I remember writing in my journal, ‘I will never be a Christian.'” – Austin French

So fun to welcome Austin French to the podcast. Austin is a worship leader and a new singer/songwriter to the CCM scene. I particularly loved Austin’s story of how he came to faith after being so hurt by the church.

We talk about the new record, leading worship, songwriting, and more.

Enjoy!

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Show Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by the Pads Live app from Coresound Pads.

Coresound Pads are my favorite pad loops on the market.  If you’re looking for a way to raise the quality and sound of your worship team, this is probably the easiest way to do that.

And Coresound now has a powerful, easy-to-use pads-player app called PADS LIVE that helps you transform your worship service’s atmosphere INSTANTLY by downloading and playing their top-rated pad loops on the fly from your mobile device.  This is an POWERFUL tool for worship leaders at any-size church.

If you go to PadsLive.com, you can link to download the app for FREE, which also comes with all of Coresound’s Pads in the key of D for free.  You can let the pads loop infinitely, crossfade gently into the next pad or into silence, and build songs & playlists.  And when you’re ready to unlock all 12 keys instead of just the key of D, you can purchase and download those pads directly within the app.

Now the app doesn’t take promo codes, BUT if you buy a Pads Bundle online from Coresound and use the promo code BEYONDSUNDAY, you’ll get an additional 20% off your purchase.  And your online purchase WILL unlock those very same pads within the app, as well as let you download the 20-minute MP3s to use the pads elsewhere.

In This Episode You’ll Hear More About:

• What recovery can teach us about worship
• Austin’s new record
• Songwriting and the power of collaboration
• Leading worship

Resources Mentioned:

• Show Sponsor: Coresound Pads
• Music: Wide Open by Austin French

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Question: What was your biggest takeaway from this interview with Austin? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]

Music Theory. Those two words either fill you with complete dread or tremendous gratefulness.

I used to hate theory. When I was younger, I just wanted to play “music.” I didn’t have time to waste on chord diagrams, treble clefs, and dotted eighth notes. I wanted to be creative – to play music as I felt it.

I didn’t realize how misled I was.

Music theory builds your creative intuition. Without it, you have no language to work from. It’s like being in a foreign country and not having the ability to communicate. The more you know the “rules,” the more understanding you’ll have when you want to break them.

But I can understand the intimidation. I studied music in college and took 16 credits of Theory I, Theory II, Theory III, and Theory IV. Most of you probably don’t want to sign up for that. So the question begs to be asked: “What do you need to know in order to succeed as a worship leader? What theory knowledge will help me lead my team and my church better?”

[Read more…]

As I look back on the people who had the most influence on my life, it was because of they’re vulnerability.

They were willing to open up their life in a way that helped me see inside my own. Sure, they had a strong relationship with Jesus. But they didn’t just talk about it. They understood grace. They lived through eyes of compassion.

It’s one thing to be talented. It’s another to have a long list of skills. But it’s another level of influence to be emotionally healthy.

[Read more…]

Have you ever worked with someone you couldn’t stand?

If so, you probably wouldn’t consider that situation paradise. I’m sure it was character building, but not a place you want to invest yourself, long term.

In the ministry world, there’s probably no more tumultuous relationship than a Lead Pastor and a Worship Pastor. There’s more misunderstanding on both sides of this equation than in any other role in the church. But when these two leaders are in unity, respecting what each other provides, there’s no stopping what God can do.

[Read more…]

For those of us who have been leading worship for quite a while, it’s healthy to look back and see what we are leaving in our wake.

Because there’s a generation behind us that is observing, learning, and picking up what we’re putting down.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been immersed in many viewpoints when it comes to corporate worship:

• It’s all about flow.
• It’s about structure.
• It’s about excellence.
• It’s about the Spirit.
• It’s about good songs.
• It’s about spontaneous songs.
• It’s not about songs.
• It’s about trendy.
• It’s about hymns.

At one point we were all concerned if clicks and loops would hinder the moving of the Spirit.

I don’t think we’re in danger of not using enough click tracks and loops. The danger now is an over-dependence on them. It’s too easy for us to pull off songs with tight execution and call it done.

[Read more…]