Christian worship singer and songwriter Brandon Lake says the mental-health crash that followed his rise in music taught him to seek God and trusted people instead of tying his worth to success.
“All my dreams were coming true,” Lake told podcaster and evangelist Bryce Crawford.
Lake, a Grammy-winning artist and worship leader, began writing and leading worship at Seacoast Church in Charleston, South Carolina, before signing with Bethel Music in 2019, according to K-LOVE. In the interview with Crawford, he described moving from leading a few hundred people at his local church to touring before thousands each night and writing with artists he had long admired, including Matt Redman and Phil Wickham.
The success felt like a mountaintop. But after the tour, Lake said he went straight to Disney World to meet his family without time to decompress or talk with his wife about what he had experienced.
He said the sudden transition left him vulnerable to fear, insecurity and isolation. Over the next two days, he wrestled with thoughts he did not recognize and said the episode became so dark that he did not want to be there anymore.
As the family prepared for bed, Lake reached out to two friends. “I know I needed help, but I didn’t want anyone else to know I was losing it,” he said.
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One friend, Micah, called immediately, but Lake did not answer. Instead, Micah sent a voice memo praying over him, and Lake said the prayer reminded him of the biblical account of David playing for Saul when Saul was tormented. Lake said the prayer helped something break, allowing him to finally tell his wife what he was experiencing; she held him while he wept.
“And luckily, it was the power of the Holy Spirit, but also the power of real community that kind of broke that,” Lake said. He also acknowledged that he had treated God as a last resort instead of his first response.
The recovery, he explained, required more than one emotional breakthrough. Lake said he began asking how to stay healthy when another mountaintop experience ended, how to level out, and how to remember that God loves him for who he is rather than for what he accomplishes.
“I had to relearn to go to God first and most, to fix what was going on,” Lake told Billboard. The outlet also reported that he has learned to balance touring, recording and family life more intentionally.
Lake said that reordering success changed what he celebrates. “He’s probably more proud of that than me getting up and singing for 10,000 people,” he said, describing the value of being a present father and even changing his children’s diapers.
That emphasis on honesty has also shaped Lake’s music. The Christian Post noted that Lake had previously discussed depression, anxiety and the need for counseling after his career accelerated; the newer clip shows him reflecting on the same season through the lens of community, prayer and a healthier definition of success.
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