“Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” — Psalm 33:1–3
Have you ever been to a concert or theatre where the performance was so amazing that you just wanted more? It gave you chills all up and down your spine. Maybe you even got a little emotional. You were left absolutely amazed and in awe. So you loved the performance so much, what do you do next? You keep clapping, yelling, and whistling to acknowledge such a performance. You’re caught up to the point that you want them to keep performing.
You want a curtain call.
In the world of performing arts, a curtain call is when the artist is called back to the stage to be recognized by the audience for their performance. Even though the idea of a curtain call is not limited to music and theatre, it is identified mostly with this area of performance. It’s amazing what can happen when someone makes that much of an impact on you. Right?
The Deadheads
Remember the band Grateful Dead? They started off in the 1960’s and became incredibly famous and lasted for nearly 30 years. People became so enamored with them that they began following them all over the country. Loyal (and maybe a little crazy) followers were called “Deadheads.” Can you even believe it? People wanting so much of someone that they were willing to give up their life and identity to these performers and even be called a derivative of the band’s name. They wanted to see them over and over. A perpetual curtain call, if you will.
Now think about that for a minute. These followers didn’t need to be convinced. Nobody had to guilt them into showing up. Nobody had to design a program to keep them engaged. They were so captivated by what they experienced that following was the only natural response. They rearranged their entire lives around it. They gave up comfort, stability, and reputation to be wherever the band was. And they did it joyfully.
That’s what happens when you’re truly in awe of something. You don’t have to be talked into pursuing it. You can’t help yourself.
So here’s the question for every leader: what are you giving your standing ovation to? What has captured your attention so completely that you’d rearrange your life to follow it? And is it worthy of that kind of devotion?
The Curtain Calls That Fade
In a world that clamors for our attention, it’s so easy to get caught up in the curtain calls of the temporary things that so quickly fade away. Our “favorites” in this world will come and go.
Leaders know this tension well. There’s always something demanding an encore in your life. The next achievement. The next milestone. The next growth metric. The next opportunity. And these things can feel thrilling in the moment. They can give you that rush, that sense of accomplishment, that brief standing ovation from the people around you. But then the curtain falls. The applause fades. And you’re left looking for the next performance to captivate you.
I’ve watched leaders chase curtain call after curtain call from things that were never designed to sustain them. The approval of their peers. The growth of their organization. The recognition that comes with success. And each time, the applause lasted a little shorter and the satisfaction wore off a little faster. Because temporary performers give temporary thrills. No matter how good they are, they eventually leave the stage.
The leader who builds their life around the curtain calls of this world will always be chasing the next one. And they’ll never be fully satisfied, because nothing temporary can produce permanent awe.
The One Performance That Never Ends
There is really only One who performs every second of every day. He has always performed, and will continue to do so without end, for eternity.
What is a performance? Here is the definition: an action or proceeding of an unusual, or spectacular kind; the execution or accomplishment of work, acts, feats.
What a great attribute of God. Every single thing He does is unusual and spectacular. Every performance is a one-of-a-kind. The sunrise this morning was a performance. The way He provided when you had no idea how the need would be met was a performance. The conviction of the Holy Spirit that redirected your steps last week was a performance. The fact that you’re breathing right now, reading these words, with a heart still beating and a mind still working, that’s a performance. And He never takes a bow. He never leaves the stage. He never stops.
Think about what it would mean to live with that kind of awareness. Not just acknowledging God as Creator and Sustainer in a theological sense, but actually watching for His performances every single day and responding with the kind of awe that demands an encore. That’s worship. Not the Sunday morning kind only. The Monday through Saturday kind. The kind where you can’t stop noticing what He’s doing, and you can’t stop responding to it.
For leaders, this changes the entire atmosphere of how you lead. When you’re living in a constant state of awe at what God is doing, your team feels it. Your decisions reflect it. Your priorities reveal it. You stop performing for applause and start pointing to the only performance that matters. You become less of a performer and more of an audience member, captivated by the One who deserves every standing ovation you’ll ever give.
Following the Right Performance
Much like the people that followed the Grateful Dead, let us so seek to follow so passionately. Let’s take on His name and cause.
The Deadheads gave up their identity to be associated with a band. They were called by the band’s name and they wore it proudly. As followers of Christ, we’ve been given something infinitely greater. We bear His name. We carry His cause. And the invitation is to follow Him with the same reckless, all-consuming devotion that those fans showed to a group of musicians, except what we’re following is eternal, perfect, and never disappoints.
But here’s where leaders have to be honest with themselves. Somewhere along the way, many of us shifted from being awestruck followers to being professional managers of God’s work. The wonder faded. The pursuit became routine. The curtain calls became less about amazement and more about obligation. We kept showing up, but the chills were gone. The tears dried up. The sense that we were witnessing something spectacular got buried under the weight of budgets, meetings, and strategic plans.
If that’s where you are, you haven’t failed. You’ve just gotten so busy managing the concert that you forgot to watch the performance.
The more we follow, the more we see His splendor. Not the other way around. You don’t wait until you see it to follow. You follow, and the seeing comes. The pursuit rekindles the awe. The attention reopens the eyes. And before long, you’re back to where you started. On your feet. Clapping. Wanting more. Crying out for another curtain call.
The Leader as Audience Member
There’s a subtle but profound shift that happens when a leader moves from performer to audience member in their relationship with God. When you’re performing, the pressure is on you. You carry the weight. You need the applause. You measure success by the crowd’s response. But when you’re in the audience, the pressure is on the One performing. And He never disappoints. He never has a bad night. He never fails to show up.
The best leaders I’ve known are the ones who lead from the audience, not from the stage. They’ve positioned themselves as people who are first and foremost watching God work, and then inviting others to see what they’re seeing. Their leadership is less “look at what I’m doing” and more “look at what He’s doing.” And that kind of leadership produces a team that doesn’t applaud the leader. It applauds the Lord. That’s a culture worth building.
That’s also what it means to be a reliable messenger. You’re not the main act. You’re the one pointing to the stage and saying, “You have to see this. You don’t want to miss what He’s about to do.”
Next Steps for the Leader Who Wants to Live for the Curtain Call
Pay attention to God’s daily performances. This week, intentionally look for the unusual and spectacular things God is doing around you. Not just the big, dramatic moments, but the quiet ones. The conversation that went better than it should have. The peace that showed up when you expected anxiety. The provision you didn’t plan for. Write them down. When you start looking for His performances, you’ll be amazed at how often He’s on stage.
Audit your applause. What has been getting your standing ovation lately? Where is your emotional energy going? What captures your awe? If it’s been things that fade, temporary achievements, human approval, professional milestones, it’s not that those things are evil. They’re just not worthy of the devotion you’ve been giving them. Redirect your applause to the One whose performance never ends.
Get back in the audience. If you’ve been so busy managing God’s work that you forgot to watch Him work, take a step back this week. Before you plan, observe. Before you strategize, worship. Before you lead, let yourself be led. Spend time simply watching what God is doing in your life, in your church, in your community, and let the awe come back. You can’t give a curtain call if you’re backstage the whole time.
Follow with Deadhead-level devotion. What would it look like to follow Jesus with the kind of reckless, joyful abandon that those fans showed to a rock band? Not out of obligation. Not out of guilt. But out of sheer captivation. What would you rearrange? What would you give up? What would you pursue differently? Let that question sit with you this week, and see what the Holy Spirit stirs.
Read Psalm 8. David looked at the heavens and was overwhelmed by the performance of God. The moon, the stars, the fact that the Creator of all of it would even think about humanity, let alone crown us with glory and honor. Read it slowly. Read the whole book of Psalms if you have the time. It’s that good. And it’s the words of a man who lived his entire life calling for one more encore from the God who never stops performing.
How should we live in response to such an amazing God? Simple. Live every moment as though you were crying out for yet another curtain call. Ask to see His wondrous works. Seek His beautiful movement and the perfect sound of His voice.
The more we follow, the more we see His splendor. The results? Desire for a curtain call.