We’re looking forward to introducing you to James Carnes. Check out our conversation below.
James, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Something that’s been bringing me a lot of joy lately is being involved with my church community and living up in the mountains of Gilpin County. We’ve done some community work and we ran a Christian men’s event in Kansas and it’s just been a huge blessing with the new relationships I’ve made in the last year.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yeah, my name’s James Carnes. I’m a musician and a former football player currently living in Central City, Colorado. I front a Christian metalcore band called Finding Neverland. We’re play loud, emotional, and we are unapologetically honest about what it really means to follow Jesus. We also host a weekly Bible study podcast on Friday nights where we talk about Scripture, the band, and whatever else comes up.
What makes what we’re doing unique is… we’re not trying to build a brand or be famous. We’re just trying to be faithful and excellent with the talents we’ve been given to glorify God. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life—walked away from God, battled addiction, and chased things that didn’t satisfy me. But somehow God stayed patient with me, and now I desire to live a life that reflects His grace.
Right now, I live in the mountains and go to a little church in Black Hawk, CO. I write, I record and share the Gospel of Jesus to anybody willing to listen. I’m just serving God in a quiet mountain town and that’s the dream. God willing, I’ll have a family to enjoy it with soon. Everything I’m doing now is preparing toward that.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that most shaped how I see myself is the one I have with God—but it didn’t come easy. I didn’t grow up feeling super confident or like I had a strong identity. I was always chasing something to prove that I was enough to people. Whether it was my football career, relationships, or financial success. However I hit rock bottom when all three of those things fell apart and I was dangerously addicted to alcohol. Even when I got sober for two years, I was still chasing football, a relationship and striving to be financially successful. I was still so empty.
A pastor in Boulder, CO while I was a student at CU Boulder, showed me in the Bible where it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, ‘In Christ you are a new creation, the old is gone, behold all things are being made new.’ That verse changed my life, because I was tired of my old identity. I had hurt people and I was scared of myself. I knew that by following Jesus, and giving my life to Him, that verse was a promise. That no longer am I at emnity with God with my sin, but my identity is in Jesus. By dying on the cross after living a sinless life, He paid the debt for all of us who have turned from God, and now when God sees me, He sees Jesus (This is my beloved son, whom I am well pleased – Matthew 3:17). No matter what I’ve done or how far I’ve ran, my idenity is firm in Jesus and that is transforming for me and available to anybody, even you who are reading this!
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yeah, there was a time I almost gave up—more than once, honestly. I’d been chasing the dream of playing football at CU Boulder for like five years. When I finally got there and tried to walk on, I got cut. That wrecked me. I was ready to drop out of school. Everything kind of hit at once—football was done, my relationship ended, I had five bucks in my account, and I was three months behind on rent. I didn’t see a way out. I hit rock bottom and had a serious suicide attempt. I just didn’t know who I was anymore—my whole identity had been wrapped up in football and trying to be somebody.
As I woke up in a hospital bed, I remember hearing this quiet voice from God saying, “Keep going.” It took about a year to get my act together, but somehow, I kept waking up. I just started taking it one day at a time. Don’t quit today. Don’t drink today. That mindset saved my life.
I ended up graduating from CU in 2022 with a 3.5 GPA and also joined the band Finding Neverland around that same time. I was the first in my immediate family to finish college. I didn’t get the football story I wanted, but I got something better: I learned about Jesus. I learned that I am utterly lost outside of Him. I learned that I was the way that I was because of our fallen state of sin. Things like addiction, selfishness are terrible symptoms of that, and we have been given a free gift to follow Jesus, become like Him on this earth, and have eternal life.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yeah, the public version of me is the real me. I’m public about my faith because Jesus didn’t die in secret. He was crucified in front of the world. And He told us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15). So I don’t want to just talk about Him behind closed doors. I want to be honest, upfront, and unashamed.
In my private time with God, I’ve made a promise: I do not want to live two lives. I’ve done that before—put on the show, said the right words, but inside I was miserable. That double life will destroy you. It’s exhausting to pretend in public and then try to stand before a holy God in private. He sees straight through all of it. He knows the heart, the motives, the real me, and that gives me a healthy fear of the Lord.
So I try to live with integrity. I want what I do, what I say, how I act on stage or online to line up with who I am when no one’s watching and to honor God. I’ve had to ask myself to let go of what I think musicians should act, and ask for God’s help to act in a way that honors Him in everything I do. The vulnerability I share on stage is who I am. My autobigoragrphy and any other public interviews I’ve done, have always been very honest and raw. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Yeah, I really believe I could give everything my best even if no one ever praised me for it. Because at the end of the day, I’m not doing this for people. I’m doing it to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23) That’s what I care about.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. God is not looking to reward the most popular or the most talented, just the ones who are faithful with what they were given according to their ability.
I think about that sometimes—how there’s probably some man in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota. Nobody knows his name. He’s not on a stage. But he’s been showing up every day at his job, loving people, loving his family, and serving the Lord for decades. And when he stands before God, I really believe the Lord’s going to look at him and say, “Well done.”
That’s what I want. I don’t need applause down here. I just want to be faithful with whatever God hands to me and multiply it. Whether five people see it or five thousand—it doesn’t matter.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jamesvcarnes
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jamescarnesfootball
Image Credits
Credit: Jess Sutton, Anthony Earl, Athena Xiong
