Beyond Sunday Worship Leader Podcast

There’s an argument that has gone around for decades and it revolves around the idea of how much worship music do we need? Do we have enough? On the one hand, yes, we have more worship music than we’ll ever be able to use in our Sunday morning services. And there’s also the argument that worship music is the most lucrative music in Christian music. I don’t think that can be debated. So while there are business and industry incentives to make worship music that will always exist at the intersection of Christianity and industry, what is the biblical perspective? What does the Bible teach us about singing, songwriting, and corporate worship? Trip Lee is a hip hop artist, a preacher, a rapper, an author…and he’s released a worship album. I appreciate Trip and his commitment to God’s Word. We talk about the power of worship music, why we need more cultural expressions of it, and how worship music should be viewed as a tool of discipleship. We also talk about culture and Christianity,

If you’re a worship leader, you plan services. It comes with the territory. It’s part of the job. Most of the time, that comes down to picking songs. But what are we missing in our churches when service planning, programming, and worship leading is reduced to merely picking songs? W. David O. Taylor is Associate Professor of Theology & Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary as well as the director of various initiatives in worship, theology and the arts. He teaches courses in systematic theology, art and worship, art and theology, art and beauty, spiritual formation through the psalms, and theology and science fiction. He is the author of the books Glimpses of The New Creation, Prayers for the Pilgrimage, A Body of Praise, Open & Unafraid, as well as the upcoming book To Set the World Aflame: How Artists Bear Witness to the Fullness of God’s Creation. David is a deep well of wisdom when it comes to worship and the arts. What I love about this conversation is he helps us see more e

We are living in interesting times if you’re a Christian in America. Open social media for a second on any given day and you can see outrage on one side and celebration on the other for those who follow Jesus. How are we supposed to navigate times like these? What are we supposed to believe? How are we supposed to think? What should followers of Jesus do in times like this? I don’t have all the answers, but I appreciate bold voices who help us make sense of the chaos. One of those voices is Brittany Packnett Cunningham. Brittany is an activist, an educator, a writer, and a leader who spends her time at the intersection of culture, justice, and policy. She doesn’t just live in the realm of lofty ideas, but is actively working to make life better for the most vulnerable in society. Brittany is also a Christian. In this conversation we talk about her faith journey. We share stories of my journey growing up in white evangelicalism and her first encounter with white evangelicalism.

This is an episode for the ministry underdog. There are some unwritten, unhelpful rules about worship ministry and Christian music that we need to say out loud. You’re too old. Your voice isn’t strong enough. You’re too overweight. Your style isn’t what we’re going for. You can’t be the face of the ministry. Of course, we don’t say these things out loud, most of the time. But it appears that too often our modus operandi is to be attractive and impressive, beautiful. How are we going to sell the most records? Who is going to draw people to our church? The longer we operate with these cultural values, the more we sideline great leaders and harm them in the process. I’m not advocating anyone could be a worship leader. Obviously, there are skill standards. But how far is too far when it comes to talent, image, beauty, and age? At what point have we abandoned kingdom values for profit, power, and influence? Calvin Nowell is my guest today. Calvin is a songwriter, worship leader, and singer who has su

It’s becoming almost a tradition that when I need to talk about something really difficult, I invite David Gate on the Podcast. David is a former worship leader, recording artist turned author who has a keen eye about what is happening in the world. And he’s not afraid to tell it like it is. David wrote an article recently called “The Soundtrack For American Fascism is Worship Music” – I know, pretty intense. But also not entirely hard to believe, if you’re paying attention. In this conversation we talk about it – how worship music can be co-opted to serve anti-Christian political agendas. How easy it is for our Christianity to become enmeshed with our politics to the point where we can’t tell where one begins and the other ends. We look historically at how Hitler co-opted the music of Wagner to serve his political aims. How worship music can be manipulative in healthy and unhealthy ways. We talk about choosing songs and what to do if you’re tired of mainstream, popular worship music. The c

What is the future of worship leading? How important are worship leaders and how will that role continue to develop in the future? No one really knows, but it’s worth reflecting on. My guest today is Martha Munizzi – veteran gospel artist, songwriter, worship leader and co-pastor at epic life church in Orlando. This is an interesting conversation because Martha has the perspective of a worship leader and a pastor. We talk about the tension of excellent worship experiences as it relates to church growth and simple congregational worship where the voice of the people take center stage. Practical ways to do simple worship without losing excellence. We talk about the beauty of gospel music and where it’s headed. How to empower young worship leaders and what the older generation can learn from them. We also hear the story of how Martha brilliantly forced her way onto my podcast. It’s kind of hilarious. Topics Covered: How Martha got started in music Why Martha decided to write and pu

Justice – when you hear that word what do you think of? The word carries some baggage in the church today and has become highly politicized. Too much justice talk and you can be dismissed as Marxist, woke, or a proponent of the “unbiblical” social justice gospel. But if you can remove yourself from cultural baggage, read the Bible with fresh eyes, and look at the life of Jesus, you see justice everywhere. Justice was central to the life and mission of Jesus. And it should be to his followers as well. One of the best books I’ve read on the topic is a new book by Joash Thomas called The Justice of Jesus: Reimagining Your Church’s Life Together to Pursue Liberation And Wholeness. Talking about justice shouldn’t cause us to draw tighter partisan political lines. It should cause us – as Joash says – to be politically agnostic, except on behalf of our marginalized neighbors.  This is an eye-opening conversation. He talk about how colonization has shaped the Western church

One of my goals with this podcast is not simply to talk about the spiritual but also the systemic. One could argue that the two are actually intertwined. Can Christian spirituality thrive in the midst of a toxic system? Is it possible to be formed opposite the ways of Jesus while using the name of […] The post #376: An Honest Look At The Systems That Shape The Church In America with Phillip Joubert appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Topics Covered: Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Planning Center, an all-in-one church management software made to help churches help people. You can organize your ministries and keep everyone on your team communicating and aligned around what’s going on. As a worship leader, good communication is key to building a strong worship […] The post #375: Music & Ministry After Hillsong With Matt Crocker appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Part of my desire with this podcast is to highlight voices – important voices that may not break through into the Christian mainstream, but powerful and necessary voices nonetheless. One of those voices is the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago. Dr Moss is a pastor, author, theologian, […] The post #374: What We Can All Learn From The Theological And Musical Tradition Of The Black Church with Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

What happens when Americans lose faith in their religious institutions – and politicians fill the void? As you study the scope of American history – and church history in America – you see an interesting connection to charisma. Charismatic leaders rise to prominence and galvanize a following. From the puritans and Andrew Jackson to black […] The post #373: How Charisma Has Shaped American History And Church History with Molly Worthen appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

I’ve said for years that being a senior pastor is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Yes, you have the responsibility to shepherd people and preach the Word of God. And when growth comes fast, you are forced to become a CEO of a corporation, in addition to pastoring people. You all […] The post #372: How To Pastor Your Church Through Polarizing Political Times with Pastor Alan Hannah appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Just because something is “Christian” or has the label “Worship” on it does not mean its existence is completely sanctified. The truth is, the church exists in the world and is susceptible to any manner of abuse or dysfunction that any organization is. The same could be said for CCM or worship music. Worship Music […] The post #371: Worship And Songwriting Trends Of The Last 15 Years with Worship Leader Research appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Today’s conversation is with historian, author, and activist Dr. Jemar Tisby. Early in 2025 I decided to read more history. Call it curiosity or wanting more context to our current political moment, I started to devour books about the Civil War and eventually more books about the Civil Rights era. One of those books was […] The post #370: The Truth About The American Church’s Complicity in Racism (And Where We Go From Here) with Jemar Tisby appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Today’s conversation is returning to our roots at BSW – talking with a worship leader about worship. We’ve been talking to academics and historians – which we will continue to do – but sometimes it feels good to throw it back and have a good ole worship leader conversation. Lizzie Morgan is a gifted young […] The post #369: Church Styles, Worship Styles, & Multi-Generational Setlists with Lizzie Morgan appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

As a young worship leader, I used to ask myself the question: “Why is worship such a big deal?” Not in the sense of “God isn’t worthy of it…” but I realized there were no worship leaders in the Bible. Lots of singing. And our church gatherings are built around worship. And there’s a worship […] The post #368: Why The Early Church Didn’t Have Worship Services: A Conversation with Dr. Tom Wadsworth appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Today’s conversation gets a little political. I’m talking with Matthew D. Taylor about his book The Violent Take it By Force: The Christian Movement that is Threatening Our Democracy. That title may sound like an angry rant against anyone who voted for Donald Trump. Some sort of desperate ploy by a Democrat to take a […] The post #367: The Christian Movement That Is Threatening Our Democracy with Matthew D. Taylor appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

On July 25, 2025 Isaac Caree released a podcast interview with Norman Gyamfi. Norman is a music industry executive and part owner of Maverick City Music. Suffice it to say, this conversation created a firestorm of controversy and conversation around Gospel Music, CCM, and the racial tension embedded within the music industry. We know these […] The post #366: The Truth About The Gospel Industry That Is Actually True with Rick Robinson appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Topics Covered: Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: Planning Center My goal in this podcast is to help you grow as a worship leader. Of course that includes your formation, but it isn’t limited to that—it’s also with practical tools to help you in your ministry. It’s hard to talk about being a worship leader without mentioning Planning […] The post #365: Artist Insecurity, Fear, & The Servant-Hearted Worship Leader with Jon Reddick appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.

Today’s conversation is with Pastor and author Brian Zahnd. Brian is the founding and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St Joseph, MO and the author of 11 books. Brian is not my pastor, but he’s one of the voices I look to in this cultural moment. He’s a voice of clarity, sanity, […] The post #364: The Rival Religion of America and A Prophetic Call to Pastors with Brian Zahnd appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.