![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.christiandaily.com\/media\/cache\/img\/0\/32\/3295sw_800w_800h_1x_1y.png\")
The singer and pastor, Marco Barrientos, at a press conference during the COICOM 2025 congress.<\/span>\u00a0Christian Daily International<\/span><\/p>\nIn one of the most candid moments of the COICOM 2025 congress, Mexican singer and pastor Marco Barrientos called for an end to what he described as a growing \u201ccelebrity culture\u201d in the evangelical church, warning that it carries dangerous spiritual and emotional consequences.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference Tuesday (Sept. 9), Barrientos said his appeal was shaped by a profound personal journey, including a near-death health crisis in 2020, and led him to take practical steps to avoid feeding a system that, he said, \u201cis doing great harm to those who stand on a platform.\u201d Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International’s Spanish edition, is on the ground in San Pedro Sula covering COICOM 2025, which began Monday.<\/p>\n
Barrientos explained that his decision to stop taking photographs with the public is part of an intentional effort to reject fame-driven dynamics in Christian ministry. \u201cI want to explain why, and I want to ask you to join me,\u201d he told attending journalists. \u201cThe issue of photographs feeds a culture of celebrity instead of a culture of community.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Warning to the Christian Music Industry<\/strong><\/p>\n Barrientos extended his critique to what he called the \u201cChristian music industry,\u201d while emphasizing that it includes \u201cwonderful people.\u201d He cautioned that the system as a whole is \u201cstraying from the path I personally want to walk,\u201d and warned against treating ministers as celebrities with \u201cspecial rights,\u201d a mentality that he said runs contrary to the gospel.<\/p>\n The most striking moment of his remarks came when he described applause and recognition as a \u201cfalse elixir\u201d consumed by those on stage, often as a way of coping with inner emptiness. \u201cThat person [\u2026] is drinking from these people\u2014their attention, their affection, feeding their soul with it\u2014because there are issues, there are problems inside, and, \u2018please, somebody tell me I\u2019m wonderful, because I feel so conflicted within.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Quoting a well-known secular actor to underscore his point, Barrientos added, \u201cThat\u2019s why this man said, \u2018being a celebrity kills you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He connected this culture to the rise of mental health struggles among Christian leaders. \u201cThat\u2019s why there are pastors today who are taking their own lives,\u201d he said, noting that the pressure to maintain a public image creates an unsustainable divide \u201cbetween what happens on a platform and what real life is.\u201d<\/p>\n A Revelation Born in Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n Barrientos said his convictions emerged from a personal encounter with God during one of the darkest moments of his life. He recalled how a severe health crisis in October 2020 nearly cost him his life. \u201cWhen I almost died, that\u2019s when the Holy Spirit told me, \u2018Okay, now you\u2019re going to be still. Come, I want to speak with you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n During that period, Barrientos said, God confronted him about neglected areas of his soul, including bitterness and hidden rebellion. He spoke openly about his battle with depression and testified that God\u2019s grace has been healing him.<\/p>\n A Challenge to Christian Communicators<\/strong><\/p>\n Turning to journalists and media workers, Barrientos urged them to use their influence to reshape the conversation around ministry and leadership. \u201cYou have extraordinary power to change the narrative,\u201d he said, encouraging them to ask deeper questions that foster accountability and spiritual health.<\/p>\n \u201cAsk them\u2014in fact, challenge them. How is it possible for someone with recognition like yours to guard their heart and not be contaminated by the spirit of the world? Go ahead, ask that question and see how they answer you.\u201d<\/p>\n He concluded by reminding communicators that their value lies not in visibility but in faithfulness to God, whether \u201cbehind the camera or in front of it.\u201d Barrientos closed the session with a prayer for grace so that every journalist might fulfill their calling and ministry.<\/p>\n![\"press](\"https:\/\/www.christiandaily.com\/media\/cache\/img\/0\/32\/3297sw_800w_800h_1x_1y.png\")
A large number of journalists and communicators attended the press conference with Marco Barrientos at COICOM, Honduras 2025.<\/span>\u00a0Christian Daily International<\/span><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.christiandaily.com\/media\/cache\/img\/0\/32\/3298sw_800w_800h_1x_1y.png\")
The singer and pastor Marco Barrientos speaking at a press conference in front of journalists and representatives of Christian media during the COICOM 2025 congress in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.<\/span>\u00a0Christian Daily International<\/span><\/p>\n