By Mallory Mattingly
Worship artist Pat Barrett is tired of pretending on stage, and he believes worship services need more sincerity and less performance.
“There’s a version of me that I’ve brought into church rooms before,” he told Relevant Magazine of how he got tired of pretending to be someone different on stage. “The one that feels safe. The one that’s acceptable. But I’ve also had these moments thinking, ‘Why does it feel inappropriate to bring my actual thoughts and emotions into worship?’”
As music has evolved, churches started to curate an emotional experience during worship sets that could stir up false feelings for people. While this isn’t done with malicious intent, it can be a problem.
“Limiting the full expression of devotion to God to one kind of thing is, at best, unhelpful — and at worst, it encourages hiding,” the “Build My Life” singer said. “I’ve felt that. I’ve done that. I’ve walked into a worship set thinking, ‘OK, I guess I’m supposed to feel this way,’ even though I don’t.”
“We project the person we want people to see,” he said. “I mean, I’m wearing a denim jacket right now because I want you to think I’m cool,” Barrett joked, while still making his point.
Instead, he encourages worship leaders to provide genuine leadership on stage.
“Let what you do on stage be 1% of what you experience with God the rest of the week,” Barrett said bluntly.
“If you have a song about mystery, or feeling overwhelmed, or your family, or deep questions about faith — it’s weirdly inappropriate not to include those in worship,” he added. “We’ve made it so vertical, so tightly defined, that we’ve left out huge parts of the human experience.”
“I don’t think we need to force everything into being ‘inspirational,’” Barrett concluded. “We need more songs that just let people be where they are — and let God meet them there.”
Barrett teased a new song on his Instagram last week called “Praise the Lord Forever.”
In the video he shared on Instagram, Barrett explained that the song “Makes me proud to be a part of a faith like that.”
“This song means so much to me. It’s been filling my heart with worship in the most simple and beautiful way. So stoked to share it,” he wrote in the caption.
Barrett has also announced his tour with Brandon Lake. Beginning in October and ending in May 2026, Lake, Barrett and Franni Cash will travel across the nation for the King of Hearts Tour.
Worshipping God corporately is a key part of a Christian’s life. But when that worship becomes a performance, it loses its genuine connection to God. Instead, as Barrett urges, churches and worship leaders should strive to lead honest, wholehearted praise to our Savior.
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