<![CDATA[Apostles That Rock - Interviews]]>Sat, 20 Apr 2019 02:53:37 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Jeff Deyo: Worshipping the God of Surprises]]>Fri, 05 May 2017 04:00:00 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/jeff-deyo-worshipping-the-god-of-surprisesFormer Sonicflood frontman now developing next generation of worship leaders
It's been a journey of surprises for Jeff Deyo. The singer first came to Nashville in 1993 looking to take the CCM world by storm as a pop/rock artist. After five years of trying to make it in Music City, Deyo says the Lord "totally changed" him, and ignited an anointing and a heart for worship. 

It was then Deyo became the frontman for the band that once was dcTalk's backing band, Zilch, and they rebranded themselves Sonicflood. As part of Sonicflood, and later with his solo project, Deyo was at the forefront of the modern worship movement in the early 2000s --seeing hundreds of thousands of people's hearts awakened to new expressions of praise. 

Little did Deyo know that God had another surprise in store for him. Now Deyo serves as teacher and mentor for the next generation of worship leaders in his role at Minneapolis' North Central University. 

On the heels of NCU Worship Live's first national release, Always Remain, we asked Deyo about his new mission and the things that get him excited these days. 

Fill us in on where you're at, how you got over to North Central and what your role is in all that.

Through the Sonicflood years and my own worship recordings and all that good stuff through the early 2000s, I was just traveling and singing. But yeah, what totally was not on my radar was the idea of going to a university to teach. It just wasn't at all. It's interesting though how God works, and He certainly knows better than we do. 

If you'd have told me 15 years ago that I'd be doing this, I probably would have cried, and been like, "Oh no!"--because I loved what I was doing, I loved traveling and all that stuff. 

I have been through that before. If you'd have told me 20 years ago that I was going to do worship, I'd have thought, "Wow, that's second class music." I didn't really grow up in a church where we had a ton of worship music per se, it was more of like a horizontal sing-along, so this idea of singing to God was so new to me. 

So what was the catalyst for this big change?

[During the early 2000s] I had just been eating up knowledge about what worship was, since I didn't really grow up with it. So as I learned, I wanted to share. It was just kind of a natural thing, so I would share in concerts and in the worship nights I was doing. 

My heart for teaching just kept growing and growing, so in around 2008 I started the Pure Worship Institute, which was this idea of pouring into this generation and the next generation to help them--musicians and singers, specifically--learn how to love God with their songs and their lives. 

I've seen too many people loving God with their songs but then behind the scenes not being who they appear to be, and it just broke my heart. I had this passion to train up people who wanted to do both, who wanted to be excellent and who wanted to have true hearts for worshipping God. So I started doing that in 2008 and there were these whisperings from a friend of mine at North Central who was constantly bugging me, "You need to come teach at North Central!" and I was like "What? What are you talking about? I don't have any grid for that at all." 

I got my Bachelors and graduated from Anderson University with a music business degree, but man, it never even entered my mind to go back to teach. But I visited there and when I went to lead worship at North Central, when we hit the first note in their chapel, people just kind of lost themselves in Jesus. It was a powerful atmosphere and it wasn't anything that we did; it was something that was already happening at the school. I thought, "Wow, this is really cool," so God started birthing stuff in me then and during 2009, we were trying to decide if we were called to be worship pastors at a church. We knew there was a change coming. 

There were a couple different schools that were talking to us and we ended up feeling that the Lord led us to North Central. That was as scary as it could be. Again, I had no idea that this was what God would have for us or if I could even be successful at teaching. It's amazing to me that they would even take a chance on me that way. I think it was the Lord, so He showed them and He showed me and we made steps of faith and it's working really well. I'm loving it, loving teaching. 

How's the change in pace and scope?

There's obviously things that you don't anticipate, traveling the world and singing for thousands of people, and now you've got 10, maybe 20 students in a class and sometimes it has felt small, but the Lord just keeps reminding me that we're talking about multiplication here. I'm pouring into these students and then they go out and they're changing the world. I can only be in one place at a time, but now there's these kids all over the world and I get to have a little piece of that influence. It's really amazing to see what they're doing and I'm so proud of our students.

Explain what your day-to-day with that is like.

I teach a number of classes. The past seven and a half years that I've been there, I've taught classes. We have a worship leading major and then a music pastor major, kind of two different types of people. Music pastor majors are someone who kind of oversees the whole program, where maybe a worship leading major may want to travel, do some singer/songwriter stuff, also be playing at a church, that kind of come-and-go type thing. 

I teach the worship leading class, I teach songwriting, I've taught a class called "performance preparation" that tries to help people engage with the congregation and not just put up a barrier between the stage and the people, and then also a class called "music ministry philosophy." 

I'm also responsible for putting on our annual conference, Pure Worship Institute that I mentioned earlier, and then we also do a recording every other year. That's part of my responsibility as well to put that live recording together. 

Then I work with our worship team, helping train them up. Our chapels are just so amazing. Honestly, I've been to a lot of Christian schools and there's somewhere you have to go to chapel so it's kind of this clock-in-clock-out vibe, but man, we have chapel every day at North Central and we're just thinking we have to capture this, what God's doing in this special place, on CD. So that's what we've been doing.

I didn't go to a Christian university, but from what I understand, chapel isn't a thing that typically happens every day, right?

Yeah. When I went to school at Anderson, we had Tuesday/Thursday and there's a lot of that. Either Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday/Friday or once a week for most schools. And you would think by doing every day that it would be worse, but it's almost the opposite because it's happening so often. People come with expectation and it has a lot to do with how we lead as well. 

Part of my role--and I love it, I love church culture and the opportunity to develop that--is not only speaking into our music students' lives, but also training the rest of the students in chapel and giving them Biblical understanding of why we do what we do. It sounds cliché, but the Bible doesn't return void, so you bring that in a passionate, powerful way and people really understand and open their hearts. I think a big part of it too is the president that we have there, Dr. Anderson, who's a big part of helping us cultivate that vibrant chapel spiritual atmosphere.

Talk about the singers and the instrumentalists who make up this North Central Worship Live, the team that puts out these albums and is part of this ministry. Are these students taking that as a major or are they from the whole spectrum of the school? How do they join?

We usually have three main worship live chapel teams that have classes. You have to audition to get into these teams and anyone can get into them; you don't have to be a music major. However, because the music majors are so focused on music, a lot of the time they're the best ones because they're constantly growing and learning, but it's open to anybody and we do have some that are not music majors. 

There are three different teams. We have one that stays together for a year, it's Worship Live Chapel and they play in chapel on a rotation. Then we have Worship Live Summer and they do the same thing but then they travel the following summer after their year of classes, and then Worship Live Summer/Fall will also travel in the summer and fall. 

Then out of those three, we just pick the best of the best of our students--usually juniors/seniors who have been there the longest, honing their skills and their heart--and we spend at least a year before that writing songs, which to me is like the main issue because if we can make beautiful music but the songs are not strong, there's really no point in spending the time to do that. So we work really hard on the songs and then we put that team together with myself and a co-producer. 

This year we had a guy named Ben Gall who is an alum of North Central. He actually is a creative arts pastor out in Phoenix, but he also traveled playing guitar with Michael W. Smith for a while and currently with Paul Baloche and has produced a few of Paul's projects, so he was a perfect fit for us. He came in and the two of us worked together and produced the record, so it was anywhere from students to alumni to faculty. There's another faculty member that sang one of the songs, he's over our music pastor program. The rest of it, singers and musicians, are all students. 

It's a real challenge and it's an amazing learning experience for them. It's not like a class; you don't get credit for it. It's just a volunteer deal and they have to spend quite a bit of time preparing and learning. It's not just like the adults create the music and slap some singers on there; we all get involved in this, hashing out what kind of sound we want for the school. It's quite a big undertaking and just when we get them to where we want them, then they graduate and we get the privilege of starting over each year with some new folks. It's worked out good so far and we've done three recordings since I've been there.

You talked about developing the sound the university would put forward--how would you describe where you guys landed?

It's a bit of a hybrid. Everyone loves the new Hillsong Young & Free synth-y stuff, and we do as well, but we still have this kind of organic feel. In some of the tunes, there's definitely a synth or programmed stuff back there cruising along with us, but then you have this organic thing as well. There's just a nice balance to me. 

I feel like one of our inspirations is the Bethel album, We Will Not Be Shaken. I really appreciate some of the new stuff they were doing with that record. We felt like their hard work on that thing was really evident and we loved how they did a little departure from the traditional big ramp-up builds that we always do in live music and more stair-stepping it instead of these obvious builds that happen. We were doing some of that as well and then we're weaving in a lot of counter-melodies, so there's a lot going on, but we worked really hard to make it not feel like too much. You're still hearing the melodies and the hooks, so I'm excited about it.

With your background with Sonicflood and your solo stuff, obviously you've had quite a bit of experience with the recording process. What sort of extra things were you able to teach in the recording from your experience that you wouldn't be able to in the classroom?

There's a ton of stuff that I teach our students in the classroom that is invaluable, but getting out and actually doing it is a whole other thing. Taking the information and applying it is a whole other experience. They're learning leadership and time management by doing this; they're learning how to work together and really arrange music, not just slap some chords down. 

Some of them are involved in the songwriting process, too, and that's huge. When you're a young songwriter, you kind of get attached to your songs and one of the things I think they learn through this process is we've got to hold loosely to our songs. 

I think there's so many things that could be learned, and then of course just the heart. We want to capture the heart and to me, the balance between excellence and heart is very clearly spoken in Psalm 72 and 78. There it says that David led the people with skilled hands and a true heart, and that's our heart here at North Central. We want to lead and equip these students with skilled hands and skilled voices, but we want them to also have tender and true, authentic hearts for worship and for the Lord. 

When we start our rehearsals each time, even though we have a million things to do, we discipline ourselves to spend time together just seeking the Lord. We take maybe fifteen minutes and put on a CD and we'll worship together or pray together, take prayer requests and lay hands on somebody who's going through something hard. Those things are invaluable as well.

Obviously you make this music for your student body, but also the greater worship world and the Church and whoever would listen to it. Would you say that's a reflection of a desire to show what God's doing at the University or are there additional reasons?

I think our heart--and a lot of these people are worship majors--is a heart for the Church, for building the body of Christ and each individual person learning how to connect with the Lord. There's these "connect moments," and if we're honest, we all kind of zone out sometimes in the middle of a worship service. But then there's those times where you really connect and God just really touches your heart and you maybe fall on your knees or you're overwhelmed with tears or whatever it is, but there's a genuine connect moment that happens with the power of God and the person of God. 

If we could--by worship and song melodies, through presentation, through our own worship--if we could by chance help increase those connect moments, that would just mean the world to me. One of the best compliments I've ever received from anybody was something like, "Your song helped me say what I wanted to say to God but I didn't know how to say it." If we could help people draw out what's already in their hearts, that's amazing.


Marcus Hathcock

Marcus Hathcock is the called Live With Marcus at CCM Magazine. He is a husband to Savannah, father of three and a worship leader from Boise. He is a singer and songwriter and occasionally blogs at mheternal.com.

<![CDATA[Fresh Life Worship: A Beautiful Balance]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2017 19:16:20 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/fresh-life-worship-a-beautiful-balanceThis worship movement is rising out of Montana with a number of callings in delightful tension.
What do Hillsong Worship, Bethel Music, Elevation Worship and Passion have in common? Besides being the songbooks to a vast number of churches in the U.S. and around the world, the common thread between them is their dedication and hyperfocus on the local church. 

Fast rising (but hardly new) Fresh Life Worship has that same heart and passion, and the Montana-based movement is sharing the creative outflow of its congregation at home and abroad. Rooted at international evangelist and pastor Levi Lusko's Fresh Life Church, Fresh Life Worship makes vertical songs that meet people in a variety of environments--Sunday morning services, evening commutes, personal devotional times, and many places in between. 

With their new project, More/Enough, the Fresh Life team discovered that in the midst of a number of different songwriters creating many different songs at various times, the theme of wanting more of God, yet being satisfied in Him reigns supreme. 

I asked the Fresh Life Worship team about how they approach balance--balancing being artists and worship leaders, writers of personal and corporate worship songs, and local and global influencers.

Your church turns 10 years old this year. How has worship been a hallmark of what you do out there? 

Jess Ekegren, (Fresh Life Worship label director, singer/songwriter): Worship is definitely a hallmark of our church, in the good times and the bad, in times of rejoicing and in sorrow and our songs have been written out of each of those seasons as well we have endured as a body. We sing about the lessons we learn and we sing songs of hope that strengthen us in days of trial. We approach everything we do with excellence. We give our blood, sweat and tears, but only God can bring the power. 

Your pastor, Levi Lusko, has been across the country and the world preaching the Gospel. How has his leadership driven your ministry?

Jess: Pastor Levi is such an incredible leader, and we don't say that out of obligation; we truly believe it. He travels the world and gets invited to speak countless times not only because of his giftings as a communicator, but he has also worked very hard to be the leader, speaker, husband, father, and man of God that he is. He is inspiring and an easy leader to follow because of his humility. He is constantly reading and studying how to better himself in each of his roles, and as a result, our ministry thrives and moves forward with him. The diligence, excellence and dedication of the people of our ministry is a reflection of his great leadership. As he grows, we grow. As he learns, we learn. It's truly and honor and we believe the best is yet to come. 

Tell us how the life of your church has affected the songwriting for your latest album, More/Enough. What did you go through or study as a church that prompted these songs?

Jess: When we first started the project, we didn't exactly know what the direction was that we were going in. Some songs like "Heaven Come," for example, were written as a request from Pastor to have a song inspired by our series "Below As in Above," which led us into Easter. That song was one we as a church sang as we celebrated Easter together. As a songwriting team, our approach has been to write a song, submit a demo and see what sticks. With More/Enough, once we had enough to put a record together, we looked at the common thread between the songs submitted and a common theme we saw in the lyrics was that God is enough for us.

Talk about the whole theme of More/Enough, that tension between wanting God to do more with assurance that He's already enough.

Kevin Guido (Fresh Life Worship Pastor, singer/songwriter): He completes us in every measure. But yet, even as we have Him in our hearts and in our lives, we always find ourselves wanting more. He's all together more and enough. It's a beautiful contradiction. 

Shayla Smith (worship singer/songwriter): I think anyone who knows Jesus personally can attest to this tension. Our fallenness, which is very real and unfortunately very persuasive, tries to convince us that something outside of God can fill us, and that the emptiness we feel in our lives is due to us simply not striving hard enough in our own powers and abilities. Deep down though, we know that in the same way that the houses we live in and the cars we drive are prone to decay and will end up in a junkyard somewhere, the temporary cannot satisfy the space we have inside us that seems endless. Only someone endless could ever possibly do that. 

So a realignment to our great need for Him is ever relevant, in times of great growth or when we find ourselves lost in the wilderness; no one gets a pass from this. We believe that God wants us to understand this truth, that He will fill whatever we give Him and He won't leave us empty to the degree that we open up to Him. He wants to do great things in our lives and through our lives. We know this. The question is though, do WE want Him to? Do we have the hearts of "YES" to what He wills? That part is up to us. 

How would you best describe your goals and focus as a worship ministry? Local? Global? A little of both?

Kevin: Our goal is wrapped up in the vision of Fresh Life Church. We want to see people who are stranded in sin find life and liberty in Jesus. It has both an evangelistic and a pastoral focus. We want to write songs that are honest and heartfelt, songs that would create a sense of wonder and connection for those who would visit our church, songs that speak to the basic needs of who we are as people in desperate need of God. 

Our hope is that through our music, we could prepare a path for the gospel to change lives. We also want to create music that lifts the heads and the hearts of our church family and encourages them with the love of Jesus. Great songs don't change lives. Jesus does. So if we can point people to Jesus, either within the walls of our campuses or spread out around the world, then we are accomplishing what we have set out to do.

How many albums have you come out with besides More/Enough, Heartbeat and Fall Afresh

Kevin: The Glorious EP and the "Hark!" single are a couple of other small projects that we have released as Fresh Life Worship. We also have an evangelistic outreach event called Skull Church. In 2012, we release a full-length record as Skull Church called When Darkness Shakes. The songs on that project are a little bit different than typical congregational worship songs. They are songs that have a distinct evangelistic bent but fueled by a heart of worship. 

What are some things you've learned as a worship ministry and as recording artists in that time?

Solomon Ray (Fresh Life Worship Director, producer/singer/songwriter): I think those labels right there are actually important. I've had to really remind myself that even though we are recording artists to some extent, we're still a worship ministry at the end of the day. We're members of our church, writing songs for our church, and others are welcome to listen in. It can be easy as musicians to get caught up in tones and jams or whatever. The danger in that is our heart may be more excited about what we sound like rather than what we're singing about. So I guess we've learned to be aware of our tendency to drift.

What are some other worship movements or who are some worship artists you've worked with or learned from?

Kevin: We are students of everybody. There are some incredible churches and musicians writing amazing songs for the church to sing. We probably sing most of their songs in our church! Hillsong, Elevation, Bethel and Passion have been doing this for many years. They have paved the way for the church to sing songs filled with passion and and with purpose. We have been so ridiculously privileged to cross paths with some of these fantastic teams. 

But more than writing sweet jams and catchy hooks, they lead the church in desperation for God. Their lives are marked by a genuine longing for God and His glory in their lives. They are groups of people sold out, holding nothing back for Jesus. It's evidenced in their songs but more so in the things they say, the way they live how they love. They tour the world, but personally invest in their church, in the local congregation. We are constantly challenged and inspired by them all.

How do you go about songwriting? Staff musicians, volunteers, a mix? How do you pick and choose which songs work? Does the congregation hear them first?

Jess: We encourage anyone on our worship teams and in our church with a song to write with us! The majority of our songwriters are true introverts, so most of the time, we write on our own and submit songs individually. But there are a few people who get together and collaborate on projects. Some have even collaborated from our different campuses across the Northwest. For example, Tanner Kanning from Fresh Life Bozeman and Solomon and Kevin at Fresh Life in Kalispell collaborated on "Know My Heart." With technology today, it's easy to collaborate and we encourage that on our teams.

Ultimately, when we pick songs that will be released on a record, we have God's people in mind. We ask ourselves which songs best communicate to and strengthen His people. Some of the songs we release are not meant to be corporate worship songs, but to be songs that strengthen you during your commute and encourage you throughout the day. One may be written to comfort you in the quiet of the night. Some songs are blessings to be sung over God's people. 

Many of the songs we release will first be heard and sung by our congregation and will be anthems for different seasons that we go through. However because not every song we release is fit for a corporate worship setting, there is an element of surprise for our church family when a record comes out, and that's exciting for them! For them, there will be the songs they love on a record but also some that they have not heard before.

What are some things as a ministry you believe God is showing you for the future? 

Jess: As we mentioned before, Pastor Levi gets many opportunities to speak all over the world and as a result our ministry gets a lot of exposure. It's a wild ride we are on. We pretty much buckle up and brace ourselves for anything. We have no idea what the future holds, but we will never stop singing, and will continue to explore new songs and be ready for the opportunities God entrusts us with. 

How can people be praying for you and your ministry and church?

Marquis Ashley (Fresh Life Worship admin, singer/songwriter): I guess this list could be pretty long! First, it's amazing to think that in a world so connected, communication can be so difficult. It has to be intentional. It is an artform in and of itself. Communication to teams spread out across several states is something we could always get better at. Secondly, Fresh Life is one house with many different rooms. Some of those rooms are a 12-hour drive from each other. Unity in heart and vision is something we have to always fight for. 

Next, we want to be able to raise up people well and multiply our teams effectively as new campuses are established and new people get involved. Pray that we would know how to serve the church, but also continue to seize the opportunity to help those who don't know Jesus have the opportunity to encounter him through our ministry--to get to know who He is and experience Him in our worship experiences at Fresh Life and through our record releases. 

Finally, and most importantly, we'd love prayer that we would continue to fix our eyes on Him and that everything we do would be driven by Him and not ourselves. Nothing we do will hold power without Him. 

Marcus Hathcock


<![CDATA[Katy Kinard: Inspiration All Around]]>Thu, 21 Jul 2016 20:53:21 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/katy-kinard-inspiration-all-aroundThe eclectic Nashville singer-songwriter tells us how God uses various stories all around her to power the music she shares.
Though she dabbles in a variety of songwriting and musical styles, Katy Kinard would tell you that at her core, she's a storytelling singer-songwriter. The stories she tells come in various genres and flavors, and they run the gamut, from her own radical testimony to the lessons she's learned as a caregiver, to the character of God she notices from nature.

Katy is always finding inspiration in the world around her--particularly when taking road trips, as it turns out--and this Nashville-based artist released her latest collection of stories and thoughts on July 8. Titled God of Fireflies, the project is as diverse musically as it is thematically, with the common thread holding everything together being the goodness of God.

In the midst of touring, I was able to get to know Katy a bit more by tossing her some questions about her background, her songwriting process, and Mother Teresa. 

Katy, tell us about you. You live in Nashville. From there originally? Married? Kids? Hobbies? Weird fact?

I originally moved to Nashville from Woodland Park, Colorado... to be a country music star! I grew up in Arlington, Texas, and we moved to Colorado when I was 12. As for hobbies, I would say boating, gardening, baking and cooking, playing volleyball. On that same note, one of my favorite things to do--AND a weird fact--is something my sister and I do together every year. She'll save up recordings that remind her of past memories we've had, save snippets of scenes that remind her of trips we've been on, or just things she can't wait for me to see (the tiniest houses ever built, etc.) and when I see her twice a year, we literally bunk up in her room and marathon-watch all of these things with pizza and cookies, and then I fly back to Nashville.

How'd you get started in music? Raised in a musical home? When was the moment you knew God had called you to this?

I had no idea Christian music existed until Nashville--besides Amy Grant and one Ray Boltz tape. I thought the 200-plus album CCM collection my friend showed me was scary, like some sort of cult. Then I heard artists like Nichole Nordeman and Jennifer Knapp and Chris Rice on the radio and suddenly loved this newly discovered genre and felt called to be a part. My passion at that time was Jesus anyway; He turned my life around and my mind was far from human romance then, so I was writing more songs about Jesus than anything else.

Most people can still hear a country/folk influence in some of my songs. The focus on lyrics, melody, and a clear story from '90s country has shaped that emphasis in my writing for sure.
I started writing songs in sixth grade, but I didn't grow up in a musical home. No one else was in any way involved in music, but my mom had studied piano performance in school, and these days she plays piano at her church and my dad is the song leader--which is all around adorable.

What's your secret identity, and how does the Lord use it to make you a better singer/songwriter/artist?

I've been an in-home caregiver for late-life care for 14 years now! It's actually an equal passion of mine. I really love my job. Believe me, though, it can be either the best job in the world or the most challenging and frustrating. But it's very rewarding. I also realize being a paid caregiver and going home to my other life is very different from people who are family caregivers and do not get paid. Those are the real heroes. God has taught me a lot about perspective and compassion, and also how to better handle conflicts and try to remember that I am the servant. Because I care about my own comfort way too much sometimes. Most of my songs are sermons to myself, and I'd be way better off if I would remember to live by them! 

Your new project is God of Fireflies. It's your fourth album, although people are still discovering you. How have you grown as an artist since your first project?

I used to be more hasty about finishing songs and being done with them. Now I pretty much obsess over every line and word, making sure no line or word is a "throw-away." My favorite songs of mine are always the ones with unique perspectives that I've never heard put into songs, and I would say about half the songs on each album of mine fits that description. 

So although I feel I've grown as an artist, I can still look to some of my older songs and be amazed at the perspective and some of the analogies. Is that vain? I'd like to think it's objective, though, because I just don't feel like I came up with them on my own.

On the album, you have a song called "Be Like You," which is dedicated to Mother Teresa. What has her story meant to you personally?

Actually, I'd say it's dedicated to mothers, and maybe specifically stay-at-home moms. It's a true story about a conversation between Mother Teresa and a mom visiting from the U.S. She just gives a profound reply to a lady who was basically gushing at how wonderful Mother Teresa's life was, and how she could never be like her. 

But I will say, I read that book that contains Mother Teresa's personal letter--it reads like a diary--and although she never wanted those to be seen, I loved her honest expression of faith vs. doubt vs. perseverance. She wrestled a great deal inwardly, and she didn't often feel loved by God. But she lived out one of my favorite verses. I usually preface MIcah 6:8 with: "(Even in strong doubt) 'What does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" So you just keep moving, keep serving, keep walking with the Lord.

The title track of the album, "God of Fireflies," is all about God's little reminders of His loving creativity. Was there a day or a moment that inspired this song?

Yes, I was just thinking one day about the purpose of some of these things in creation. Most have a very clear purpose, while other things in creation could simply be for our enjoyment and amusement. I like to think of that. I understand that even in the case of "helicopter leaves," for instance, they are seeds that travel and plant themselves to make more maple trees, but God didn't have to create them to spin like helicopters and be so much fun for children! I just love things like this. I enjoy the simple and whimsical things in life.

Stylistically, you move between a classic piano-driven, contemporary sound, to even into a KT Tunstall sort of country-tinged sound. Talk about what you're going for, musically speaking, as an artist.

I have a lot of influences and struggle with choosing songs that are cohesive for my albums, probably because I hate throwing songs out that don't fit but have a great message/perspective. In this day and age where people love all genres and have dozens of stylistically-varied songs in their phones, I guess I don't feel so bad offering variety--especially in concert.

I went to go see one of my favorite artists one time and was so bored, because even though I love deep, introspective lyrics and they were all my favorite songs, it doesn't make a great concert to sit through two hours of minor-key deep thoughts and then leave. It's heavy. But that's my favorite style to write. So I like to mix up the minor-key heavy songs with whimsical folk, lighthearted pop, or like one of my albums, a touch of Latin. 

You have a lot of great influences listed. Have you met or worked with any of these fine folks over there in Nashville? 

I would love to collaborate with the artists I've mentioned, but we don't travel in any similar circles and I've only met them as a fan. I work very part-time at WAY-FM and so I've met many CCM artists over the years at the station and working various radio events. 

Bob Hartman from Petra brought me out to play at his church, watched the first time I ever led worship and he was so encouraging, insisting that I make this my niche, although I also enjoy modern worship. I have taken his advice and felt like God has moved so much through the hymns and their powerful stories, and I'm grateful for his direction and what he saw God doing in that first service. Billy Smiley from Whiteheart produced my Lullaby Hymns album and did an incredible job.

Kenny Davis produced this last album. One of his accolades is being a drummer and producer/songwriter for The Rhett Walker Band, and I couldn't be happier with his creativity and genius on "God of Fireflies." An up-and-coming artist Becca Bradley played cello for one of the songs, and my best friend sang backup vocals. She's a solo artist and part of the duo Chasing Summer. I couldn't be happier with those who have helped make this vision come to life. 

What is your process when it comes to songwriting? What are some tips you've picked up over the years?

In Nashville and L.A. and anywhere there's a booming music industry, serious musicians co-write. I do not, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I should. I've tried, but I just enjoy the process on my own, and I write almost everything when I'm on road trips or driving to and from work. Don't worry, I'm not holding a guitar and a notebook.

The words and the melody come at the same time, but I'm a slow songwriter. I might write one line in one week and then decide to change it the next week. The reason I love writing when I drive, instead of sitting at a desk in an office, is because of the fluidity of trees and cars going by, the changing of weather and nature all around. It's inspiring to me and invokes creativity. I later put piano or guitar to the song. Most musicians write with an instrument; I just never have.

Now that God of Fireflies is out, how can people be praying for you?

People can be praying that these songs get out there. Not just me going to different cities here and there, but digitally, streaming or otherwise, that the songs will get out there to the people that need them the most. I know some of my songs are just lighthearted and fun, but the ones that could seriously help shape perspective and hope... those are the songs I pray God will send out into the world like little fireflies, lighting up someone's world and putting the wonder back in his/her life.

I know what my favorite songs from my favorite artists have done for me in times of very real doubt or hurt and like the prayer of Jabez, I want God to enlarge the territory of these songs' influence. I would love prayer for this.

Anything else you'd like to add?

If anyone struggles with doubt and has the time to read a long testimony, I share my story of how I came to faith--a 180-degree turn from being a troubled teen to being the poster-child Christian on fire for God, to having serious doubts, to becoming nearly atheistic, and my journey back to God. It takes patience to read, but sometimes the best thing you can discover is that someone else has been where you've been and that there's hope on the other side.

Marcus Hathcock


<![CDATA[Kellie & Kristen: Worship Life]]>Mon, 15 Feb 2016 18:10:07 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/kellie-kristen-worship-lifeRaised on Kari Jobe and Natalie Grant, these twin sisters from Louisiana are making their own impact on worship music.
In the thickest part of the Bible belt, smack dab in the middle of the state of Louisiana, twin sisters Kellie & Kristen are writing scripturally based songs that are bursting out of their 200-person church plant.

While writing songs, leading worship on weekends and even playing songs for the Sunday School programs takes up a lot of time, the duo also serves as "musical missionaries"--bringing their ministry near and far to whoever will hear it. 

And they come at their ministry with some added educational firepower. Kristen started college as a nursing major because she never thought music could be her "Plan A," but God encouraged her to trust Him, and so she got a degree in Christian Studies, which has trained her to write biblically centered songs.

Kellie, on the other hand, got bachelor's and master's degrees in social work--an educational route that has opened her eyes to the real tragedies the people in her community face every day, driving her to tell as many people as possible about the hope Jesus brings. 

Kellie & Kristen's passion for people, songwriting and corporate worship has expressed itself in their brand-new album, We Receive. All seven tracks of bright, pop/rock worship declare God's truth while being accessible enough for churches to use on Sunday morning.

To get to know these driven worshippers, I asked them about what brought them to where they are today, as well as their musical influences and their calling as they best understand it. 

You've been leading worship since you were 16 years old. Tell us how you got into worship leading, and give us an idea of your musical development over the years.

Kellie: I have been singing for as long as I can remember, so I don't really know life without music. I was always involved in choirs and musicals at both church and school, and I frequently sang solos at church in a variety of settings as I got older. When I was 16, I found myself leading worship in our youth band at church with Kristen playing keys beside me.

Kristen: I have been playing piano since the age of 8, but growing up, I never thought that I would one day be a full-time keyboard player. The Lord started to develop a love for leading worship around the age of 16. I originally was a singer in our junior high praise band and Kellie was the keyboard player. When we got to high school, Kellie was asked to play keyboard for the high school band, but she really just wanted to sing. 

So, the story of how I started playing keyboard is that Kellie told the youth pastor that I could play keyboard--which I could not at the time! I was so nervous at first. I remember when I first started playing that I would turn my volume all the way down so that no one would hear me. It was bad, but looking back I can see the different ways the Lord has honed my skill in that area.

Kellie: I remember feeling excited to play a part in encouraging my friends and youth leaders to worship Jesus, and I remember thinking that I could do this for the rest of my life. In fact, if you were to go back and read my journals from that time in my life you would find this question over and over: God, is leading worship what You are calling me to? It's interesting to look over these last 11 years and see how faithfully and graciously He has answered that simple prayer of a teenager. 

Kristen: Over the years, the Lord has been faithful to bring some very talented musicians into my life that have strengthened me as not only a musician, but as a worship leader. I attribute a lot of my keyboard playing skills to some friends of mine who would sit with me and just let me watch how they play. I have come a long way since I was 16. My desire and passion now as a keyboardist is to train up the next generation to hone their skills and talents and use them for the Lord. I also have been playing guitar for around 8 years. The next instrument I would love to take on is the drums! 

Who was instrumental in your development as worshippers?

Kellie: The Lord has always been faithful to surround me with amazing women and men who spur me on to not only lead and love well, but also to love Jesus more and more. I have no greater support than that from my parents. My parents are a huge influence of how I lead worship today. As the Lord shaped my voice and passion, they would remind me that singing is always for God and His glory, and that worship leading is for His people to glorify Him and respond to who He is and what He is doing in their lives. Before I stepped on every stage, my dad would say, "Tell them the story." So that's where my heart is: with the people that make up the Church. What role do I have if I'm not pointing them to Christ every time I lead? The gospel is the goal, not just the music. Music is simply the tool God has allowed us to use. 

What's the best thing about working with your twin sister, and perhaps the most challenging thing? 

Kristen: The best thing about working with my twin is that I have my best friend with me everywhere I go. She knows me more than anyone and it is great to do life and ministry with someone who loves you no matter what. I am constantly in awe that God has called both of us in to this together. He has equipped us both with different strengths that I feel help us be able to serve the body of Christ in a better way than if we were doing this on our own. I wouldn't say there would be a challenging thing for us besides that we are together 24/7 since the day we were born!

Kellie: No one knows me like she does. She knows what I'm feeling and thinking before I say anything. She knows my strengths and encourages me in them, but she also knows my weaknesses and works diligently to help me in them. This definitely transcends into when we lead worship. There really isn't anything challenging about working with her. We are together all the time, so I suppose we can get tired of each other sometimes. But that's not too often!

Who are some of the artists who influenced you to make music?

Kristen: Growing up we remember always listening to artists such as Natalie Grant, Avalon, MercyMe, Mark Schultz, and Watermark just to name a few. When I was in early high school is when "worship" music started to become big. I remember hearing Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God," knowing that there was a shift about to happen in the Church. I have always admired Brooke Fraser as a songwriter as well as Bethany Dillon and Shane & Shane. 

Kellie: My greatest influences in leading style were Kari Jobe and Meredith Andrews. I've been listening to Kari since she was just a student at CFNI singing on their records. In fact, it was at her first concert after "I'm Singing" released where I heard the Spirit so clearly that I would be a worship leader. Then, I was a 19 year old kid sitting in a sanctuary in West Monroe listening to her sing Revelation Song when I knew for certain; now, 8 years later, I'm a traveling worship leader singing that very same song and living out the dream God breathed to life back then. It's amazing and so humbling. God does so much more than we could think of, pray for, or imagine!

We Receive is now out! What are you hearing from people, and what's been your biggest surprise with this record?

Kellie: We are so excited that this project is finally out. It was a blast recording it. The album was recorded last summer at Uphill Studios by our producer and friend, Sean Hill. Since the CD release, we have gotten overwhelming feedback from friends and strangers alike. Daily we receive emails from people we do not even know who have found our music or have purchased our CD telling us what the Lord is speaking to them through it. It is humbling to get messages like that because we are reminded of the real kingdom work that we are doing. One of the biggest surprises is that we hit #43 on the iTunes chart in its debut weekend. Something that is exciting more so than surprising is that other church's are starting to do our songs in their congregations. That is why we do what do and write what we write. It is our desire to see the church rehearse the Gospel and exalt His name together. 

You're recording a new Church album. What's that going to be like? Originals? Covers? What are you feeling led by the Lord to do with this record?

Kristen: Yes! We are in the process of recording a new EP that will feature six original songs written by ourselves and some close friends. The new songs have been written over the last six months based on what our church has been walking through. The title of the EP will be called Only Our God, and it will be the first one we've done since our church became a church plant. Our prayer is that first and foremost these songs would fill the mouths of the people in our church and equip them with words to sing that are Gospel and Word centered. Secondly, our prayer is that these songs would rise out of Wardville and fill the mouths of people in other churches as well. 

For those who haven't heard you, how would you describe your sound? Fans of which artists would probably like you too?

Kristen: Our sound and style could best be compared to worship leaders like Kari Jobe, Meredith Andrews, or Christy Nockels. Our sound is crafted in such a way that it is catchy but also rich in text, that way when you find yourself humming the tunes and thinking of the lyrics, you are thinking of scripture. 

What's next for you both? Touring? New projects? 

Kristen: Right now, we are booking up pretty quickly through the Spring. We have some touring ideas in mind for this summer. We have also been discussing beginning a new project early 2017. We are currently songwriting for this. There are many exciting things in the works for us! 

We still have some spots available for this spring and summer. We are also starting to book for the fall. If anyone is interested in us coming to lead worship for an event, they can get more information at our website (kellieandkristen.com) or via email (kellieandkristen@gmail.com). Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up its the latest updates with our ministry.

Marcus Hathcock


<![CDATA[Going Live: Six Questions with Casting Crowns]]>Tue, 08 Dec 2015 13:57:35 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/going-live-six-questions-with-casting-crownsLead singer Mark Hall shares some of his favorite aspects of performing live, in conjunction with the band's recent 'Worship Experience' album release.
Hot on the heels of Casting Crowns' newest release, A Live Worship Experience--which captures the worshipful heart and passionate delivery of Casting Crowns' shows--Mark Hall answered six questions about the new project and memorable moments from the stage over the years.
1. Does knowing you're recording a live album change the way you perform on that particular night? How so?

It's always a little nervy when you're recording a live record. You know you only get one shot at each song. You want the experience to be as normal as possible for the audience, even though there's nothing really normal about it: microphones, crew people, cameras and interruptions all through the night. The funny thing is most of the nerves are happening right before you start. Once you're into it, you just forget about them and you're just having church with your people.

2. How many shows would you say you've played since the beginning with Casting Crowns?

My wife Melanie did the math, and it looks like we have done about 1,200 concerts since we started with Provident!

3. From all this time, what are some of your favorite, or most memorable, moments from performing live?

I love it when there is a transformation in the crowd. Sometimes a crowd that's not very lively can come alive halfway through the night during the worship moment. I love to see a husband that perhaps was dragged in there by his wife suddenly start listening and receiving and praying with us. Seeing people saved during our concert. I've seen the lights come on in people's hearts.
4. Who've been some of your favorite artists to tour with, and why?

Rebecca St. James was the very first artist that we performed with and she and her family taught us much about life on the road. They were sweet people. Steven Curtis Chapman will always be a hero of mine and I love traveling with him. Also, Matthew West was a delight to hang out with. We began writing together after we toured together.

5. In your current live show, which is the part of the night that you most look forward to?

I love the beginning of our concerts. There is such an excitement building. When we finally take the stage, we keep things very high-energy for the first three songs. It's fun watching kids jump up and down and people waving their arms and worship. That's probably my favorite part of the night.

6. Got any favorite venues you've played in?

This year we were able to play two very special places. One was Carnegie Hall, which was definitely a mindblower for us. And the other was Red Rocks in Colorado. It was so beautiful.

Get A Live Worship Experience on iTunes here.

Marcus Hathcock


<![CDATA[Natalie Grant Lets Us in On the Secrets of Her New Album]]>Wed, 18 Nov 2015 19:14:45 GMThttp://www.apostlesthatrockradio.com/interviews/natalie-grant-lets-us-in-on-the-secrets-of-her-new-album
We asked Natalie Grant to answer some questions about her brand new album, “Be One.” Check out what she had to say!
What was the most enriching part of creating this album?

I’ve never created a record in less than a year and we made this one in less than 6 weeks. We didn’t have time to obsess over every detail and it forced me to trust in what God was clearly doing in my life and doing in the creative process, and it allowed me to rest in those gut instincts that He gave me. So instead of questioning every detail and obsessing over every detail, I had to proceed with confidence and trust that God was in the details.

Pick a favorite song and tell us the inspiration and story behind it.

“Clean” is a song that I wrote 100% by myself and it flowed out of me in about 15 minutes. That’s happened very rarely in my writing process and in those moments it’s as if God is writing the song and I’m just holding the pen.

The song was written for a friend facing ghosts from her past, which we all have. Sometimes we fall for the lie that there are certain secrets of our past that are better left in our past than to ever be let into the light. This song is a simple message of the gospel and a reminder that there is nothing too dirty that He can’t make clean.

I remember performing a little snippet of the song and posting it on my social media channels and the response was truly overwhelming. It is such a reminder to me that there are so many people who have known Jesus for a long time, but still need to be reminded that He still makes all things new.
Describe an interesting behind the scenes story your team experienced while writing, recording, or performing this album.I recorded a cover of the Bethel music worship song “Ever Be” – I decided to do so because the song is one of my children’s favorites. While we were recording, we decided to invite the girls into the studio to sing on the song. It turned out to be not only one of my favorite moments on the record, but one of my favorite moments in the studio ever. Nothing is sweeter than hearing your children sing “Your praise will ever be on my lips.”

Tell me more about your campaign surrounding “Be One” and the story behind that.

Kindness is contagious.
This song is a call to action to inspire believers to let kindness be the defining attribute of their life. No matter who you are and what your influence – every single one of us can make a difference in someone’s life. The greatest way to win this, is to love.

People can say that there seems to be a greater presence of darkness in the world, but I think there has been an absence of light. Jesus is the light of the world and He called His church to be the light of the world as well. I think the greatest impact for the kingdom of God would be made if more Christians would change their perspective from “I need” to “I will.” When we change our focus from what we need in our life to what we can give to someone else – our own struggles won’t go away, but they will sure seem to diminish.

The #beoneforsomeone campaign is a movement to inspire people to do just that – BE ONE – A small act of kindness, a loving gesture, a simple compliment, serving those in need – it’s a call for people to find every day ways to make a difference in a life. Everyone can be one for someone.

MArcus Hathcock
