A large Christian worship tour has rebranded special tickets that would give people perks over others, following an online uproar over their "VIP" status.

The Tomlin UNITED Tour was announced as a "mega co-headlining tour" set to travel to over 30 cities in the U.S., as well as Toronto and Vancouver, in 2022.

"We really believe this tour is going to be something unforgettable,” said Chris Tomlin and Joel Houston (UNITED) when announcing the tour. “We’ve been trying to do something like this for a long time and we have a real sense of trust in the fact that this is the right time. This is the moment for what God has been planning and in that, we think the timing has everything to do with the people joining us each night.”

However, when tickets went on sale they included a VIP option which would allow purchasers to "to walk on stage with the artists and take pictures in a catwalk-style photoshoot," the Christian Post reports. "The VIP ticket option also allowed buyers to receive premium seats, exclusive gifts and meet-and-greets."

Christian artist Tom Reed took to Twitter to voice his displeasure, saying "I'm not sure which is worse: that Hillsong and Chris Tomlin think that this is ok in the context of worship; or that there's actually a demand for it?"

Reed went on to say, "No doubt some people will think that I'm being unfair here, or unnecessarily 'devisive' (sic), but at what point are we allowed to say something is not ok? Because this is not ok, and justifying it just contributes to the problem."

He says that he's been influenced by both Tomlin and Hillsong UNITED, saying, "so this is hugely disappointing, although sadly it's not surprising. Modern day worship has become so corrupt that I have no doubt Jesus would flip the tables on so much of it." He says that he believes " worship needs it's (sic) own reformation that rids itself of the celebrity culture that's it's become so entrenched in. Have (sic) Hillsong learned anything from the Carl Lentz saga? It doesn't appear to have from this."


The Connections podcast: real life, real faith


Many people agreed with Reed's take on things, with some calling it "ghastly" or saying "Western Christianity is a cancer." 

But others have also come to Tomlin's and UNITED's defence, saying such perks are a financial necessity for tours.

Chris Llewellyn of Rend Collective wrote an opinion piece for Premier Christianity, a U.K. Christian magazine. He says he's the first to admit that celebrity culture is dangerous for Christianity, especially when it comes to worship music, calling his a "half-hearted defence."

Rend Collective has sold VIP passes in the past to their own concerts and says it's one of the "main mechanisms by which large Christian concerts actually break even." He says that without such ticketing options his own band would not be able to afford to tour. "This is because we already reduce our ticket prices to staggeringly low rates compared to equivalent artists in the secular world to make the concerts as accessible as possible. (And this is true across much of the industry.)"

Llewellyn points out that with streaming services impacting record sales, touring is the "only remaining significant source of income for a musician." He says while "still a touch uneasy with it, but I have found ways to make it palatable."

He says that we should continue to "examine the Church’s role in promoting celebrity culture and its damaging outcomes," but that VIP tickets to concerts, which he calls "worshipful entertainment," does not restrict anyone from accessing the gospel.

The VIP tickets have now been rebranded as "Experience Packages" but for the most part include the same perks. One thing Llewellyn says is important to remember is that it's not the artists being branded as VIPs but the ticket buyers.

"It’s an opportunity for a deeper connection, to have a bit of extra fun and to have an enhanced experience for the ticketholder; not to create a pedestal for the artist. It’s not an ego trip. It is a means of the artist serving the guest and making themselves more touchable and human - not more 'elite,'" he writes.