The Worship Leader Next Door

This episode was really fun, and that’s because we had an absolute blast sitting down with the guys from Real Fun Records: Chris McClarney and Jesse Phillips, in Franklin, TN.   We cover a LOT of ground and topics in this bonus-length episode, but it all centers around loving people well, the inception and story of RealFun, and how they’re doing things differently in the music and record label ind...

This episode is the continuation of our Episode 4 conversation around church team auditions and new team member integration. In this episode we talk more about navigating the potential “heart vs skill” dilemma, and building/leading a team when your resources are limited. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please feel free to give us a 5-star rating and a great review ;)  It's so helpful in getti...

Being on a worship team is NOT like being a performer on “American Idol” or “The Voice”-- So how do we onboard and integrate new team members? Should we hold auditions? How do we weigh and navigate the differences between heart, spirit, and skill? In this 2-part episode we discuss all of these fun topics. Stay tuned for the 2nd half next week! If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, please feel free to gi...

If you’ve ever been in a season of taking a break, coming back from a break, or just feeling that you might need to “take a break” from leading or serving in the church, this episode is for you.  We discuss the possible trepidation one might feel to come back after a long hiatus, how we can sometimes tie our identity to being “a worship leader”, and what God really wants to produce in us. If you’v...

Continuing our conversation around building healthy community, in this episode we tackle how to deal with, and hopefully be unhindered by the perceptions of others, especially when there are misunderstandings, conflicts, and tensions within the team. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please feel free to give us a 5-star rating and a great review ;) It's so helpful in getting this podcast t...

We. Are. BACK!  We're so excited to have you all join us again for our second season(woopwoop!) and are honored to have a place here in your podcast landscape ;) This episode centers around the importance of cultivating community in your worship-team context.  Is it true that we lead others and one other better if we have established trust within our teams? We think so! Join us for the first...

We all know people can have some strooooong opinions, especially when it comes to spiritual things. How we handle and respond to them is critical, being that humility and kindness are important characteristics of good leadership. In our final episode of the season, we discuss how we might best approach and handle the critiques and opinions of others—solicited or otherwise 😉  Thanks for joining us...

In this episode, we were privileged to get the chance to sit down with Katelyn's dad, Michael, as he looks back on his many years of experience in music and ministry.  We talk about a lot of fun things, but really centered around the important, yet sometimes, challenging process of bringing different generations and styles of music together to build a thriving team.  He had such great stories...

Has the Church forgotten how to value and pursue the presence of God? Have we forgotten what it looks like to just "be" in His presence? In this episode, Kate & Jenna sit down with Jenna's sister-in-law Mandy Davis, to explore this deep well of a topic. Mandy is a many-year-veteran of church ministry in many different forms. She has a heart that is passionate to see believers tr...

In this episode-- the second half of our conversation about songs and their place in our worship gatherings-- we tackle how to navigate/explain potentially confusing terms or concepts in our worship songs, whether or not to support potentially “controversial” songwriters, churches or ministries, and briefly touch on pastor/staff relationships.   Follow us on the socials! https://www.instagram.com/...

Do we need to plan our worship sets in advance? Why is song selection important?  Should we still sing songs by certain “questionable” churches/ministries/artists?   Kate & Jenna tackle these questions and more in this episode full of practical advice.  If you’ve ever wanted an inside-look at the mind of your church worship leader and the songs they’re leading, this episode is for you! Follow...

We are so excited to be joined in this episode by the lovely Stephanie Smith Skipper.  As an artist, Stephanie has seen the ups & downs of the music industry, was featured on NBC's The Voice, but even more than that, she's an anointed worship leader, published author, and all around incredible person. In her book titled, "Thank you for Failing Me", she shares her own incred...

Have you ever struggled with feeling hurt by The Church?   How do you and/or members of your worship team deal with burnout?   Are we deconstructing to reconstruct?   In this episode, we revisit some moments of pain and burnout from our own lives, the lessons we learned from it, and some sage advice we’ve received from others on how to avoid it.  There's so much nuance to this topic & we...

Our follow-up episode on comparison and humility. Kate & Jenna share a few more stories of struggles with comparison, how judging a book by its cover can be a mistake, and offer encouragement in trusting God with your story. Follow us on the socials! https://www.instagram.com/thewlndpodcast?igsh=dTFzNnczNW5uaGk2&utm_source=qr If you like us, please feel free to give us a 5-star rating and...

Let’s be honest– we’ve probably all dealt with falling into the comparison trap. In this episode, Jenna & Katelyn share some personal stories of struggling with comparison, how to deal with competition in worship teams, and how to truly trust God with your own “promotion” while watching others achieve their dreams. Follow us on the socials! https://www.instagram.com/thewlndpodcast?igsh=dTFzNnc...

Welcome to The Worship Leader Next Door Podcast! In this, our "pilot" episode, we(Katelyn & Jenna) sit down to share our individual stories-- from growing up in the church to becoming worship leaders and our different journeys to calling Nashville home.  Join us as we set the table for what this podcast will offer you:  encouragement, authenticity, and real life stories to remind you...