Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast & Blog

#81: Matt Maher On The Movement Of Jesus, Creative Limits In Our Gatherings, & A History Of Christian Worship [Podcast]

Matt-Maher

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Ever get frustrated by how simple worship music is?

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing. And is it possible to be too creative in our corporate gatherings? This and so much more is covered in my conversation with Matt Maher. He has tons of wise, enlightening, practical advice to share with us today. His new album Saints & Sinners has just released and is amazing.

I’ve been wanting to talk with Matt for some time now. I love the depth of his songwriting and his heart for unity across denominational lines (he is Catholic). I love podcast interviews that veer off the page and take some interesting turns.

This isn’t to be missed!

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Show Sponsor

This podcast is brought to you by MultiTracks. MultiTracks is my go to spot for creating CustomMixes for my worship team. I literally use it every single week. The latest CustomMix we used is “Jesus We Love You” from Bethel Music. The georgeous string arrangements add such a fullness to the mix.

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In this Episode You’ll Hear More About:

  • The global, massive movement of Jesus.
  • Why being a nerd is necessary for enjoying life.
  • Matt’s embarrassing moments on stage.
  • Matt’s musical journey through piano lessons, rock & roll, jazz in college, & songwriting.
  • Using already written prayers and using them in your songwriting.
  • Why worship music should be simple and have aesthetic and creative limits.
  • Matt’s catholic faith and what it means to him.
  • Why stained glass windows, incense, and organs have special significance in church.
  • Lighting in churches – why early Christians had to pray in the dark, why cathedrals were built so light would enter, and why most modern churches worship in the dark.
  • Whether our modern church aesthetic choices are helping or hindering us.
  • Why every church and denomination has a liturgy.
  • Why we need to put twice as much energy into praying with people as we do writing music.
  • The prayerlessness of the modern church.
  • The problem with creating services where we communicate to God but don’t hear from Him.
  • What worship songwriters need to focus on.
  • Why worship songs aren’t primarily a theological teaching device.
  • Why How Great is Our God and Oceans are powerful songs.
  • The theme behind Matt’s new album, Saints & Sinners.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

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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 Matt for sharing with us!

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

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Comments

  1. Shawn Stinson says

    Wow. This was great.
    I listened to it while straightening up my office.
    I’m now starting it a second time and am seated and ready to take notes.
    So much good information and insight.
    Thanks for sharing.

  2. Carri says

    He had some good things to say but was vague over some key issues. Why exactly is the song “How great is our God” being sung in many churches today? That wasn’t answered. And just because it may be a popular song on the top hits list, it doesn’t mean by majority vote that it is the kind of song the Church needs today. He under played the DESPERATE need for correct theology in our songs today and for songs that are Gospel centered instead of “me” centered. Our songs need a mix of objective truth and subjective response. But today, we are too heavy on the subjective side in our songs. We need to sing about God and His truths and forget about ourselves. Then maybe we’d see the Church actually start to sing/worship , songs that do not insult their intelligence but actually engage it..

    • David Santistevan says

      Carri – great points. I don’t think Matt would disagree with you. Most of his worship songs are actually very strong theologically and lyrically. His point was that songs weren’t meant to carry that much weight. We can’t rely entirely on songs to get our theological intake. But that doesn’t also negate how important it is to have truth in our songs.

  3. Brandon says

    I’m on my third listening of this podcast. Probably my fav of the this year. So many nuggets and new revelations I get with each listening.

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