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Life’s Urge: What My $16 Life Surge Ticket Really Bought

Life’s Urge: What My $16 Life Surge Ticket Really Bought

Last updated on: September 28, 2026 at 5:12 pm by David Weiss

Life’s Urge: What My $16 Life Surge Ticket Really Bought 2026-09-28T17:12:56-04:00 David Weiss

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In the Arena, generated using Google Gemini, and manipulated by the author using Photoshop

Lately there has been some controversy surrounding a business called Life Surge, that holds large Christian conference events, with top shelf speakers in arenas. I attended one of these events, and have some insights I’d like to share,

The Run Up

I could not avoid the ads if I tried. They were all over my socials for an event called Life Surge. I saw the pictures of all the speakers and I have to admit I was intrigued. An event coming within 15 miles of my home, featuring speakers like John Maxwell, Nick Vujicic, Jeff Foxworthy and a young man I have grown to respect and admire, Tim Tebow. My first thought was, “That’s going to cost a small fortune.” but after seeing my 30 millionth social media ad, they tried a new tactic, “Discount Tickets Available.” I clicked the ad. I could get the cheap seats for $16. For that price, I was in and my wife decided to join me.

What’s the Catch?

One of the things my dad taught me pretty early on was, “If something looks too good to be true, look for the catch.” A $16 ticket to see those guys meant some sort of catch was definitely going to be there, but I was ready for it. Did I mention they also included a box lunch? I knew the event was targeted to Christians, and I knew it had a business focus, and I was okay with both of those things. As a content creator, I make tons of content in a variety of formats, and see very little fruit from some of them. I figured if I could learn a few things to expand my reach and maybe earn a few extra dollars to fund some of the larger projects I’ve wanted to take on, it would be worth it. It’d be an added benefit to seeing some speakers I truly admire.

Signs of Trouble

Upon entering the arena, the first thing we sought out, besides the restroom, was the merchandise stand. Knowing very little about the event, it wasn’t like I was going to pick up a souvenir T-shirt, but with this many great speakers in one place, I figured there would be a stand to pickup their latest books, and I’m always in the market for a good book. No such stand existed… weird, right? The only merch there was a company who co-sponsored the event that sold jewelry and T-shirts with Scripture verses on them. We passed and went to find a seat.

The “Program”

Upon entering, the Jumbotron had QR codes to download the program for the day. I did that, and of course I had to enter all my contact information to get it. I wasn’t really surprisedly by that, but not knowing what I’d experience, I wasn’t sure I wanted to share my info. The program was basically a blank timeline. It had bios of some of the speakers, but no speaker schedule or anything like that. To me it felt like pure data mining. Can you say,”red flag?” Still with all these great speakers, it should still be a great day, right? I was there for the speakers.

I’m a Preacher…

You see the opportunity to hear other speakers, and especially good ones, is something I do not take lightly. Most of the time if I am at a church, I am the speaker, and while I love that, sometimes it’s nice to sit under someone else’s teaching and just learn and receive. And to that end, for the most part, I was not disappointed.

The Event

The day started with worship by Natalie Grant and Donnie Bolden, Jr. Their ministry set the tone for the day and we were off to the races. The first speakers were twin brothers David and Jason Benham. They had made a fortune in real estate before being approached to do a home renovation TV show. They ended up being cancelled for standing on Christian principles. Their story was inspirational but you started to feel bit of a sales pitch coming. Still they spoke a little about passive income, and as a content creator, the topic interested me. If that was what the business part was about, there was something to be gained.

Maxwell the Master

Next came a true master communicator, John Maxwell. Maxwell’s presentation was truly a masterclass in the art of public speaking. His message was based on the topic of his new book, How to Get a Return on Failure: Fail Smarter—Return Stronger. His speech alone was worth the price of admission. This was a good thing, because the first pitch was coming.

The Pitch, Part I

A guy who’s name and bio didn’t appear in the program went on next. He began to speak about playing the stock market as a financial strategy. I hope I’m not giving away proprietary secrets when I say the big tip he gave was essentially, “buy low, sell high.” I’m financially illiterate and I knew that. He was the longest running speaker of the day and his pitch was for a $97 class to learn how to trade stocks. This was the major complaint about the event. As we listened, I saw my wife feverishly typing on her phone. She found an article online about the larger class they pitch at the $97 class—the one that costs over ten grand, where they allegedly encourage people to take out extra credit cards to pay the price.

We didn’t “bite” and stayed firmly in our seats for a couple reasons. First, we were expecting the pitch. Secondly if a $97 class could change your life, everyone would take it. Thirdly, I have no interest in being a day trader, and if investing like that always brought big returns, no one would do menial jobs. We’d all just become investors. The people who bought the class, gambled $97. I hope they win, but I will not be joining them.

The Pitch, Part II

After lunch, and a few other speakers (we’ll get to them in a bit) another guy who wasn’t in the program came out. He at least had the advantage of being funny. Imagine if Bill Maher tried, and a couple of times failed, to clean up his act for a Christian audience. His pitch was a real estate investing class, and while I can’t say I have no interest in investing in real estate, I can say I don’t have the time to do that and still be faithful to my call. Further, if I invested the amount the final classes cost in a class, I’d have none left to buy the properties.

The Awkward Stuff

After lunch, there was a brief Gospel presentation, followed by an altar call. Now I have to tell you, I love a good altar call. I love seeing people give their lives to Jesus. The issue was, there was nothing in the morning’s program that necessitated it. I can’t say there was no spiritual content, and I won’t say the many people that went forward were not sincere. What I will say is altar calls usually happen after a clear and compelling presentation of the Gospel to which people could respond. Had the altar call come after Mr.Tebow’s message it would’ve been far more timely and appropriate.

The Good Stuff

The one man on the program I had not heard of was Ed Mylett. He’s a podcaster, business man, motivational speaker, and more. He came out after a video that showed him in all his success and glory, and I have to admit, after the morning’s pitch, I was feeling a little jaded. To his credit, Mr. Mylett criticized the video too, and began to share a wonderful story about his late father that really hit home with me. You see, this program was a mere six days after I officiated the funeral of my own father. Serving as the officiant gave many things on which to focus, and part of me felt like I didn’t get the time to properly grieve, but there in my seat, with my wife by my side, I broke down and felt healing wash over me. I really appreciated Mr. Mylett.

Nick Vujicic spoke next, and he was probably the closest to the Life Surge message of any of the main speakers. Mr. Vujicic was born with no arms or legs and I consider him to be one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever seen. I would’ve preferred a more inspirational message from him as opposed to the more business focused message he gave. Next up was Jeff Foxworthy. who is one of the funniest people I have ever seen. I thoroughly enjoyed his down to earth approach and the unashamed way he incorporated his faith into the hilarity. Again, he alone was worth the price of admission.

Tim Tebow

The best, most Gospel centered message of the day was from Tim Tebow. Lately on the socials, he has received a fair (or rather unfair) amount of criticism for his involvement with Life Surge. This young man has done so much good in our world. His efforts on behalf of people with developmental difficulties, his work against human trafficking, and more, show him to be what he is, an exemplary human being who loves Jesus. I question why it seems like he alone is being targeted. Honestly, if you would put me on a microphone in front of thousands of people, and say tell them about Jesus, it would feel almost irresponsible not to. I applaud him for distancing himself from Life Surge until he can investigate further, but the effort to cancel this man is not wise. He has so much good left to do.

At the End of the Day…

At the arena, they had Life Surge logos on all the walls, and my artist brain was taking over. There was something in the typography that was bothersome, and it made the words run together in my mind until Life Surge became Life’s Urge, and I think that was the issue.

What Is Your LIfe’s Urge?

What are we looking for? I saw $16 for all those speakers as a great opportunity to hear some really great messages at a reasonable price, and in spite of the pitches, I was not disappointed. On the other hand, I knew to get that many quality speakers in an arena costs some serious money. I knew if the price was that low, there was going to be a tradeoff. Something had to pay the bills and so there was the pitch. I had the choice as to whether or not I was buying what they were selling. Their pitch felt little too “get rich quick” and that’s not my Life’s Urge, so I didn’t sign up.

Dad Was Right and So is Father,

Dad was right. If sounds too good to be true, it probably is. What would I say to Life Surge? What you do in the name of Christ, had better line up with Christ and if it doesn’t, you need to repent. If the practices you’re accused of are actually what you’re doing, stop it! Have Dave Ramsey look at your tactics if you’re not sure. I’m reminded of 1 Corinthians 11:31. “But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.” But to anyone thinking of attending a Life Surge event, I would say this. Use discernment in any business dealing. A Christian label doesn’t always reflect Christian values. Matthew 7:21-23 comes to mind. And finally Matthew 10:16. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

In other words, use your head!

Creative Arts Ministry

About Dave Weiss

Dave Weiss is a pastor and a traveling speaker. He has written and/or illustrated many self-published books and has his MDIV and DMIN, both with a concentration in Creative Arts Ministry. He is married to his wife Dawn and has two adult sons and a grandson named David. You can see more about his ministry at AMOKArts.com You can read more about the author here.

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