Trip Lee Drops Worship Album 'For Your Glory' After Years of Battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Trip Lee Releases First Worship Album "For Your Glory" After Battling Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for Years

Christian rapper and pastor Trip Lee has released his first ever worship project, "For Your Glory," on February 13, 2026. The eight track EP marks a significant departure from the 38 year old Dallas based artist's hip hop roots and launches under BRAG Worship, a new collective built on the "Brag On My Lord" movement inspired by Jeremiah 9:23 24.

Lee, whose real name is William Lee Barefield III, has battled chronic fatigue syndrome since his college years. The incurable disease causes prolonged exhaustion and has profoundly shaped his theology and artistry. In 2021, the condition forced him to step down from his role as young adult pastor at Concord Church in Dallas.

It's very hard for me to write songs about God's goodness without acknowledging life's difficulty.

Trip Lee said in an exclusive interview with The Christian Post.

Rather than presenting only celebratory worship, the album makes deliberate room for lament, reflecting the raw honesty of the biblical Psalms. Lee's guiding philosophy for the project is simple but powerful: "Life is hard and God is good."

The album features collaborations with acclaimed worship artists including Naomi Raine, DOE, Jonathan Traylor, Leah Smith, and Madison Ryann Ward. The eight song, 24 minute project was released through Reach Records, where Lee has been signed since before his high school graduation.

Lee noted that contemporary Christian music often feels pressured to remain relentlessly upbeat, but he believes authentic worship must allow space for pain and honest struggle. He observed that listeners respond most powerfully to songs that address difficulty rather than pure celebration, with many attributing life changing moments to these vulnerable compositions.

How Trip Lee's Battle With Chronic Illness Shaped a New Era of Honest Worship Music

Lee's career spans nearly two decades in Christian hip hop. He has released eight albums, authored two books titled "The Good Life" and "Rise," and earned multiple Dove Award nominations along with a Stellar Award. His last three albums debuted at number one on the Billboard Gospel charts.

The artist was converted at age 14, preached his first sermon to a youth group at 17, and went on to study at Cairn University in Pennsylvania and Boyce College at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He served as a pastoral intern and later pastoral assistant at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., before becoming pastor of Cornerstone Church in Atlanta in 2015.

The Crusader's Opinion

Trip Lee's story is a testimony that the Church desperately needs to hear. For too long, modern worship culture has sold believers a sanitized version of faith where every song is a victory anthem and every Sunday is a celebration. That is not Christianity. That is performance. The Psalms are filled with cries of agony, pleas for deliverance, and the raw, unfiltered honesty of saints who refused to pretend everything was fine when it wasn't. Lee understands that true worship means bringing your whole self before God, including the broken, exhausted, and suffering parts. A man who had to walk away from pastoral ministry because his body gave out, yet still pours himself into glorifying Christ through music, that is the kind of faith that moves mountains.

Take Action

• Stream Trip Lee's "For Your Glory" EP on your preferred music platform and share it with your church community to encourage honest, lament filled worship.
• Visit Reach Records to support Trip Lee's ministry and explore other faith centered artists.
• Start a conversation in your small group or Bible study about the role of lament in worship, using Psalms 13, 22, and 88 as starting points.
• If you or someone in your church is battling chronic illness, reach out to The Shepherd's Shield for resources and support connecting faith and physical suffering.
• Follow BRAG Worship on social media to stay updated on future worship releases and events that make room for authentic expressions of faith.