Russell Evans and Planetshakers No Diva Policy

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In this Worship Sound Bite, Russell Evans, the founding pastor of Planetshakers, talks about their No-Diva policy. Being on stage can sometimes abate someone’s humility (to put it kindly) and cause ego issues that manifest as diva-ism. It’s a common challenge performers face. And although leading worship should not, by its very nature, be a performance; in the modern worship industry, it can be hard for some to keep this monster from rearing its ugly head.
Evans brings some wisdom to the issue. He first makes the point of asking, what is the reason someone succumbs to that? There can be many answers, but they only come to light with candor regarding internal motivation and the true goals of one’s heart. He also points out that dealing with the symptoms - self-importance, being temperamental and difficult to please- is not as effective as is getting to the root cause, and finding the specific key to the individual person, which leads to healing.
Many times, the issue is perspective. Evans says, “Before we are Christians, we chase our dreams. When we become a Christian, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” a reference to Galatians 2:20. As Lexi Fromm (and her late father Chuck Fromm) put it, we go from being self-centered to being "Little Christs", following the will of the Father.
Russell Evans founded Planetshakers Ministries in 2004. Ordained by the Assemblies of God, Evans is also a member of the Empowered21 Global Council along with Bill Johnson, E.A. Adeboye, Marylin Hickey and others in the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation Movement. His life message is, “To continually ‘hunger’ for personal encounters with God because it is in the place of encounter that a person will find the acceptance, love, breakthrough, healing, empowerment, correction and direction that they need.”
(Quick Note: Evans point that we as Christians no longer pursue our own dreams, but pursue God’s will is true. Paul’s point in Galations 2:20 however, refers to being saved from law-living to grace-living, as opposed to pursuing God’s will instead of our own. His point is more directly supported by Ephesians 2:8-10, James 1:22-25, and with the humility of Jesus shown in John 13:12-17.)
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