming for excellence - but primarily toward faithful ministry.

So let's go back to the beginning. Let's rehearse what we know to be true.

On your own, in your sin, you deserve hell. You deserve the wrath of God and eternal separation from Him. That's the starting point, and we cannot soft-pedal it. Every single one of us stands condemned apart from Christ. But here's where the story gets gloriously different: God, being rich in mercy, even while we were still sinners, died for us. Why? Because He loves you. Not because you can sing well. Not because you can lead worship effectively. Not because your team is tight or your production is excellent. He loves you because He has chosen to set His affection on you. Then Jesus rose again, defeating sin, death, and hell forever.

Our faith is in that Savior and King. Our identity is first and foremost as sons and daughters of God through the work of Christ on the cross.

Now, let me show you what this looks like on a practical level. Imagine it's Monday morning. You're scrolling through your phone and you see that another worship leader just got invited to speak at a major conference. You weren't. Or maybe it's Wednesday, and you're in your weekly planning meeting, and you're painfully aware that your best musical Sunday is someone else's worst. The temptation is to spiral - to question your calling, to wonder if you're actually any good at this, to feel the weight of insignificance pressing down on your chest.

But the gospel speaks a different word over you: You are already maximally loved in Jesus. You have nothing to prove. God is not waiting for you to achieve a certain level of influence before He delights in you. He's not measuring your worth by your follower count or your streaming numbers or whether you ever lead worship at a conference. The Father looks at you through the lens of Christ's finished work and says, "This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased."

Do you hear that? You are not your gifts. You are not your platform or lack thereof. You are not your best Sunday or your worst rehearsal. You are a dearly loved child of the King, and from that identity - and only from that identity - you can lead worship, lead your ministry, and shepherd your family.

When you lead from that place of security, everything changes. The comparison game loses its power because you're not trying to build your own kingdom anymore. You're simply stewarding the piece of God's kingdom He's entrusted to you.

Guard Your Heart

We have a saying that we repeat often in my ministry: "Comparison kills, but celebration breathes life."

Listen, I know how hard this is. As you scroll through social media, as you think about the good and hard things in your ministry, you have a choice to make in every moment. Will you compare and covet what God is doing elsewhere, or will you celebrate what God is doing at your local church? Will you resent another worship leader's success, or will you genuinely thank God for what He's doing through them?

Here's a truth that will set you free: They may be able to sing better than you, but they'll never be able to sing a better gospel than you. The gospel you proclaim on your best Sunday is the same gospel that's proclaimed at the largest megachurch in the country. The cross is the cross. The empty tomb is the empty tomb. The power of the Spirit is the power of the Spirit. Your church needs to hear about the glory of Jesus just as much as any other church, and God has sovereignly placed you there to lead them in that.

One day there will be one table, and one bride of Christ - and we will all raise our glasses to the Lamb who was slain. The worship leader from the tiny rural church and the worship leader from the multi-site megachurch will stand shoulder to shoulder, equally amazed at His grace, equally undone by His glory. Don't compete now for what you won't have in heaven. Don't long for a crown that will be thrown at Jesus' feet anyway.

Guard your heart against building your own kingdom. Instead, look to the piece of the wall that God has called you to build, and build it with all that you have. Pour yourself into the fifteen people who show up on Wednesday nights. Invest deeply in that bass player who keeps showing up even though they're still learning. Shepherd that tech volunteer who nobody notices but who faithfully serves every single week. These are the things that matter. These are the things that will outlast every viral moment and every temporary platform.

And when you find yourself slipping - because you will, and I will - go back to the gospel. Remember who you are. Remember Whose you are. Let that truth reorient your heart toward faithfulness rather than fame.

God Is Writing Your Story

Here's what I need you to understand: God is writing your story. He has ordained every step, including the ones that led you to the church you find yourself at today. That church isn't a stepping stone to something better. It's not a holding pattern until the "real" opportunity comes along. It is your calling right now, and it matters infinitely to the God who placed you there.

The end goal is not to have a million social media followers. It's not to speak at conferences. It's not to have a song that goes viral in the worship world. In fact - and I'm going to be prophetic here for a moment - the more I observe the worship landscape, the more I see "influence" ruining people. I've watched it happen. I've seen gifted, godly worship leaders get a taste of platform, and within a year or two, something shifts. This isn’t always true. I’ve met many mega-church worship leaders who are humble and love Jesus dearly. But I have also seen a pattern that saddens my heart. Sometimes, the humility that once marked their ministry gets replaced by subtle arrogance. The servant-hearted leadership morphs into using people to build personal brand. The focus on Jesus gets diluted by the intoxicating attention of crowds.

If God has blessed you with a large platform, I implore you: have a close circle of people who know you, love you, can speak truth into your life - including calling you to the mat when needed - and can keep you grounded. You need people who knew you before the platform and who will tell you the hard things even if it costs them access to you. Because here's the bottom line: there is only One who deserves all of the attention He gets, and that is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

You make a terrible god. So don't try to be one. Instead, be the most faithful arrow pointing to His glory with your life.

So, worship leader friend, rest in God's plan for your life. Enjoy each chapter - including this one, even if it feels ordinary or hidden or small by the world's standards. Point to Jesus with your trust, with your joy, with your worship. Let your private affections for Him overflow into your public leading. Build into your team not for your own glory, but for theirs and ultimately for His.

The metrics that matter aren't measured in followers or streams or conference invitations. They're measured in faithfulness. In showing up. In stewarding your calling with integrity when no one is watching and when everyone is watching. In loving your people well. In keeping Jesus central. In doing the next right thing, and then the next, and then the next.

———————————————-

One day we will get to the end of our lives and we'll stand before God the Father, and we won't hear Him say, "Well done, good and famous servant." We will hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Live for Him and nothing else.