Theology of Music

I got to sit down with a good friend and colleague, David Morton, who is the Pastor of Worship and Discipleship at Rileyville Baptist Church, Rileyville, VA. David is extremely well-read, and through it all, the Lord has given him a pastor's heart that truly desires corporate worship to be a practice of spiritual formation. Even though this podcast is titled The Theology of Music, I don'...

I’ve been looking forward to this episode for a while now. I’ve been following Mike O’Brien with Three Streams Worship Training on Instagram for a few years, and I’ve always appreciated his biblical and practical advice for worship leaders. In our conversation, Mike and I discuss some of the finer details of leading worship, especially the importance of understanding the context in which we lead,...

I always love having Dr. Ryan with The Church Collective on the podcast. I appreciate the fact that he’s a deep thinker but doesn’t take himself too seriously. We both come to the table with a lot of ground under our feet while realizing we don’t have all the answers and still need to grow spiritually and vocationally. In this month’s conversation with  Dr. Ryan, we explore the multifaceted role o...

I’m really excited for you to listen to this month’s episode of the podcast. I’ve been trying to get Jon on since June, and we were finally able to coordinate our schedules this month. As we were talking, I kept thinking that it was so worth the wait! If you’re a worship leader, let me encourage you to follow @jonmthurlow on Instagram. Jon is a worship pastor whose posts always remind worship lead...

In this conversation, Keith emphasizes the importance of authenticity in worship leadership, the need for discipleship within worship teams, and the balance between talent and spiritual calling. Keith discusses how his personal journey has shaped his approach to ministry, highlighting the significance of focusing on Jesus rather than image, and the importance of creating a healthy worship environm...

This month’s episode is a conversation I had with Adam Stinespring, worship leader, realtor, and designer of CreativeWorshipFlow.com, a worship planning tool using AI to assist worship leaders in putting together intentional times of worship for their congregations. I’ve known Adam for about 7 years, first as a music and worship student at Liberty University. A few months ago, Adam contacted me wa...

As I was finishing up my doctoral studies in worship a couple of years ago, I came across a book called “The Greatest Worship Leader,” by author and worship pastor at Mercy Hill Church in North Carolina, Jon Azzarello.  I loved the book so much that I began to follow Jon on Instagram. His carousels with tidbits of encouragement for worship leaders were both encouraging and challenging. When he rea...

This month’s episode is a conversation I had with Dalton Shaffer, Music Ministry and Liturgy Director at Candeo church in Cedar Falls, Iowa. I’ve followed Dalton for a while on Instagram, and his inspiration for worship leaders is always ROCK solid. A few weeks ago, he had a post titled “Stop Singing this song in your church,” and it got my attention. But this wasn’t just clickbait bashing mega ch...

My guest on this month’s episode is an experienced worship pastor, educator, and songwriter who has provided oversight to one of the largest multi-campus churches in Virginia. I knew I wanted to pull from his expertise and finally got a chance to talk with Canadian native, Travis Doucette, the creator of a brand new training resource for worship leaders… myworshiptrainer.com.  Check it out! I’ve k...

My guest on this month’s episode is an experienced worship pastor, educator, and songwriter who has provided oversight to one of the largest multi-campus churches in Virginia. I knew I wanted to pull from his expertise and finally got a chance to talk with Canadian native, Travis Doucette, the creator of a brand new training resource for worship leaders… myworshiptrainer.com.  Check it out! I’ve k...

My guest on this month's episode was long overdue! I got a chance to talk with Dr. Ryan Loche, the co-founder of The Church Collective https://www.instagram.com/thechurchcollective/ . If you’re unfamiliar with this non-profit that encourages and resources worship leaders, you need to check it out on Instagram. I’ve known Dr. Loche for about 10 years, and he’s the real deal. He has served as a...

Colossians 3:16 not only guides the Church in WHY we should sing but WHAT we should be singing and WHY we should be singing it.

On this month’s episode, I bring back former guest, Justin Kintzel. While I’ve known Justin for a while through our connections at Liberty University and a quick coffee shop chat a couple of years ago, this will be my first time interviewing him. Justin has written several songs for corporate worship and currently serves as the worship pastor of Grace Church in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  He a...

Joel and I discuss giving our congregations more than just a musically emotional experience but facilitating opportunities for them to both proclaim and ingest lasting Truth. Such a rich episode!

This is part 2 of my conversation with Brett Perkins, worship pastor at The Journey Church in Lebanon, TN. In this episode, Brett shares how they choose songs for corporate worship and even some of the things Journey Worship Co. processes as they write songs for the Church. So good!

My conversation with Brett wasn't planned but it was SO good I had to hit record. In this episode, we discuss God's leading and how we discern the motivation behind stepping into opportunities the Lord places before us as those who lead people in musical corporate worship.  

A great conversation with Pastor Kevin Haglund on his research regarding the role of emotions in corporate worship.  

Welcome or welcome back!  My name is Cliff, and I'm the new Theology of Music podcast host.  I'm excited to get to know you as we have discussions around the theology of the music we use in corporate worship settings.  Dr. Miller and I will discuss corporate worship's vertical and horizontal aspects in this episode.  

In this episode, Joel discusses the good and bad trends within the reformed and more charismatic churches. Additionally, Joel gives his last encouragement and exhortation to the listeners of this podcast.  Joel's IG: https://www.instagram.com/joelconwell/ Joel's FB: https://www.facebook.com/joel.arcieri/ Band FB: https://www.facebook.com/thegracecollective757 Band IG: https://www.instagr...

In this episode, Joel touches on a hot topic this year - whether churches should cancel services when Christmas falls on Sunday and how the song "Joy to the World" can inform our decisions. 

In this episode, Joel lists the reasons why the podcast is coming to an end and what the last few weeks will look like. 

In the last guest episode of the year, Joel sits down with Singer-Songwriter, Jackie Minton, to discuss how God continually utilized a certain Scripture to call her to make big leaps of faith and trust in His provision as well as the story behind her new song "Wherever I Go."

In this episode, Joel sits down with Daniel Mulkey to talk about what it was like trusting God during a season of unemployment, serving in the church without agenda, and how our wives told us when they were pregnant again!

In this episode, Joel sits down with Anna Smith who is the daughter of World-famous Christian Artist, Michael W Smith. In this episode, Joel and Anna talk about what it's like growing up with a famous dad, being jaded by hypocrisy in the Church, and how she found healing after a terrible divorce through writing plays.

In this episode, Joel sits down with another fantastic worship leader and songwriter, Mitch Langley. They talk all about how God can use even the most wayward of sinners and bring them to a place where He uses them to spread His name.