Holy Week and Easter is exhausting. On this episode, Craig gives you encouragement for the weekend as well as encouragement for next week!
Dr. Sarah Bereza is a church musician, author and researcher. She's written an amazing book for ministers called "Professional Christian" and in this episode, Craig and Sarah discuss the book and how we as ministers can fully be ourselves in the spotlight of public ministry. To find out more about Sarah, go to sarah-bereza.com.
Also, check out the Church Music Makers Patreon and sign up at patreon.com/churchmusicmakers
Dr. Matthew Kaemingk is a public theologian who explores questions facing Christians serving in politics, culture and the marketplace. He teaches ethics and public theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written a book called Work and Worship, which you can find out more about here. It challenges church leaders to consider how we formulate and execute our weekly worship services to encourage workers to go out into the world with their faith and let their lights shine.
You can find out more about Dr. Kaemingk at matthewkaemingk.com
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On January 30th, this opinion by Tish Warren was published in the New York Times. Her opinion is that online worship does not need to continue. While this topic is difficult and challenging, Craig talks about how we as ministers and our churches can navigate this and how to love our neighbor as best as we can.
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Continuing the idea of what is new and next for 2022, Craig talks about what is new for your music ministry? Yes, we're all facing uncertainty, but in a perfect world, what would your ideal music ministry look like? Dream big! Post what you're doing on facebook.com/churchmusicmakers or email churchmusicmakers@gmail.com!
Welcome to 2022! A great opportunity to start fresh and start new. Sooooo......what's new for you? Find out more about Church Music Makers at churchmusicmakers.com
We all have stories. And we connect with stories. So what's yours? Comment with what your story is, or email it to churchmusicmakers@gmail.com
No. It's hard to say sometimes, isn't it? Do we find ourselves saying it more to our family than our ministry? If so, then this episode is for you. Are you feeling exhausted, feel like you're burning the candle at both ends and not making progress? If so, then this episode is for you. Do you feel like you've got it together, you're in a healthy rhythm and balance of personal/family life and ministry? Then you don't need this episode. But saying no to some things means that we can say yes to others. And that's extremely important!
Find out about Easy Choir Music here.
We all have stress. It's part of life, it's part of ministry. How do you respond to it? That's the question Craig unpacks in this episode.
To find out more about Craig and Church Music Makers, go to www.churchmusicmakers.com
Dr. Nathan Myrick is a professor at Mercer University. But he's also a theological ethicist and ethnomusicologist. In this episode, Craig has an opportunity to talk to him about his most recent book "Music for Others: Care, Justice and Relational Ethics in Christian Music". It's a great conversation with lots of unpack!
To find out more about Nathan Myrick, go to his website, www.nathanmyrick.com
On September 1st, Church Music Makers will be launching a Patreon to subscribe to! To find out more and subscribe, like the Church Music Makers Facebook page.
How many (insert denomination here) does it take to change a light bulb, goes the very well-worn joke, with the punch line of CHANGE? WE DON'T CHANGE! That's true to some degree, yet, life, ministry and everything else around us seems to change quite regularly. So how do we deal with it? In this episode, Craig explains a little about some of his experiences with change, and some hope and help to deal with change.
Look for the membership announcement on the Church Music Makers Facebook page later this week!
Keep up with Church Music Makers at www.churchmusicmakers.com
In this episode, Craig has a conversation with Blake Flattley. Blake writes to bring hope in the darkness, to tell the story of the human struggle, and narrates a story where death doesn’t have the last word.
Blake grew up in the small mountain of Placerville, California, most well known for gold discovery or as the town with the stoplight in the middle of the highway. He was first turned onto music by a blind saxophonist who had lost the will to play, but one day took up his horn to play at the urging of others. It was that moment, hearing him play, that set Blake on a path in pursuit of the craft of creating music, performing, and songwriting.
He grew up singing at church and listening to music from the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash. He played in a variety of bands, playing saxophone, guitar, bass, or whatever other instruments he could get his hands on.
In 2008 he founded the Orange Effect (We All Yell, Gravel & Gold), a harmony-driven, Americana-folk quartet. After their breakup, he began playing under the moniker Graffiti Cathedral, and later Blake Flattley.
Blake has toured nationally as both a solo artist and with his bands, sharing the stage with many notable artists including Young the Giant, Sharon Van Etten, and Reign of Kindo.
Blake has contributed to "The Armchair Project” and "Winter Is On My Head" (The Lone Bellow, Future of Forestry, Paul Baloche, Young Oceans, and Reign of Kindo) as both a producer and as a musician. In 2015, he released There Will Be Rest, a collection of hymns and music from his local church. The title track was a finalist for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
Check out more about Blake at blakeflattley.com and check out more about 1517 Music at 1517.org/music
Find out more about Easy Choir Music at easychoirmusic.com
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We've all been forced into being flexible over the past 17 months. We're all probably ready to be done with it. In this episode, Craig talks about why being flexible is helpful, along with some of the experiences that he has learned throughout his years of church music in how to be adaptable and flexible. Just like we challenge ourselves to learn new techniques, styles and repertoire in music making, so we do need to challenge ourselves to be adaptable and flexible to grow ourselves.
Mental health and focus is a challenge that many of us face. In this episode, Craig talks about how Simone Biles and mental health became the national conversation last week, and how for us as church musicians, we face many similar challenges. He also gives some encouragements to help you care for your mental health and to prioritize it. Because if we're not caring for ourselves and at our peak, how can we care for and minister to anyone else?
Links:
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