By Keziah Mendez —
John James was the frontman for the Newsboys for 12 years, but success exposed the cracks in his life that came from a childhood of rejection under an alcoholic father. He fell into flirting online, then unfaithfulness and ultimately he was forced out of the band.
“My whole sense of value, of identity was totally wrapped up in who I was with the Newsboys,” he says “and that meant more to me than my marriage. As long as I was with the Newsboys, I’m somebody, I have a purpose, I have a future, I have a hope.”
Kicked out of Newsboys, John fell into the generational sin of his father, alcoholism. The loss of status and rejection of band members was more than he could bear. He lost his marriage. The legendary singer spent years languishing in lostness and meaninglessness.
But John James was not dead in the water. The Australian climbed out of the morass. He’s remarried, back to serving God and doing music once again. He shares his story to warn others of the giddiness of fame that makes you prone to falling.
His stumblings were rooted in his childhood. His family was “really abusive, toxic, and broken,” creating a sense of rejection over the little kid.
But when he was 15, his dad experienced “the most incredible encounter with God,” John says. “He came to a place of authentic repentance. He proceeded then to lead the rest of his family, even ex-family to the Lord.”
John became a Christian. At age 19, he was invited by the drummer of Newsboys to join the band. It was a startup at that time, and it was exciting to be cool and play music. Combined with spreading the message of Jesus Christ, it was overwhelming, affirming, purposeful.
Even more importantly, John got rid of all sense of rejection. “Success just began to come like a tsunami,” he says.
They began to hit international fame as they dropped album after album. The got #1s on various charts. They filled stadiums with cheering fans. People were coming to Jesus. His life overflowed with meaning in service to Jesus.
The band members all married and started families, but as the tours got longer and longer, they spent more and more time away from their wives and kids.
Years later, John has conducted the postmortem on his once glorious career. He lost all sense of humbleness. Without humility, the Bible says, no one shall see the Lord.
Incessant adulation gives you a false sense that you’re above others, a sort of ubermensch free from the constraints of godly morals that normal people have to submit to. The head trip takes your heart on a trip out of the will of God.
John began flirting online with beautiful women who were wowed by his fame. At first, it started innocently. But in the darkness of secrecy, it moved to actual infidelity. The sacredness of marriage got shattered.
Troubled by his own sin, he reached out to a trusted confidante, a fellow band member. This led to the whole band finding out. John’s stains would poison the message of the whole band. He was asked to quit.
Overnight, he went from celebrity to obscurity. Shoved out of the limelight and deprived of his identity, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He was supposed to get right with God, but instead he got into alcohol and drugs. He was supposed to work on his marriage, but instead he lost his marriage.
“My wife one day found a bunch of letters and they’re all from this woman that I’d been talking to,” John confides. “She left. I went down that rabbit hole even deeper with the drugs.”
After too long in his backslidden condition, John heard from God. First he started back to church. Then a prophet, who didn’t know him or that he was formerly famous, spoke to him about a future of destiny and ministry.
He began to be encouraged again that his entire life wasn’t over. He began to hope for a future.
God restores.
He took steps of repentance and righteousness. God’s grace came again to John.
Today, he’s married a new gal, a musician. He lives in Florida and minsters through music. His career hasn’t reached the heights of Newsboys, but if one person gets saved, then John is happy.
Related content: Daddy Yankee turns to Christ rapidito.
