"I'm not in the business of music,
I'm in the business of people."
We ran into Joseph O'Brien last week at the Ignite Men's Conference in Lynchburg, Virginia, and put together a last minute interview to discuss his time with Winter Jam, influential verses, and his Christian music Avengers lineup.
Interview by Cody Cooksey
March 13, 2026
What have you learned in your time on the road?
Two years ago, when I was on Winter Jam, I was gone 180 days out of the year, which was a lot for me. I had never travelled to that extent. The following year, I was talking to my booking agency and was like, "We gotta pull back, I can't be gone that much again”. My favorite part about being an artist is getting to interact with people who either know my music or who don't know my music. Ultimately, this is ministry. I'm not in the business of music, I'm in the business of people. That's what I think, just like a pastor, that's my priority. So my favorite part about traveling is being able to connect with people who maybe have been impacted by the music that I create. Getting the opportunity to share the Gospel through music and share what the Lord's done through my music, I hope that answers the question. I love traveling, but I definitely want to be a dad, you know? I would love to stay at home more, because ultimately, family always comes first.
What Bible verses would you say you see as your foundation?
The one that was in my Instagram bio for a while was Nahum 1:7, which is “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.” That's kind of what influenced one of my songs about God being your home, in the place that you feel the most home and the most looked out after. There's been some ones like 2 Corinthians 5:17 (“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”), I'd say those are two.
Where has God been in your life lately?
Ooh, everywhere. Everywhere, I would say. I recently got married, and when people say that marriage is a way that God brings sanctification, they're not joking. God has used my marriage, my beautiful wife, and has sifted out so much sin in my life already. You're living with someone that you love, and they see the ugly parts of you. You realize how selfish you are, and God uses marriage to sanctify you. Whenever we have kids, that's going to be another sanctifying process. I think all of these life processes are designed to test you. Actually, shout out to another verse, that testing of your faith produces endurance (James 1:3). I'm going to expect trials of various kinds. Every season of life we're going to have different challenges in different ways that push you to the edge where you're like “Lord, I’ve got to trust you, and I’ve got to depend on Your strength, because I'm trying to do this in my own strength and I'm not able to”. I'd say marriage has been such a beautiful gift, but also a way that has completely sanctified me in the past 10 months. I've only been married 10 months. I've grown 10 years in age, in how much God has rooted out a lot of sin.
What is your Christian music Avengers lineup?
Okay so I'm building a team, I’d say Matt Thiessen from Relient K. I'm going to say the Smallbones, for KING & COUNTRY is in there. I'm gonna put a little Jason Dunn from Hawk Nelson, so that's three. This is so tough. Give me Jon Foreman from Switchfoot. Maybe give me a Jeremy Camp. I'll put Jeremy Camp in there. Jeremy's a good dude. Then perhaps the goat of Christian music, historically, give me Keith Green. I don't listen to his music, but from what I've heard, this guy was a legend. He wrote songs that have really challenged the church, to invigorate people to actually get up and do something rather than just sit down and be like “I go to church and I'm a Christian”. That was an icon at the time. He made Christian music in the 80s. We need a wise leader for the Christian Avengers routine. Someone who's got some experience. I feel like he would have been wise. The Nick Fury. There you go. How about that? That's how I answered that. That's a good question. I like that question.
Check out Joseph O'Brien on Instagram, Spotify, and JOSEPH O'BRIEN.
Joseph O'Brien at our interview at Ignite.