Earl McClellan kicks off Passion 2026 warning against conference highs, points students to Christ alone

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Friday, January 02, 2026

Pastor Earl McClellan opened the first night of Passion Conference 2026, urging young Christians to place their expectations not in a conference or an emotional moment but in the transforming power of Jesus alone.

Preaching from Luke 3 before tens of thousands of college-aged attendees gathered on New Year's Day at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, McClellan framed his sermon around the theme “Fresh Fire.”

Spiritual endurance and repentance, he declared, are evidence of true and lasting faith rather than short-lived religious enthusiasm.

“We're glad that you came with expectation, but please do not put that expectation on us,” McClellan, the founder and lead pastor of Shoreline City Church, said. “We are not the ones that will be able to save. We are not the ones that will be able to fix. We are not the Messiahs in anybody's life."

The three-day conference, running Thursday to Saturday, has drawn young adults ages 18 to 25 from across the world. Founded in 1995 by Louie and Shelley Giglio, the Passion movement was created to call students to live for what organizers describe as “the name and renown of Jesus.”

Opening night began with worship led by Kristian Stanfill, followed by a prayer from Matt Chandler, who asked God to guide the gathering and work in the hearts of attendees over the coming days.

McClellan’s sermon centered on Luke 3:15–18, a passage describing people who were “waiting expectantly” and wondering whether John the Baptist might be the Messiah. While affirming their anticipation, McClellan said the crowd in the passage had misdirected their hope.

“They are coming with anticipation in their hearts,” he said. “They're coming with a yearning and a desire in their hearts. They are wondering, is this the Messiah? Is this the one that's going to get Rome off of our backs? Is this the one that takes away the shame and the problems and the difficulties that we've been navigating? Is this the one that's going to make everything right? Is this the one that is going to fix all the brokenness in the world? Is this the one that we've been waiting for?”

“They thought that ... John would be the one to fix all the problems, that John would be the Messiah, that John would be the Savior. Good expectations,” he added. “Just wrong placement of those expectations."

He applied the same warning to modern Christian gatherings, emphasizing that conferences, worship leaders and sermons can never replace faith in Christ himself.

“If the songs are just right, if the message is just right, we might think that’s the thing that saves us,” he said. “But we are not the saviors. We’re here to lift up one name and one name alone, and He is the only one that can save. His name is Jesus.”

Throughout the message, McClellan stressed Jesus' authority and power. He rejected portrayals of Christ as distant, weak or overwhelmed by human struggles, pointing to Colossians 1 and Revelation 22 to describe Him as creator, sustainer and redeemer.

“This is not a limping Jesus,” he said. “The Jesus we are talking about is not someone who is weak or anemic. The Jesus we are talking about is the Son of the living God. The Jesus that we are talking about is all-powerful. And you think He can get you out of the thing you're in. I promise you He can, because He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the son of the Almighty God.”

The pastor pointed to John the Baptist’s declaration that Jesus would baptize people “with the Holy Spirit and fire,” contending that the image is often misunderstood or feared. In Scripture, he said, fire is consistently tied to purification, renewal and the good news of the Gospel.

Using the example of threshing grain, McClellan described a process in which both useful and useless elements are gathered together before being separated. He likened that process to spiritual growth, saying God often uses discipline and hardship to refine believers.

“When we’re brought in, we have good stuff and bad stuff,” he said. “And Jesus brings all of it in.”

McClellan said many people assume God is absent during seasons of difficulty, but those moments are often central to spiritual formation.

“Do not quit when you feel like you’re being stepped on,” he said. “Do not quit when you feel like you’re being tossed in the air. … Do not quit when you feel like you're going through the fire, because it's Jesus who was involved in that whole process to help you become the man or the woman that He called and destined for you to be. It's the process of sanctification. You being made holy, conformed to the image of Christ.”

“I’m thankful for the fire,” he said. “I’m thankful God didn’t leave me where I was.”

McClellan also addressed what he called cultural misunderstandings of God’s love, emphasizing that love does not mean endorsement of every behavior or choice.

“'God loves you' does not mean remain how you are,” he said, adding that grace invites transformation rather than complacency.

“God is bigger than every bit of darkness and sin and every weight that is on your shoulders, and the grace of Jesus is involved in the process to help you become the man or woman you've been called to be. Don't run from that, lean into it, saying, ‘Jesus, baptize me in fire.’”

Later in the sermon, McClellan connected the theme of fire to Old Testament passages like the burning bush in Exodus and Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings. In those accounts, he said, fire symbolized God’s presence and power, drawing people’s hearts back to Him.

In Exodus, he noted, the bush burned from within but was not consumed, an image he said points to faith that endures rather than burns out.

“This isn’t a weekend high,” McClellan said. “This is a fire that burns from within, and it doesn’t burn out.”

Quoting Hebrews 12 near the close of his message, McClellan reminded attendees that they are part of an unshakable kingdom, even when personal circumstances feel unstable.

“You and I are being invited into a story that's a whole lot bigger than us,” he said. “And you're not called to turn away in fear, but you are called to step fully into it.”

According to organizers, Passion 2026 was created to encourage long-term spiritual formation in young adults. Since its founding three decades ago, the Passion movement has expanded into a global network of events, worship music and campus outreach efforts aimed at young adults.

Other speakers at Passion 2026 include Sadie Robertson Huff, Jonathan Pokluda, Craig Groeschel and others.