Archives for September 2014

Sep 11 2014

#57: How This Couple Wrote & Recorded Their First Worship Album From Scratch [Podcast]

With no label to back them up, and no massive budget to make it happen, Jordan & Kristin Rippy decided to record their first worship album.

Which is exactly why I love this story.

They didn’t wait for permission. They didn’t wait for an angelic visitation. They stepped out in faith and pursued their dream.

The end result?

A really fantastic EP of fresh, well-written, passionately delivered worship songs. Jordan & Kristin have a gift and I’m ecstatic they’re sharing it with the world.

In this podcast, we talk about the heart of the album and the step by step details of how they used Kickstarter, hired a producer, finished their songs, and saw their dream come to pass.

My hope is that this conversation would encourage you in pursuing your creative dream.

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Sep 09 2014

6 Reasons Why Your Musicality Has Stalled (And What To Do About It)

If you’re a musician, you know there’s always room for improvement.

If not, you’re probably the musician no one wants to be around. Because we can all improve.

New experiences, new life lessons, new instruments, and improved technique all serve to keep our musicianship expanding.

The problem with improvement is we feel it needs to take 10,000 hours – years and years before we see much progress. Sure, having years on your side will never hurt.

But more time isn’t the answer. It’s about being intentional in a few important areas where you’ll see the largest growth.

I’m convinced that music should fascinate. If you’re not lost in the beauty, exploring the possibilities of what you can do, you’re missing the point. It’s time to get inspired.

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Sep 04 2014

#56: Chris Brown on Elevation Worship, Intentional Songwriting, & Serving Your Pastor’s Vision

NIWA-recording_600 If there’s anyone creating an exciting worship team culture, it’s Elevation Worship.

For the last few years, they’ve pushed themselves in a lot of creative directions and have gotten behind the vision of Pastor Steven Furtick.

I had the honor of chatting with Chris Brown, one of the main worship leaders at Elevation. We discuss all things Elevation, songwriting, working with your lead pastor, and making disciples – all things I’m super passionate about.

I know you’ll glean some insights here:

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Sep 02 2014

3 Steps To Leading The Most Incredible Worship Service Ever

“Wow, that worship service was amazing.”

It’s a phrase we all hear, all the time. Whether you’re leaving the arena after a Jesus Culture concert or driving to the buffet after Sunday’s worship, we’ve all said it.

But what is it, I wonder, that constitutes “incredible” worship? Because you may be reading this article and thinking, “My church’s worship is far from great. Matter of fact, it’s terrible.”

Oftentimes, our judgement of a worship service comes down to how it makes us feel. If it was charged with emotion, we like it. If the band has it together, we like it. If it’s not so loud that our ear drums hurt, we like it. If they sang “Oceans”, we like it.

That’s also what scares me about our modern worship culture. We attend concerts, idolize artists, and chase experiences because of how they make us feel.

But it can leave us discontented with the local church God has called us to and distract us from asking the most important question of all.

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