Song Revolution with John Chisum

In our NCS Pro Song Mastery Course, I teach songwriters that you have a lot more control over your innate creativity than you might think. With the right skills, you can begin to spot ideas so quickly and easily that your title list will be brimming with song ideas queuing up and screaming to be written. If you're ready to take the next step in your songwriting career, hop on the phone with us for...

I have personally spoken with over 800 aspiring songwriters in the last 24 months about what we're doing here at Nashville Christian Songwriters. Almost without fail every one of them has said the same three phrases to me during the course of our calls: "I just want to get my songs out there." "I just want to be heard." "I just know God has something bigger for me and my music." You've probably sa...

John Marc Kohl is a worship leader, and a singer/songwriter dedicated to glorifying God through creativity. From being on staff at a few churches, to supporting other artists and ministries, John Marc has always loved to lead others to connect with Jesus through worship. As a result of releasing music in different genres, he also realizes the need for worship music to be as creative and as beautif...

Where do great song ideas come from? Are they crouching behind bushes just out of sight like crafty little leprechauns or hidden under rocks like salamanders waiting for you to turn them over to discover them buried there? Actually, neither is the case. While it may seem like song ideas are deliberately hiding from you, they're actually happening around (and within) you every day, all day long, 36...

We're all busy. There's hardly time to do all that must be done for work, school, and family, much less cram in songwriting, no matter how called you feel as a Christian songwriter. If you're ready to take the next step in your songwriting career, hop on the phone with us for a free no-hassle breakthrough call and we'll point you in the right direction. Maybe NCS coaching is your next "right" step...

A former children's pastor and youth leader, Sean and his family relocated in 2021 from Denver to the Nashville Suburb of Franklin, TN, where he has been called to create great Christ-centered music, and through this, continue his mission to inspire the next generation to find their identity in who God knows they can be. In this episode, John and Sean talk about Sean's interesting last name, the i...

Aaron Williams is an acclaimed worship leader and songwriter who is seeking to write lyrically rich and musically compelling songs to help the Church voice its worship. He also has a passion for training and mentoring worship leaders and teams with Shane & Shane's Dallas-based Worship Initiative. In this episode, John and Aaron talk about Aaron's journey and his sense of worship, which you can get...

Even though they come from different backgrounds, Jason Clayborn and Stephen McWhirter found their love for Jesus and their love for Christian music as common ground for them to come together, especially at a time when there is racial turmoil in the US and across the world. When they came together from two very different church music cultures (gospel and worship), what came out was something creat...

Have you ever wondered why you do what you do? Or maybe even felt like giving up along the way. Our guest today is a songwriter and worship music producer with a story that you can relate to. Living in Franklin, TN, Sam has been involved in the Christian Music industry in various ways including as a touring musician, signed artist, and worship pastor. Sam is passionate about spending his life serv...

Kevin McNeese is the founder of New Release Today - the largest Christian music and entertainment site online with over 300,000 visitors every month. Whether you're an independent or an already-established artist,  you're going to be found on NRT. In this episode of Song Revolution, John Chisum and Kevin McNeese dive deep as they talk about the genesis of NRT (New Release Today) and Kevin also sha...

Death Row inmates are among some of the most forgotten populations in our society, but not for "The Shack" author, Wm. Paul Young, and his friend, Wes Yoder. Paul and Wes have been spending a lot of time doing what Jesus said in Matthew 25, "I was in prison and you came to visit me," spending time with a group of Jesus' followers on Death Row in a Nashville prison. Young, whose book "The Shack" ha...

The Wood Drake Sessions creates sacred songs of gospel hope to inspire the church in enjoying God. Founded by Kirk Sauers & Paul Ranheim, friends from earlier days in Nashville, TN, bringing their many years of songwriting and church leadership, they create songs of profound hope. Paul is a minister and songwriter in Colorado, with a particular heart for resourcing the church's worship and cultiva...

Sarah Hart is an award-winning songwriter whose songs have been recorded by everyone from the Newsboys to Amy Grant. Grant's recording of "Better Than a Hallelujah" earned Hart a Best Gospel Song Grammy nomination. Sarah works as a singer-songwriter writing music for television, film, audiobooks, pop, rock, but mostly Contemporary Christian music and hymns. She has recently recorded her 11th full-...

Jason Gray, an American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, returns to the Song Revolution Podcast, almost four years since he first came on the show! Jason was born and raised in Southwestern Minnesota where he spent six years in youth ministry, before going into full-time music ministry in 1999 as an independent artist. He lived in the Mankato area until his move to Nashville in 2015. Gray...

Chad Segura, VP of Publishing for Centricity Music, returns to the Song Revolution Podcast! Chad has worked closely with some of the greatest singers and songwriters of our time like Lauren Daigle, Coby James, Brandon Heath, Jason Gray, and many more on the Centricity Music label. On today's episode, Chad and John talk about the importance of melody, the many ways of experiencing art, and why 'Die...

Joe Wadsworth is the founder of The Online Recording Studio, a one-stop-shop for professional music production services. On today's episode, John figures out what Mark Zuckerberg and Joe Wadsworth have in common. They even discuss their shared admiration for Harry Styles. Joe talks about the various roles an artist of today's generation has to fulfill. He then shares the process that The Online Re...

Coby James is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and part of one of Nashville's most successful record labels, Centricity Music. On today's episode, Coby and John talk about Coby's relatively young but amazing career. They discuss Coby's favorite superheroes, both in real life and in the Marvel Comics universe. Coby shares his biggest influences from the world of music. John asks about the uncertain...

Brian Doerksen is a songwriter, recording artist, conference speaker, and songwriting instructor, but most of all he loves spending time with his high-school sweetheart Joyce (they have been married for 36 years.) Brian & Joyce have 4 daughters and 2 sons with Fragile X Syndrome. His songs are known and sung in faith communities around the world including 'Come now is the time to worship', 'Refine...

Elias Elton Dummer is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and writer based in Tennessee. He was the principal songwriter, founding member, lead singer, and pianist in the contemporary Christian band the City Harmonic, from 2009 until 2017, and released his first solo music in over a decade in 2019. On today's episode, Elias and John talk about several topics, all the way from social media to Dr. Mart...

Hey everybody. Welcome to Season Two of Song Revolution. It's amazing to look back on Season One and realize that we released 150 episodes and had over 140,000 downloads so far. It blows me away.   I'm so grateful for all of our guests and I hope that you've been able to catch my interviews with artists like Matt Maher, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Matthew West Kim Walker-Smith, and Meredith Andrews, a...

If you know rock and roll, you know NEEDTOBREATHE. Hailing from Possum Kingdom, SC, this trio of hard rocking musicians have been at it for two decades and counting, straddling Christian and mainstream charts with their own blend of Gospel, roots, and pop.  Show host, John Chisum, sat down recently with the band's founder and frontman, Bear Rinehart, not long after the birth of Bear's third child,...

Meredith Andrews sang her first song on stage at age six. Since that time, she has helped define an entire worship movement and become a much-loved CCM Artist with hits like "Not for a Moment" and "How Great Is the Love."  Meredith is a multiple Dove Award winner and has led worship in front of tens of thousands across the world, but none of this means any more to her than staying close to Jesus a...

It's difficult to believe Kari Jobe's first album containing the now iconic Revelation Song (Riddle) only released in 2009. Kari, one of the most wholesome and loved worship leaders of our time, maintains her childlike perspectives on worship and ministry despite worldwide acclaim, multiple awards, and accolades. Her name, Kari, even means "purity" and pure worship and love for God flow from her i...

Popular worship leader, recording artist, and songwriter Matt Maher is a deep thinker. Once you listen to this heartfelt interview, you'll easily understand where songs like Christ Is Risen, Lord, I Need You, Your Grace Is Enough, and many more have come from in the deep heart of Matt Maher. "I was blown away with my talk with Matt," says show host, John Chisum. "We actually talked a lot longer th...

For pop worship band I AM THEY, believing in God's faithfulness is an active exercise in trust. After years of member transition and internal uncertainty with how or even why to move forward, they are leaning on Hebrews 10:23 – "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who is promised is faithful." The band – made up of Matt Hein (vocals, guitar), Abbie Parker, (vocals), Brandon Cha...