Massive talent. Bright lights. Incredible band. Emotional performances.

From the outside it seems that worship leaders are no different than your every day rockstars.

But is there something that should set us apart? That’s what I dive into with Stephen Miller, author of the wonderful book Worship Leaders We Are Not Rockstars. Stephen is a worship pastor at The Journey in St Louis, as well as a songwriter, artist, and author.

If you leave a comment, you may be a lucky winner of Stephen’s book as he’s graciously agreed to give away 5 copies.

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I’m no prophet, but as far as I can see, the electric isn’t going away anytime soon.

For decades upon decades it has melted a few faces and made glad the heart of man. In all seriousness, the electric guitar is such a powerful instrument, but do you know how to harness it to its full effectiveness?

That’s where James Duke comes in. James is a touring/session guitarist who’s played for the likes of John Mark McMillan, Morningstar, Jason Upton, Matt Redman, among others. He’s also the mastermind behind his band, All the Bright Lights.

In this interview we discuss all things electric guitar – how James has developed his tone, how he writes parts, how to build a pedalboard on a budget, and much more.

Let’s geek out.

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If you’re a human and you’re a songwriter, you’ve been there before.

You’ve been to that place where you want to throw in the towel – where you feel your work is awful and not worth anyone’s ears. You’ve been to that place where ideas happen, but finishing seems foreign. It seems impossible to call a song “done”.

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It’s not every day that you have a conversation with a legend.

To say that Bill & Gloria Gaither are prolific songwriters is an understatement. I was so privileged to have a conversation with Gloria a couple weeks ago.

Our conversation went in so many beautiful directions – from talking about the humble origins of Gaither Homecoming to the creative process to raising kids to learning a foreign language to leading worship in a multi generational church.

I hope you enjoy the interview! Please come say “hi” in the comments afterwards!

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Wouldn’t it be awesome to have a worship team where little or no complaining happens?

Where your band shows up fully prepared and fully responsible?

This has less to do with the quality of your players and more with how you manage your energy as a leader.

You have the power to unleash the full creative potential of your team, or the power to completely squash it.

Don’t you love leadership?

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