Tauren Wells on church scandal, burnout and rediscovering God’s presence

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Entertainment Editor Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Tauren Wells thought planting a church would be about what he could give to God, but instead, for the 11-time Grammy-nominated artist and pastor, the experience exposed how much God wanted to change him.

“I thought that I was going to plant a church and exert all of this change into the world,” the 40-year-old Michigan native told The Christian Post. “I was going to get all my ideas and all of my vision out, and I'm going to change the city and change the church. The biggest thing that has changed is me.”

The husband and father of four, who launched Church of Whitestone in the Austin, Texas area in 2024 after already having a successful music career, reflected on how the weight of those responsibilities became particularly acute last year when he found himself driving and feeling as though he was on the verge of a panic attack.

“I've never had a panic attack, but I feel like I was on the verge of one, just completely overwhelmed,” he said. “I was driving in my car, a million things going through my mind.”

Despite having a pastor, a supportive wife, close friends and others he could turn to, Wells said the moment revealed how isolating overwhelming pressure can feel.

“For some reason, when you're overwhelmed in a moment like that, you feel like no one can relate to you, no one could understand what you're going through,” he said. “I thought there's not one person I could call who would understand what I'm feeling right now.”

Wells discussed the experience with his counselor, who encouraged him to examine what his time with God actually looked like, and that conversation prompted a realization.

“I've been really good at doing projects with God, but I have not been great at just being with Him,” Wells said. “That has been a growth curve that I've been on for the last year. What does it look like to just be with God, not doing things for Him?”

The desire for God’s presence fueled Wells’ forthcoming live album, Here Comes the Church, which releases Oct. 2. Recorded before a sold-out crowd at the Austin City Limits Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, the project features artists from across Christian music, gospel, worship and hip-hop.

The project grew out of Wells’ fourth full-length album, Breathe On It, and includes collaborations with Israel Houghton, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Naomi Raine, Hulvey, Tiffany Hudson, Pastor Mike Jr., Red Rocks Worship, Abbie Gamboa and others.

According to Wells, whose church now draws thousands of attendees per week, diversity was essential to the project because it reflects the nature of the global Church.

“You can't talk about the church without it being a display of diversity,” he said. “That's the beautiful thing about the Church of Jesus Christ is that it has so many different complexions, so many different languages, so many different cultures, and somehow we're called together as brothers and sisters in the Lord.”

Wells said he wanted the live recording to capture “different voices, unique voices” and create “a beautiful display of all of the different colors and textures of the church.”

The atmosphere during the recording, he said, became unlike anything he had previously experienced. At one point, the “Let the Church Sing” artist recalled crying out, “Fill the city with the sound!” as the musicians stopped playing and the audience continued worshiping. 

“I've actually never been in an atmosphere like it,” Wells said. "It was a prophetic moment in Austin. .. People were just crying out in worship,. It was unbelievable. So we left some of that on the album, but it was different.”

The album’s title track carries particularly personal significance for Wells. “Here Comes the Church” was originally the mantra surrounding the launch of his Austin church after Wells and his family moved to the city in 2023. The church launched in January 2024, and Wells said the phrase appeared throughout its promotional campaign and became something volunteers declared together. During a sabbath in the church’s first year, the phrase became a song.

“I felt like God put it on my heart,” Wells said. “It does hold the album as a framework very well, and not just the album, but what God's been doing in my life, in my family, and locally here as well.”

Other songs hold different personal significance. Wells said “Not Guilty” is meaningful because he wrote it with his wife, while “What a Miracle Feels Like,” with Naomi Raine, is another standout for him.

But Wells said the title Here Comes the Church also represents his desire to restore a sense of beauty and value to an institution that has been marred by scandals, the failures of pastors and controversy.

“My heart really is that the beauty of the church would be restored in the eyes of the people,” Wells said.

The singer acknowledged the Church's imperfections, noting that Scripture itself repeatedly documents the failures of God's people alongside His grace, justice, redemption and restoration. 

“Somehow God is using what is imperfect in the world,” he said. “I hope that that beauty somewhat is restored when people hear a song like ‘Here Comes the Church.’”

The Joy Bomb author lamented that far too many professing believers operate with a “casual” approach to participation in a local church. Christians, he stressed, lose something spiritually when they are disconnected from meaningful relationships with other believers.

"Church is pretty much optional,” he said. “It's like, well, if my kids don't have a soccer game, and if my family can't find something better to do, then I'll be at church.”

“There is something that we're missing that we don't even realize in our soul when we're not connected in deep spiritual community with spiritual family,” he said. “So I hope that a vision for spiritual family is restored through this.”

As he navigates the pressures of ministry —  which he said has brought “a restoration, a transformation” and a deepening of his priorities —  Wells said accountability remains critical. He has remained under the leadership of a local pastor throughout his career, including his father-in-law and Pastor Joel Osteen. For the past decade, he said, Pastor Jacob Aranza has served as his pastor and has permission to challenge him in his roles as a man, husband and father.

Wells also submits his schedule to four church overseers who have the freedom to tell him when he is taking on too much, and he pointed to regular counseling as another important practice. But his greatest lesson, the artist said, has been recognizing that his relationship with God cannot be defined solely by usefulness.

The artist, who is also gearing up to host this year's GMA Dove Awards, said he grew up believing one of the greatest prayers he could offer was, “God use me.”

“That's not a bad prayer. That's a beautiful prayer, but it's not a better prayer than God, I want to be with you,” he said. “What I want my kids to know is no. I just love being with you,” he said. “I think that's what I'm learning now as a pastor. How ironic that what God really wants is me, not what I can do for Him.”

Ultimately, Wells said he hopes Here Comes the Church helps listeners rediscover both the beauty of the local church and the privilege of belonging to God's Kingdom.

“I hope that it restores in the heart of a person the beauty of God's church,” he said. “I hope it reignites the extreme privilege it is to be called into God's kingdom.”

“God is still working in the middle of their story, whatever that is,” Wells added. “It may feel hopeless. It may feel broken. It may feel amazing, and still somehow it gets better. … I hope people see God in a fresh way, and then everything that God loves in a different light.”