Performance vs. Presence - Trading excellence for encounter — and how to return.

There is a divine interruption taking place. The Spirit of God is confronting the machinery we’ve called ministry and the culture we’ve called church. He is tearing down stages built for performance and raising up altars built for fire. This is not about style—it’s about surrender. It’s not about creativity—it’s about consecration. Heaven is sounding an alarm:

“I am not impressed by what moves people. I’m looking for what moves Me.”

Let me be clear—this is not a jab at the modern-day Church. I honour the ground we’ve gained, the excellence that’s been cultivated, and the leaders who have built faithfully. But I will not protect what God is dismantling. The Presence is returning to the centre, and everything that’s been built around Him—but not for Him—will be shaken.

Performance doesn’t always wear a costume. Sometimes it shows up in our schedules, our rehearsals, our transitions, our obsession with the outcome. It often begins as a desire for excellence—but when excellence becomes the goal instead of the offering, it crosses into idolatry.

We’ve traded the altar for applause.
We’ve polished the stage and lost the tears.
We’ve made room for lights, but not for the weight of His glory.

Performance looks like:

• Worship that entertains but no longer hosts the Holy.

• Preaching that fills notebooks but not hearts.

• Leadership that builds brands but avoids brokenness.

• Services that run on time but don’t tremble.

And the fruit?

Burnout.
Shallow transformation.
A crowd that claps but doesn’t change.
A Church that looks alive but is hollow where it matters most.

God is not playing with this.
This is not a season for well-done shows. This is a season for deep surrender.

We must ask:
“Have we built something the Holy Spirit never asked for?”

And maybe this isn’t just my story—it’s yours too.

Maybe you’ve been carrying the weight of performance, thinking excellence would prove your worth. But deep down, you’re tired. Tired of trying to earn something God already gave. Tired of pretending you’re okay when you’re barely holding it together.

If we continue to lead from this place—where performance drives us instead of Presence—our churches will be filled with transactions, not transformation.

We’ll exchange real encounter for emotional moments. We’ll build ministries that run smoothly but lack the Spirit. We’ll disciple people into striving instead of sonship.

Because what we lead from, we reproduce.

When leaders perform, people perform.
When leaders rest in Presence, people are set free.

This is why the altar matters. This is why Presence must become the center again.

If that’s you—hear this:

You don’t have to perform. You don’t have to impress. You don’t have to earn His love.

The invitation is open:
Lay it all down.
Return to the altar.
Let His Presence be enough again.

Let’s make this plain: Excellence is not the enemy. God is excellent in all His ways. But excellence without encounter is empty.

We’ve mastered execution, but have we made space for encounter?

• Excellence draws attention. Encounter draws transformation.

• Excellence impresses the room. Encounter marks the soul.

• Excellence can be rehearsed. Encounter must be received.

We’ve built atmospheres, but have we hosted His actual Presence?

You can have lights, keys, and smoke—and still be void of glory.
You can have a crowd—and still have no cloud.
You can preach with skill—and never stir heaven.

God is not looking for more performance.

He’s looking for a people who will tremble again.

It’s time to rebuild the altar.

The altar is where pride dies.
The altar is where pretense burns.
The altar is where the oil flows.

We’ve built churches that know how to fill seats, but do we know how to host God?

We must return to:

• Worship that waits—not just leads.

• Preaching that breaks—not just teaches.

• Services that flow—not just perform.

• Rooms where tears are welcome, silence is holy, and obedience is the goal.

Revival doesn’t rest on stages. It rests on altars.

God is calling us back to what costs. And performance will never cost you what Presence will.

From Performers to Priests

“We don’t need more performers—we need priests.”

God is raising up a generation who don’t care about platform—they care about proximity.
They are priests before they are leaders.
They minister to the Lord before they ever pick up a mic.

You can be gifted and still be empty.
You can be anointed and still be unbroken.
But priests? They’ve been in the fire.

The Church doesn’t need another celebrity.
She needs priests who carry incense.
She needs leaders who know how to weep.
She needs prophets who cry out between the porch and the altar.

Performance seeks applause.
Priesthood seeks presence.

And this shift is not optional—it’s a holy confrontation.

From Priesthood to Royalty

“You are a royal priesthood…” – 1 Peter 2:9

“Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” – Psalm 84:10
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:24

You cannot skip the priesthood and still walk in authority.
Royalty without intimacy becomes domination.

God is raising up a people who don’t just perform for crowds—they govern with heaven. But He will not crown those who have not knelt. The throne belongs to those who’ve tarried in the secret place.

This is the divine progression:

• Out of performance.

• Into priesthood.

• Then into royal authority.

🔥 Priests minister before God.
🔥 Kings rule with God.
🔥 Sons and daughters carry both.

We’ve shouted for authority, but few have learned the posture of intimacy.
We want power, but do we want purity?

Crowns only rest on those who’ve first wept at the altar.

Father, I come.
Not to perform. Not to impress. But to yield.

Strip away every place in me that’s led from striving instead of surrender.
Expose the places where I’ve craved applause more than Your Presence.
I lay down the idol of perfection.
I lay down every altar built to be seen by men.
And I return to Your altar—the one that costs, the one that burns, the one where You meet me.

Refine me in the fire.
Restore my priesthood.
Remind me who I am—Your child, Your vessel, Your resting place.
Let Your Presence come again, not just in the room, but in me.

Mark me.
Break me.
Fill me.
Send me.

In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen.

• What have you been building that crowds applaud but heaven rejects?

• Are you leading for people’s approval or God’s glory?

• What altar needs to be rebuilt in your life or ministry today?

• How long have you been running a performance and resisting the altar fire?

1. Am I leading from Presence—or from pressure?
Have I built space into my life and leadership to truly minister to the Lord, or have I replaced the altar with a to-do list?

2. What part of my leadership is performance-driven rather than Spirit-led?
Are there places I’ve learned to manage instead of minister?

3. Have I subtly discipled people into striving?
Is our culture built around productivity and perfection, or around worship, rest, and encounter?

4. When was the last time I trembled before the Lord?
Have I become familiar with the stage but distant from the secret place?

5. Do I value silence, tears, and waiting—or do I rush the moment to keep the schedule?
Is there true freedom in our gatherings for God to move how He wants?

6. Am I reproducing performers or priests?
What kind of sons and daughters are being formed under my leadership?

7. Where have I been asking for authority but avoiding intimacy?
Have I sought the crown without embracing the cross?

8. What altar in my life needs to be rebuilt?
What needs to burn in me so that God’s fire can fall again?

Today, pause. Breathe. Kneel.

Ask God to show you where performance has crept in—whether in worship, leadership, or your personal walk.

Surrender it.

Trade the applause for the altar.

Make room for the Presence.