Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast

#56: Chris Brown on Elevation Worship, Intentional Songwriting, & Serving Your Pastor’s Vision

NIWA-recording_600If there’s anyone creating an exciting worship team culture, it’s Elevation Worship.

For the last few years, they’ve pushed themselves in a lot of creative directions and have gotten behind the vision of Pastor Steven Furtick.

I had the honor of chatting with Chris Brown, one of the main worship leaders at Elevation. We discuss all things Elevation, songwriting, working with your lead pastor, and making disciples – all things I’m super passionate about.

I know you’ll glean some insights here:

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3 Steps To Leading The Most Incredible Worship Service Ever

5906683035_254381ce76_z“Wow, that worship service was amazing.”

It’s a phrase we all hear, all the time. Whether you’re leaving the arena after a Jesus Culture concert or driving to the buffet after Sunday’s worship, we’ve all said it.

But what is it, I wonder, that constitutes “incredible” worship? Because you may be reading this article and thinking, “My church’s worship is far from great. Matter of fact, it’s terrible.”

Oftentimes, our judgement of a worship service comes down to how it makes us feel. If it was charged with emotion, we like it. If the band has it together, we like it. If it’s not so loud that our ear drums hurt, we like it. If they sang “Oceans”, we like it.

That’s also what scares me about our modern worship culture. We attend concerts, idolize artists, and chase experiences because of how they make us feel.

But it can leave us discontented with the local church God has called us to and distract us from asking the most important question of all.

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#55: Steffany Gretzinger On God’s Presence, Leading Yourself in Worship, & The New Album [Podcast]

hero-mobileWorship isn’t a job. It’s not a skill, a craft, or a career.

Worship is a life in pursuit of Jesus. And that’s what I talked about with Steffany Gretzinger from Bethel Music.

Steffany is an incredible artist, songwriter, and worshiper who has just released her first album, The Undoing.

What I love about Steffany is how she is completely dialed in to the heart of her music. It’s not just about the business. She loves Jesus and wants others to experience his presence.

Don’t miss our conversation!

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Awkward Worship Leading (And How to Avoid it)

2743081060_60ae839a48_zCorporate worship can have its awkward moments.

  • Worship leaders can say “crap” instead of “clap”.
  • Capos might be on the wrong fret.
  • Nobody may know any of the songs
  • The worship leader “talk” might not make any sense

(Of course, none of this has happened to me).

The more I lead, the more I realize that a good leader works hard to avoid awkwardness.

That’s why they are a leader. Good worship leaders minimize distraction, focus attention on Jesus, and get out of the way when that starts to happen.

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#54: Michael Neale On Creativity, The Local Church, Entrepreneurship, & Finishing Your Art [Podcast]

MichaelNeale-ABOUTUS-2If you’re creative, there’s a tension you walk every day.

“How am I supposed to get all my ideas…done?” It’s challenging to balance a busy life with big dreams.

That’s why I wanted to chat with Michael Neale. Michael is a worship leader, bestselling author, award winning songwriter, speaker, and entrepreneur.

In this interview we cover a lot of ground – from being a creative in the local church to songwriting to worship leading to making your entrepreneurial vision happen. Guys, this is really valuable content.

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