Worship and Justice (w/ Paul Ramey)

In this episode, Craig & Nikki are joined by Katie Iles, Associate Pastor at Journey UC in Adelaide and a keynote speaker for Hello Clarity - a social research company specialising in generational change, demographics and social trends. Katie recently toured Australia with Mark Sayers presenting a bunch of the latest Barna research on generational change in the Church. It’s gooooood stuff. 

In this conversation, Katie talks about the current relationship between the church and secular society, the state of 'Brand Church' and the unique opportunity artisans have to change the pervading narrative. The stats she shares here are fascinating, and lay the foundation for a discussion about why musicians, poets and creatives still have a voice in the public square.

We'd love to hear your thoughts so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

Reach out to us on social media:

@craighindman
@nikkifletcher

Nikki and Craig start season 2 with a very open and raw conversation around trust issues within global church life and leadership. They invited Adrian in as a guest for this conversation. The first half of the conversation is spent asking some hard questions, and the second half discussing answers.

They discuss a recent Instagram post from Nikki that sparked some controversy but also started an interesting conversation both online and offline. They talk about the context behind the post and step back to consider the bigger picture and the issues at heart.

Some questions raised in this conversation are - What is the impact of celebrity-driven pop-culture within the modern-day church? How have recent revelations of Ravi Zacharias, Carl Lentz and other celebrity Christian leaders impacted our trust in the church and outside the church? Do we have trust issues? Have we created a culture of being Christian consumers rather than disciples accountable in real relationships? What is God is saying to us through this moment?  What we can do to rebuild trust in our own hearts, but also with people who don't trust the church? 

Do we need to repent? Do we need to forgive? Do we need a big dose of humility? They reflect on key stories in the bible that speak into what the church should be known for and how we might see revival in our hearts and in our communities.

They talk through expectations, processing pain, and letting the joy of our salvation being restored.

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

In this episode Nikki and Craig discuss the issue of identity and what the identity of a Christian, a worshiper and a leader should be built on.

They converse over all the copious ‘identities’ the world offers and encroaches on the emerging generation. They also talk through Christian culture and how that shapes our identity. Nikki talks about how easy it is in the church to build our identity on culture rather than Christ.

They both look at key scriptures that have framed their identity over the years, as well as asking the question of whether it is possible to lead our corporate contexts with any authority or freedom if we have not developed our character and identity in Christ privately and consistently... 

Nikki and Craig intend on unpacking the specific outworkings of the cultural identity crisis and how that relates to worship leading, in following episodes. This conversation is a general preface of why we believe our identity should first be founded in Christ. 

You can find the mentioned podcast episode with about culture and identity with Tim Keller here - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/carey-nieuwhof-leadership-podcast-lead-like-never-before/id912753163?i=1000474312976

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

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In this episode we are joined by our good friend Tom Read from St Aldates Church in Oxford as we respond to some listener questions about the homogenisation of worship music in the western church. So much of the CCLI Top 50 is dominated by just a handful of songwriters and the number of Churches represented could be counted on one hand.

Is this good for the Church?

If the theology of the church is carried in the songs of the church - how are we shaping our congregations by blindly singing songs that undermine or challenge our understanding of the Gospel.

Is it ok to sing theologically sound songs from churches who's theology is unorthodox at best and heretical at worst?

Listeners have been asking questions like - Should we boycott Bethel Music?? Why are we all singing Elevation songs about warfare and battles? Why are local church songwriters so scared of writing songs for their local congregations and why do Pastors often insist on churches singing the same songs as every other church?

This episode tackles many of these questions and more.

In this episode we take modern worship songs to task and encourage worship leaders to be diligent in evaluating the lyrics they are singing in the context of gathered worship.

What's the responsibility of a Worship Leader when it comes to choosing songs for worship?
Should we be singing battle songs in church?
Is Jesus our lover?
Is God's love reckless?
Should we sing about evolution?
Is it ok to welcome the Holy Spirit in church?
Have we ever felt God has let us down?
Does God ever stop working? Apparently not!
Do we need a Doctorate in Theology to choose worship songs?
What is our pastoral responsibility to our congregations when choosing songs?
Was Christ's death on the cross a triumph or a tragedy?

This episode definitely tackles some hard questions!!

Songs that get a mention in this episode include:

See A Victory
Reckless Love
So Will I
King of My Heart
No Longer Slaves
It Is Well
Here For You
Blessed Be Your Name
Spirit Break Out
Set a Fire
Waymaker
How Great is Our God
The Blessing
Fight My Battles

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

Sure - things look a whole lot different now - but the principles of leading your church in gathered worship haven't changed much.

So how do we lead the gathered church in God-honouring, Christ-centred, spirit-filled worship? Great question! And thanks for asking...

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

In this pre-COVID conversation recorded in March of 2020, Nikki and Craig try to demystify the often confusing, misunderstood area of Spirit-led worship. As many churches around the world begin to gather for worship again, we believe this is an important conversation.

In this episode we discuss some of the theology of Spirit-led worship, and the practicalities of what it looks like both personally and corporately. Craig shares a little bit of the journey leading his church family into moments of 'free worship' and Nikki shares about how she hears from God both in the planning and in the leading.

We hope there's something in this episode for everyone - from seasoned charismatics to our more conservative listeners who are exploring and asking questions about the role of the Holy Spirit in our corporate expressions of worship.

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

If you would like to study worship leading in more depth check out The Worship Academy, a training school led by Craig for Worship Leaders looking for practical training with formal Diploma level qualifications.

In this episode Nikki and Craig chat with guest Paul Ramey of Compassion International about Worship & Justice and why we should care.

Paul Ramey shares his story of being a Worship Leader and Worship Pastor for two decades and then transitioning into working for Compassion International.

Paul talks about his years as a worship pastor and the abstraction between vertical worship and horizontal worship. After a trip to El Salvador he went through a process of repentance and learning that the horizontal (our justice towards each other) is not seperate from our vertical worship.

Nikki asks whether caring about Justice should be central to every one of us, especially worship leaders and if so, where do we start?

Paul talks about our worship being completely incomplete if we don't truly care for justice, and he takes us through scriptures (Isaiah 1:10-20, Matthew 5, Micah 6:8) that say so.

Paul talks through the difference between support and solidarity. That the church should be political but not partisan and how protests change policy but conversations change community.

Craig asks what it looks like to put theology into action in the western church constructs and how that might inform our gatherings and services.

First things first we need to pray - Paul talks about repentance & praying for our churches. We need to ask the question what is political and what is partisan and look at the ministry of Jesus, seeing all our issues through the lens of the gospel and stepping into uneasy and uncomfortable places and conversations to expand church vision into diversity.

Link to Imago Dei talk on Racial injustice and The Church here.

You kind find Paul Ramey here.

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

If you would like to study worship in more depth check out Missional Pathways, a training school led by Craig for Worship Leaders looking for practical training with formal qualifications.

In this episode Nikki and Craig chat with guest Worship Leader Michael Bahn, who is the Worship Pastor at  River Valley Church in Portland, Oregon. In this conversation we talk about reassessing how we've always done things in church life, humility and what it means to walk with Jesus. 

Michael asks us to take the current pause on church services as an opportunity to come before the Lord and listen to what He might be saying before we just jump back in.

We ask the question - What is true humility? And, what is false humility? We talk about how Jesus models humility and how we have had to learn the hard way. We wonder whether worship leaders have learnt to worship on a stage first, with a platform, or in a bedroom pouring out their hearts for God and God alone. 

Michael’s heart for pastoring always seems to lead the conversation back Jesus and how he loved and walked with His disciples even  though they were not the coolest bunch and rough around the edges.

We also talk of personal stories of times of refining and crushing… seasons in the wilderness that deepen our relationship with God.

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

If you would like to study worship in more depth check out Missional Pathways, a training school led by Craig for Worship Leaders looking for practical training with formal qualifications.

In this episode Nikki and Craig interview Worship Leader and Songwriter Paul Baloche. Paul is full of life, energy and literally sings us through his history of worship leading!

Craig asks Paul about his journey as a worship leader from the Keith and Melody Green days, Scripture and Song, Michael W Smith and leading in his local church for 29 years.

Paul talks about the simplicity of the songs in the 90’s, putting a simple melody to a prayer for the church, and how that shaped his songwriting. He talks about how he started out in his journey as an insecure guitar teacher never thinking he would get paid to write songs and how he has been with integrity music for 30 years.

Nikki asks Paul what he thinks has changed in the church over the last 30 years, how worship leading and the ‘industry’ has changed and what we can learn.

Paul reflects on simplicity and spending time alone with the Lord. He emphasises the importance of being committed to his local church which is like a family providing accountability and community.

Craig and Nikki also dive into the songwriting process with Paul, talking about his new album “Behold Him” (written mostly in the elevator shaft of his apartment building in New York) also querying him on how we actually finish those song ideas that are banking up in our voice memos?

You can find Paul’s new album “Behold Him" and teaching resources here -

https://leadworship.com/home/
https://www.youtube.com/user/leadworshipdotcom

We'd love to hear from you so please email us here: podcast@theartofworship.com.au

How can you support our podcast?

1. Apple users, please subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts, we make sure to read them all. Spotify users, be sure to follow our show on Spotify. Followers never miss any of the action 

2. Tell a friend about The Art of Worship Podcast. They will surely thank you later. You can use the envelope button below to email a friend or tell them about it in person.

3. Follow our adventures on our favourite social media platform, Instagram - Nikki Fletcher, Craig Hindman

5. Follow Nikki on Facebook or Website.

6. Share using the buttons below.

If you would like to study worship in more depth check out Missional Pathways, a training school led by Craig for Worship Leaders looking for practical training with formal qualifications.