Practical Worship Podcast

There's an interesting thing that happens when you teach something, you learn a ton yourself in the process. Jimmy Cooper has been creating YouTube videos for worship ministry leaders under the banner of Hey Worship Leader for the past few years, and in this conversation we talk about some of the things we've learned about being a worship ministry leader by creating content for YouTube and engaging with the people that watch them. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast34.

Singing is a critical part to our role as worship leaders, so the more we can learn how to care for our voice, the more confident we can be in communicating our message. Shelby Rollins has be helping singers as a vocal coach for over 15 years unlock parts of their voice they never knew existed. In this conversation, we talk about vocal techniques to help you sing better, stronger and reduce vocal fatigue. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast33.

Not having enough people to cover all the bases on a Sunday morning is a constant problem for all of us. I've yet to meet a worship pastor that doesn't struggle with finding enough dependable people to play in the worship band and fulfill all the audio/video needs in the tech booth. In this episode, I share all the tricks I've learned over the last 25 years of being involved in music ministry to find people and recruit them to serve in your worship ministry. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast32.

One could say the most important member of the band is the person running sound. They're the ones taking the stage inputs and crafting them into something that is musical and impactful, so how a worship pastor and the audio engineer work together can have a significant impact on the overall effectiveness of the worship band. Jeff Sandstrom has been at the back of the room of some powerful moments and is a great example of thinking like a pastor as a technical artist. In this conversation we talk about everything from making your band sound better to finding volunteers to run sound to building a bridge between the booth and the stage. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast31.

We all want our worship ministries to be a thriving part of the church's mission. What's required to make that happen typically has less to do with Planning Center and gear and more to do with how you as the leader shape the culture of that ministry. How are you pouring into the people you're leading? Drew Powell is the creative pastor at Cross Point Church in the Nashville, Tennessee area, and in this conversation he shares why culture is important and practical ways to lead your team in a healthy way. We also talk about how that carries over into creating a healthy relationship with your senior pastor. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast30.

The leading we do on a Sunday morning is just a small part of the opportunity we have with people. A good part of our effectiveness as worship pastors happens off the stage during the week. Kyle O'Neal is one of the worship pastors at Life.Church, and in our conversation we talk about the importance of investing in the people in your church and how to practically do it. We also discuss how to lead those in your band and running tech to become worshippers who build worshippers. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast29.

This should be a normal podcast episode, but it’s not. The last few weeks in July have been crazy to say the least from having to install a complete AVL system in our newly renovated student area to an unexpected hospital stay. So in this non-episode episode, I share both stories. We only had $10,000 to make all the audio, video and lighting happen in the new space, so I’ll share how we prioritized our money. And I also explain why I was in the hospital and how that is going to affect the podcast, the YouTube channel and my personal life in the coming months. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/nonepisode.

Starting over at a new church can have its own unique set of challenges. It’s something I’ve done recently, and it’s what Delwin Eiland is doing right now. After being the worship pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago for almost eight years, he’s now starting over at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this conversation we talk about figuring out a new church culture, earning trust with your people and finding that balance between not disrupting the identity of the ministry but also beginning to put your own fingerprints on it. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast28.

If you feel like your church worship band sounds a bit mediocore but you don’t know what to tell your musicians to fix it, this episode should help you. Brent Milligan has worked with dozens of bands and played on hundreds of tracks, and in this conversation we talk about how to work with our bands and arrange the songs we play on Sundays. Many times it isn’t a talent issue—even with volunteers. We just need to teach our band members HOW to play together. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast27.

Sometimes worship ministry can feel like professional sports in that if you’re older than 30, you feel like it’s time to retire. What does being a worship pastor in your 40s or 50s look like? Andy Chrisman has been the worship pastor at Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK for over 15 years, and in this conversation we talk about how his stages of leadership have changed over the years, what it looked like for him to grow as a leader and the importance of making space for new leaders to emerge within the ministry. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast26.

The recent events with the COVID-19 pandemic and “shelter at home” orders have forced a new normal for churches to do their worship services online. With a few Sundays under our belt, I hosted a panel discussion of sorts with two other worship pastors—Brett McDonald and Ryland Russell—where I’ve seen their churches doing well navigating this new “normal.” In this conversation we talk about what our services look like online, how they differ from a normal in-person gathering, how we’re leveraging social media, and the mistakes we’ve learned from along the way. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast25.

With the recent pandemic with the COVID-19 virus, self-quarnenjining and social distancing, churches across the United States and beyond are scrambling to figure out how to hold church without actually physically meeting together in one space. We’re having to become experts overnight in the area of live streaming and church online. In this bonus podcast episode, I share all the things I’ve learned over the last few weeks—things that have succeeding and things that have failed—plus a bunch of resources I’ve found along the way. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/covid19.

It’s a story about addiction to redemption, from meth addict to worship leader. Stephen McWhirter has an amazing testimony but even more amazing is how God is using that testimony to mold and shape him into the worship leader he is today. It affects the kinds of songs he writes or how he leads a group in worship, whether that’s a part of Iron Bell Music or now on the road under the name of Stephen McWhirter. In this conversation, we talk about his story, authenticity in worship and the importance of leading people out of the overflow of your private worship. We also talk about songwriting and how songs like God That Saves, Belong To You and his latest song Grave Clothes were written. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast24.

We want people to engage in the worship services at our church and have a real encounter with Jesus, and part of the puzzle is creating moments within our services for that to happen. Kurt Von Eschen is the Experience Leader at Battlecreek Church in Tulsa, OK where he leads the worship, production and creative teams to craft services with intentionally that lead people through a journey. We talk about how to have the end in mind when you’re planning a service. We talk about their process from the moment the senior pastor has a sermon topic idea to the day everything hits the stage, and how to evaluate a service and how to give and receive feedback. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast23.

Spontaneous worship is leaving space within a worship set to move in a direction that wasn’t specifically planned ahead of time, but there is planning that needs to occur in order to do this well. Tommy Iceland is a worship leader and songwriter that has experience leading worship in various countries and venues big and small, and in this conversation he shares how he prepares the worship band to be ready for moments that aren’t necessarily on the script as the Holy Spirit leads. We also talk about what it’s like to write songs with people you’ve looked up to for years but never really met until you sit down to write together. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast22.

The electric guitar has become a dominant instrument in worship music over the last 25 years, and Brian Wahl has been creating YouTube content for guitar players for almost half that time. Being the creator of Worship Tutorials, a worship leader and one of the main electric players at his church, Brian has a lot of wisdom for both the guitarists in a worship band and the worship leader who is working with their electric players. This conversation covers everything from preparing for the weekend, how to play with other guitar players and how to set up your in-ear monitor mix. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast21.

When you work with churches and coach leaders every day, you start to see a pattern of the same issues over and over and over that many leaders seem to struggle with as they build a worship ministry. Jake Gosselin created a company called Churchfront that helps worship pastors lead Gospel centered and tech-savvy worship. In this conversation, Jake talks about the three areas where he see leaders of worship ministries struggle and the advice he gives people every day in his one-on-one coaching calls. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast20.

Every ministry has a culture—how people describe the ministry and what it’s like to be a part of it—and leaders shouldn’t just take a passive approach to the culture of their worship ministry and assume it will all work itself out. John Larson is the worship pastor of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama where they are intentional about the ministry culture of their worship and arts department. In this conversation, John talks about how they define the culture at Highlands, the responsibility of the leader to protect good culture and what to do when culture is unhealthy or there’s conflict among the team that needs to be resolved. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast19.

The relationship between the senior pastor and the worship pastor is a vital one if for no other reason than these two roles work in tandem to create one of the biggest things the church does—the Sunday morning service. It takes both pastors working together to cultivate a healthy relationship which breeds a healthy ministry. So, I want to introduce you to my senior pastor at Cherokee Hills Baptist Church, Mike Keahbone. He shares his wisdom on what it’s like in his shoes as a senior pastor, what a worship pastor needs to know about his senior pastor and how to make this important relationship thrive. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast18.

A service producer may not be one of the first roles you think of when you think of a worship team or a production team, but it can be a vital role that takes weight off of you as the worship pastor and help shepherd the people on your team and to eliminate distractions within a service. Sara Emmerson is currently the Creative Pastor at Soul City Church in Chicago, but her roots in ministry can be traced back to her time as a service producer at Willow Creek Community Church. Her experience as a producer plus her skills as a relational leader are invaluable to anyone leading a worship ministry. Find show notes to the podcast episode at practicalworshipblog.com/podcast17.