Worship Podcast & Blog
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It’s tough to be a music lover and not know about Hillsong United. Their new album, Empires is all over the mainstream charts and causing quite a stir.
Taya Smith is one of the lead voices of United, most known for her voice on the song Oceans. We talk about Empires, her start with music, how she found her way to Hillsong, leading worship, and the upside down nature of the Kingdom of God.
What makes the gathered church different?
Unique? What are our distinctives? From the outside, many of our modern churches don’t look too different than the nightclub down the street. What sets us apart?
It can’t be our musical quality. The world has plenty of that.
It can’t be our production. The world has plenty of that.
It can’t be how much fun we have. The world has more than enough of that.
That’s not to say quality, production, and fun is wrong or unimportant. But it’s not enough to justify church. If all we’re doing is entertaining people with amazing music, flashy production, and good times, we’re not fulfilling our mission as the church. That’s the hard truth.
The argument has been made that the church should be the most creative place on the planet. On one hand, I agree with this. We as Christians should have a massive imagination because of the God we serve. He is beyond glorious. But at the same time it’s not enough.
Is there a way to combine crazy creativity and yet still maintain who we are as the gathered church? An important question to answer.
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The tension of rockstar and pastor is real within the local church. That’s why I love Stephen Miller. He always challenges me to get to the root of what I’m doing as an artist, songwriter, and local church pastor. He’s the real deal.
In this chat we talk about his great new album Liberating King, his book Worship Leaders We Are Not Rockstars, the power of worship songs, rockstar worship leaders, and being a bi vocational worship leader.
I’m probably not the guy to write this post.
I don’t have any hit songs. I’m not famous.
But I am a songwriter. It’s part of what I do and I feel I’m successful at it for reasons that may be different.
Think about it. What defines a songwriter? It’s the writing, right? Songwriters write songs. Some of you just need to embrace that identity even if you feel your songs are terrible. Even if you feel like you’ll never measure up. Even if no one knows who you are.
Guess what? You’re not off the hook.
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I am so excited to introduce you to some new friends of mine from the brand new band, The Bright Expression. I don’t know about you, but I love finding new music. Especially new music that is awesome. You are going to love this.
Not only is the music great, but this conversation was rich and went in a lot of different directions (hence, the long title).
Leigh & Richard Patching and I discuss creating artful music that engages Christians and unbelievers, how to overcome comparing yourself to other musicians, flowing with loop & click, & practical tips for making an independent record.
Enjoy!