#102: This Is Your Brain On Worship: The Science of Significant Ministry [Podcast]

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Today’s episode is a unique conversation. Not with a worship leader…but a senior pastor, Dr. Charles Stone.

But Charles isn’t your typical senior pastor. He has an engineering degree from Georgia Tech, a Masters of Divinity from
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminaro, and a Doctorate of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He’s also completing another masters degree in neuroleadership.

Charles is the author of Brain Savvy Leaders: The Science of Significant Ministry. So I wanted to have Charles on the podcast because I think it’s not only important for us as local church worship leaders to grow asartists and songwriters and musicians…but to become better leaders.

And I don’t believe it’s a healthy diet for worship leaders to only be influenced artists, songwriters, and musicians. We need to grasp the perspective our lead pastors have and Charles and I dive into this topic a bit.

Charles has some fascinating insights into how the brain works and how knowing that will help us lead people better – both our teams and congregations.

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Show Sponsor

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Learn Worship Keys, an online course to help you improvise, innovate, and play worship music on the keys in 3 months or less.

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In this Episode You’ll Hear More About:

• Charles’s journey from Marine Biology to Pastoral ministry.

• The importance of being a lifelong learner.

• Charles journey of raising a daughter with a brain tumor.

• Why knowing how your brain works will make you a better leader in the local church.

• 5 Leadership competencies we learn from the brain (GRAPES):
  • Golden rule your team
  • Reduce ambiguity
  • Allow freedom
  • Promote personal value status
  • Encourage community relatedness
  • Smile a lot

• Why emotional health is important for leaders.

• The significance of mirror neurons to leadership.

• Insights into personal productivity (OAR)
  • Optimization (mental load and brain space)
  • Attention (focus and inhibiting distractions)
  • Reflection (mindful awareness)

• Why exercise is the most important activity to keep your brain healthy.

• Why sleep is important to the health of our brain.

• Brain insights that help us connect with our congregations as worship leaders.

• The power of music

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Show Sponsor: Learn Worship Keys

• Website: Charles Stone

• Book: Brain Savvy Leaders: The Science of Significant Ministry by Charles Stone

• Book: Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work by Liz Wiseman

• Book: Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long by David Rock

• Book: This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J Levitin

• Twitter: Charles Stone

Thanks For Listening!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post. So helpful!

If you have an idea for a podcast you would like to see, a special guest you’d like to hear from, or a question for an upcoming episode, please email me. If you enjoyed the show, I would be so appreciative if you would rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That helps me so much! Thanks.

And thanks to Charles for sharing with us!

Question: What’s your biggest takeaway from this interview with Charles Stone? Always love to hear from you! You can leave a comment by clicking here.