"I come from the performance world, but the idea of a worship song is different. It's useful music"
About this Quote
Calling it “useful music” is the tell. It’s a slightly unglamorous phrase, almost anti-rock-star, and that’s the point. Use implies purpose: singing that organizes feeling, cues memory, synchronizes bodies, makes belief easier to inhabit. In a worship setting, the song isn’t the main event; it’s infrastructure. It carries the room. It gives people language when they don’t have their own. That practical framing also doubles as self-protection: it sidesteps the suspicion that a celebrity entering sacred space is just rebranding. He’s signaling deference to function over flair.
The subtext is an ethical repositioning. In a culture where music is often treated as self-expression, Tesh is endorsing music as service - not less artistic, but accountable to a different goal. It’s a musician admitting that sometimes the highest craft is disappearing into the use others make of your work.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Tesh, John. (2026, January 15). I come from the performance world, but the idea of a worship song is different. It's useful music. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-come-from-the-performance-world-but-the-idea-of-106985/
Chicago Style
Tesh, John. "I come from the performance world, but the idea of a worship song is different. It's useful music." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-come-from-the-performance-world-but-the-idea-of-106985/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I come from the performance world, but the idea of a worship song is different. It's useful music." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-come-from-the-performance-world-but-the-idea-of-106985/. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.








