Worship Teams

The Importance of Mental Health for Worship Leaders w/ Anthony Evans

Worship leader and artist Anthony Evans joined Loop Community Founder Matt McCoy to talk about mental and emotional health as a worship leader, his new album and more!

Mental Health as a Worship Leader

[Matt] I’d love to dive into a topic I know you’re passionate about, and that’s mental health for worship leaders. It’s something a lot of worship leaders and pastors struggle with.

[Anthony] Being in ministry can be taxing. I believe that a lot of times we add to the taxing nature of it when we try to “play injured”. If an athlete is trying to play injured, some can do it and you don’t realize that they are hurt, but a lot of times in order to heal they have to stop playing. I believe that’s similar in ministry. God never said, “play injured”. When I was starting to experience mental health struggles, I didn’t work through a lot of what was going on in my mind, heart and emotions because I thought as a believer you were supposed to be able to pray these feelings away. We have a book of truth in Scripture, we have teachers in our lives, but there are moments where I need counseling to understand how to be anxious for nothing.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with needing help from mental health professionals to understand the book of truths. God has honored my try and I’ve done what I can to understand how to work these things out. I always say when I do what I can, He will do what I can’t. Part of what I could do was seek professional help, and in turn, He has revived my heart and my life. And that’s what my new album REVIVE is about.

Avoid Being Disingenuous

[Matt] Are there any specific triggers that worship leaders should be aware of that could affect their mental health?

[Anthony] I would avoid being disingenuous. That’s a broad statement, but my dad told me “Anthony you have to redefine what success is for you.” I was viewing success as having a hit song on the charts. As a worship leader, you have to redefine how you view success. Are you doing what you’re called to do? Are you pursuing opportunities that God has put in front of you? Are you at peace? Peace is the barometer because you can never write a check for peace after being disingenuous to yourself.

Be genuine to your specific calling even if it’s not the hot thing right now. Don’t fall into the trap of copycat worship. If it happens to look like other worship movements, that’s great, but not if you’re being disingenuous to yourself. You get exhausted doing that.

Watch the full interview below!

Be sure to listen to Anthony’s new album REVIVE wherever you stream music. Download the charts & lyrics on SongSelect and the Master Tracks on LoopCommunity.com.