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Listen two Corintheus five to seven says we walk by faith and not by sight.

That's the Christian life.

It's not just talking the talk, but walking the walk.

My name is Curtis Parks.

I'll be your host this season and today I'm hanging out with Lexi from Say What's Up?

Hey, this is gonna be an awesome journey the Walk.

Let's go Lexi, just for our listeners.

So you are running Worship Leader magazine today, Why don't you just give us a little bit of a snapshot, like what is what has it been like your journey that kind of brought you to where you are today running Worship Leader Magazine.

So my plan was actually to go to law school.

So I'd done a program called Teach for America, and I was going to go into children's rights law.

I'd been away from home for like seven years, getting three degrees, and yeah, I was very very determined person, and so that was my That was my plan.

And then some things happened and I landed back at home in southern California.

Actually the day before, my dad was planning to sell Worship Leader Magazine to these guys who had been like courting him for like months, and my dad was like, LEXI, you've got to be part of this meeting.

I have no business being in this meeting.

I just got home and so yeah, I joined that meeting, and I just felt called to speak up and I shared that, you know, their whole plan, what they wanted to do.

I just looked at my dad and said, these are all things that we could do.

And then fast forward a couple of months I was in you know, I'm from San Luan, Capistrano, so the jewel of the missions in California.

And we were at this restaurant called El Adobe with some of my dad's board members that included his cousin who is more of like a brother to him, Chuck Smith Junior, And We're at this meeting and I'm kind of sharing with them the things I had previously said we could do, and Junior kind of just interrupts and he looks at my dad square in the eye and he said, Chuck, how old were you when you took over Marianatha music?

And my dad shared his age, and then Junior looked at me and said, LEXI, how old are you?

And I was the same age as my dad and he took over my music.

And Junior just looked at my dad and said, there's your answer.

And I was like, whoa, what would I just you know, walk into And you know, I still had my plan, like I was signed up to take the elsat you know, I was still like, yeah, headed that direction.

I just saw this as a brief pause, and you know, kind of started realizing that it really wasn't about stepping into my dad's shoes as much as it was about responding to the invitation that God was kind of putting on my life to go into a different direction and go with his plan instead of mine.

So that's kind of what led me to Worshiper Magazine, although I do feel like it's been a part of my entire life.

Wow, we're gonna get into that in just a moment.

But it's kind of interesting your journey to where you are right now.

Hey, look, we just got through the Christmas season.

I have to watch this movie every year.

It's a wonderful life, right And the main guy, you know, he's got all of his life plans and then his dad the banking loan.

You know, he's like his dad passes away.

They're about to like sell it off to the bad guy in town, and he's like, no, I'm gonna I want to run this thing like I want to.

I want to keep the vision going and supply, you know, whatever this town needs.

And I don't know how, I don't know why I just thought of that, but it's like, it's so interesting because there is something so beautiful about like legacy in your story.

So let's dive into that a little bit.

Like what has your life look like?

What does worship look like in your life?

From from a young age with your dad being not only you know, obviously the founder of Worship Leader magazine, but just in worship, his whole.

Journey legacy, it's such a big word, you know, so it is a lot more.

But you know, my dad, he loved to tell this story, but he rarely did.

But you know, he was up in Yuba City and he was planning out all these concerts and you know, like almost like a tour manager, you know, for that dand age, but also he was an assistant city manager.

You know.

Came from a home of four boys, and you know, he made it out, paid for his own college.

He actually got his pilot's license at sixteen.

It was like flying, always trying to find ways to like make money.

Yeah, And so he was up in Yuba City and my uncle Chuck, I called my uncle Chuck was my great uncle Chuck Smith who started Calvi Chapel.

He called my dad and he asked him to come down and run Maranatha Music.

And my dad said no.

And if you know my uncle Chuck, you don't turn him down.

Like he's like so charismatic.

From the pulpit, but then behind the scenes, it's like it's intense, you know, and he just carried that weight with him and so the fact that my dad turned him down was like huge.

And then my uncle Chuck called him again and asked him again, and my dad said yes because he didn't feel like he turned him down again, like there was something that God was calling him to do.

And yeah, and so growing up in a house that was Marianathan music like the Salty Days, you know, like called the music, and then being a part of that.

I grew up with Salty the Singing songbook By the Way.

No Way I should have brought.

Yeah, oh, I remember falling, falling asleep to Salty tapes when I lived in England as a young boy.

Yep, there's such a need for more kids worship.

But so you're growing up in the epicenter of all that, Like what is that?

What is that like?

LEXI?

Yeah, I mean, so I mean to answer your question about like what is worship like?

For me?

I mean worship it was more than a genre.

It was a way of life.

And I got to reap all of those fun things that came with a dad who was running like a music label, which he hated doing, which is why he stepped away from that and focused on worship or magazine.

But you know, some of those things included like a baby Taylor guitar that he was given and I would literally we had a diving board, and so I would tie up our dogs and go to the end of the diving board and seeing Jesus loves You to the tune if we will rock you, and you know, God, God, I had a great audience.

You know.

But no, I mean, and then he gave me like a red pearl drum kit.

You know, my mom wanted just to get me a cheap one as a kid, but my dad had to get like the greatest one he could find, you know, And that quickly made its way from my room to the garage.

My siblings didn't love it, but yeah, I mean, I grew up where.

You know, worship it wasn't just something that people did on a Sunday, you know, it was the way that you lived your life, the way that you gave back, you know, the glory and honor to God, the one who gave everything through your life, through how you lived your life.

And another thing I want to say, you often rup me, Curtis, because I can keep talking and sharing it.

I love it, keep going.

My my parents, they didn't raise us to call ourselves Christians.

They raised us to be identified as Christians through our actions.

And so yeah, when I think about worship and how you're living your life, I think there's just we need more of that.

You know, how can we being christ Like beyond the platform, beyond what you're doing from nine to five?

Yeah?

Anyways, Wow, I mean, you know, you said it really well, like worship isn't just songs.

It's not just a set of music on a Sunday.

It is a lifestyle.

But music is such a huge part of worship, and you know, in the creative world, what better way to live out worship than offering your songs and offering your gift of music.

And that was something that your dad was really instrumental in, and that something that Worship Leader magazine cares so heavily about.

Like what is it for you when it comes to worship music?

That has really just kind of been like the constant force with you wanting to always be involved in that side of things.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I so at the end of the diving board or if it was you know, in my kitchen when my dad would have different friends stop in town.

I don't know if you know every from back in the day, but you don't know if to send you for songs, but you know, and I would like perform either with them or like you know, my dad would be like, oh, LEXI share like your song that you wrote.

He was just always encouraging me.

And all of my songs were from my prayers, and I you know, still to this day, I sing my prayers.

And you know that early age was just this formation, that was the spiritual formation that was happening within me about living my life as a song prayer and to be able to bring that to Worship Leader magazine, like I never thought that I would have that opportunity.

I said goodbye to that idea because I was determined to chart my own path.

You know, my older sister worked at Worship a or magazine for ten years.

She was doing great.

And then you know, like I shared earlier, like my path was just completely interrupted with God's plan.

And I think that's a lot of what I bring.

And it's like an opportunity almost to share what's been there all along and God was, you know.

I mean I went and worked with an educational organization.

You know, I got my master's in education and talk about training and that's now what we do and finding ways to really help share different resources in new ways that are accessible.

I mean I worked in inner city schools where you know, we didn't have the tools that we needed to educate.

I was having to reach out to universities to try to get free merch and all this stuff, you know what I mean, I understand the hustle and you know, like and then working for an organization where you know, I was the only Christian on my team and I was constantly put down for having that as my identity.

I brought in a Bible Verse one time because they wanted us to bring in something that represented our identity.

And this was right after Trump got elected.

They like did trauma circles, and you know, I got to experience that and my I'm not going to say like agreed with it or disagreed with it.

I mean I just didn't think it belonged in the workplace, you know, like a first greening event, and it just got it was just an interesting place to be in where all that was happening.

I'm sure you remember, like that first election, right and all the things.

And yeah, I mean I lived in Washington, d C.

Up until so you get it, middle of twenty seventeen.

So yeah, and I actually knew, uh still know quite a few teachers that do teach for America in DC public schools and so you know, definitely in the think of it, so huge honor and respect.

I mean teaching.

My mom is a teacher.

A lot of love for teachers.

But talk to me a little bit about Like it's interesting because I keep hearing this theme of just being available, like availability to whatever the Lord is putting in your path, availability to his call.

Talk to our listeners a little bit about that with like how do you remain available while still kind of moving towards the goals that you have in your life, but not clinging to them, if that makes sense.

Proverb sixteen nine is one of my favorite verses.

Like I really clung to that in college because I actually started college I was planning to be a veterinarian, which after Animal Science two hundred, I quickly realized that is not the path for me.

Realized I just wanted to help people, but proverb sixteen nine reminds us that, you know, for a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

And my dad and I were two peas in a pod, and you know, growing up, he was my go to person.

You know, I'm one of five kids, and so I would go to him when they were you know, I was the young I was the youngest for a while.

So I had my three older siblings who would kind of leave me out of things, you know how it can be.

And so I'd go to him and we'd go on adventures together.

And it didn't matter where we ended up.

It was just like a matter of like let's go, you know, and taking this idea and kind of just allowing God to like unfold the plan.

You know.

We we would tell my mom we're going camping, and we ended up camping in like an embassy suite in Lake Tahoe, and she was like, she was like, where's your tent, where's this?

Where's that?

We're like, we don't know, we're gonna find one or we like one year, we like convinced her and my little sister to come join us because we got like a trailer.

So that way, you know, she was more on board.

But you know, he planted a seed, you know, for us to get lamas.

He's like, I have a friend who wants to give us lamas.

And he's like, Lex, what do you think of that?

I was like, oh, that sounds dope.

You know, I'm on board.

And then he's like, oh, yeah, he doesn't want to give him anymore.

And I was like, okay, let me get online and I found this lama.

I don't know what you call them, but they like literally then a trailer was showing up from like Washington to our house in southern California with like lamas.

So it's just like he would just always plant these seeds, you know, and he really just ingrained in me, like you know, where God guides, he provides, and that's really been a part of my life, you know, in Proverbs sixteen nine, and you know Romans eight twenty eight was one of my dad's favorite versus, just that he uses everything.

And so yeah, I don't remember what your question was, but well I think you answered it.

I mean, how do you stay available?

It's just like that Proverb sixteen piece, you know, it's like you can plan all you want in your your heart, but it's really the Lord who plots the course.

And you know, I think you know from even just the story about camping, you know, it's like, hey, we're just gonna you know.

And I love that this podcast is called the Walk because it is one step at a time.

And you you know, I think faith is like taking step one when you can't see step two or three.

You know, it's just you take step one and God will unfold step two and then you see what happens.

And you know, I'm at this stage in my life, Lexi where it's like, you know, I've got kids, are getting older, and you always trying to dream for the future.

But man left turns come all the time.

God throws us a curveball because if we get stuck in our w ways, sometimes our head just kind of gets stuck in the mud and we can't see all of that.

That's why God called Abraham out of the tent and said look up at the stars, like, go ahead and number them if you can.

And I think you know, He's done that with your life.

And I would venture to say, ten years ago you couldn't imagine you are where you are now.

But where you are now, let's talk a little bit about the future.

I mean, like, let's talk a little bit about you know, you're running Worship Leader magazine.

You have this legacy that's been passed on, the torch has been passed on.

What does the future look like like?

What is the vision that you're running forward with both you know, some things that maybe you feel like are deep in your heart from your dad, but also like some of the things that you feel like God is birthing in you and giving you a specific and unique vision for what the future looks like.

Yeah, I mean, I really want to answer that question, but before I do, I kind of want to go back to something that you shared.

And I would be amiss not to note that this journey has not been one for the faint of heart.

You know, I can smile here today because you know, my grandma she used to say, you know, Lexi, people can make you sad, they can make you happy, but they can't steal your joy because that comes from God and that's within.

And so I can smile here today.

I also have a great therapist, Donna shout out, you know, like taking some sessions.

Yeah, but no, it hasn't been easy.

My dad, he had Louis body dementia, and you know it.

The plan was, you know, after I had that first meeting with Junior saying how old are you?

And you know, all that happening and kind of like that wake up moment of like almost like permission to dream of what had already been ingrained in me and to like go down that path, and like I envision, like, okay, Dad, like we can't afford to live in southern California and run a ministry, Like we're either going back to Dallas I lived before, or what about Franklin because we had some team members that lived here and my parents, you know, I'm fifth generation California.

They did not want to leave California.

That's just like you know, my great great whatever's were gold miners, right, so it's just like deep in the history like that.

We never ever thought that they would leave.

But I told him, I was like, look, if you want to hand me these reins, like we can't do it here, and they said, okay, well what if we try Franklin for a year.

So we moved out here in twenty nineteen, and you know, we were just like all in and my dad he just quickly started deteriorating, and like it was getting to a point where the person who was my you know, best friend didn't know who I was, and like, you know, late at night we would Yeah, it was it was tough anyone going through that with the loved one.

It's just it's terrible.

And we ended up having to put him into a facility because it was COVID and we couldn't go and visit him in this facility because of COVID, they would only let us call at like three o'clock in the afternoon, and just conveniently, whenever we would call, he wasn't available, you know, which is just you know, tough.

And we he got his med straightened out, and we were doing we were trying to keep a normalcy, you know how it was during COVID, and you know, we had our annual conference and so we were trying to do it online.

And the day that it was online was the day that my dad was supposed to come home.

And we were like on a break in between sessions and we get a phone call saying that my dad had twenty four hours to live, and we were just like, what he is only sixty nine.

He was just supposed to be there to get his drugs sorted out, and like, how does that even happen?

And then you know, walking through that was it was.

It was terrible because we kind of just found we reconciled it because it wasn't getting better.

You know, it was just and I was going to every appointment trying to find a solution.

You know, with all these doctors, they're all practicing, they're not the miracle worker, and so, you know, and that was just it was hard because I felt like I had failed him, like I hadn't.

And then you know, reconciling it being like, no, God is saving him from a path that just wasn't he wasn't able to be who he was, you know, and it was just extremely extremely hard.

And you know, my older sister she was on a naval base in Japan, like couldn't even come out here, like it just yeah, it was.

It was awful.

And then you know, following that, you know, there was a lot of people who approached my mom kind of wanting to take over the ministry and wanting to run things.

And I once again was met with that question of like is this something that I'm doing because I feel called to do it?

Or is it now something that I'm doing because I feel the weight of this legacy And my dad and my mom they don't.

And they checked me several times before we moved to Franklin.

They're like, we don't want you just doing this because you know that we need help.

We want you doing it because it's your calling.

Well and yeah, and so like once again I was, you know, it was just like, am I doing it for legacy's sake?

Or am I doing it because this is what God has on my life and wants me to do.

It's been a roller coaster and it's been a lot of learning.

But yeah, I don't want to not mention the challenges that it's definitely come with.

Well, I think you know, anytime you're stepping into the unknown, there's going to be challenges.

I think your story, I mean from Louis body dementia with your father, and yeah, we've known people that have walked through that and that is a gut wrenching disease.

And you know, I think that unique aspect of it for you, and that it's so ingrained in your family throws you know, not a complication, but just a unique journey to walk through through that and trying to figure out, Okay, is this calling, is this legacy?

Is this obligation?

And where do you come to that conclusion?

Lexi?

I mean, I mean obviously just you know, hours and days in prayer, seeking the Lord and trying to make sure that you're in his will.

And you know, like you said earlier before, if he if he guides you to it, he's going to provide you through it.

And I think you know that's kind of where you are right now.

But how did you kind of come to that final conclusion of like, no, this is this is my time and we're going to do this thing.

How did you get to that place?

Oh?

Man, it's a daily sacrifice, you know, it's a daily you know, and not my will, but your will be done, you know, every single day.

I think it is so easy in this day and age to accomplish things, especially now that you have the different tools and resources that are out there.

And so yeah, I think for me, it's just that constant heart check in that time.

My dad used to call his prayer time with God his garden walks, and it's very much like similar to that, where I'd just like to get out in nature and have that time alone with him and alignment with God, and yeah, I think why or what I feel or what's brought me here?

And that check is just think vision too that He's given me through this next stage of things we just went through.

You know.

I had that time where all these guys were approaching my mom right, which gave me that kind of season of waiting to kind of hit pause and be like, okay, well should we release it now, like is this still something or you know, was it a pause?

And I should still go to law school?

And it was interesting like how these pauses and these times happened, you know, and really seeking him through it.

And we had another one of those moments I say we but it's just me and God.

You know, we're a partnership over here.

But I had four knee surgeries over the last year on my one rite knee, which is just another like wild story about how God doesn't cause your pain, but He's going to bring you through it.

And I was matched just randomly, but nothing's random with my surgeon, who actually was a worship leader in high school and read worship Leader magazine, so like yeah, just like whoa.

But you know, in that season, it really like it literally just like I'm still walking through it, but it feels like it's in the past.

It forced me to pause, and you know, I had partnered with these guys who kind of came along right after my dad passed away, who wanted to help make these resources that I had dreamt and that was my vision.

It's like, how do we take these amazing resources, these timeless truths.

You know, we're not just making content to make content.

We want to make resources that are accessible, that are built around these timeless truths and make them available digitally.

And these guys approached me and they wanted to do that, and we walked that through together and go into a point where I didn't feel like I was in alignment with the vision that God was giving me, and I wasn't able to steer that anymore.

I didn't have that freedom to really go where God, where God guides, He provides, you know, I just was like kind of held up, and you know, I didn't know that that was happening until like kind of after my fourth knee surgery, and I was like sitting out on my deck just like I felt like I'd failed, like I had, you know, and that my dad would be so disappointed in me, and I just this weight.

So when you talk about legacy and kind of just like God shaking me and saying, no, wake up.

You know, you know, your dad could care less about his legacy.

What he cares most about is that you were following the plan that I have for you.

And so yeah, I just got freedom from that partnership.

And I now feel like when we talk about like the future of Worship Leader magazine, I feel like I can, maybe not once again, but almost for the first time, feel like I can't really lead this ministry towards the vision that God's put on my heart.

And so that's very exciting for me.

It's exciting that I can make decisions and can you know, not have to worry about what things look like or what people look like, or but instead just worry about like, is this a timeless truth?

Is this you know, biblically sound?

So yeah, anyways, this is a super long answer.

No, give us give us a little bit of snapshot, Like I mean, don't unfold the plan, like, don't give us the secret plays or anything like that, but give us give us a little bit of snapshot.

I mean, we're starting off twenty twenty six.

What does what does this year look like with Worship Leader Magazine?

What is it that thing that you're the most excited about with Worship Leader mag I know, I.

Said timeless Truths because I look back on old articles from the magazine, like in the early nineties, and we are we're going back into the treasure troves and finding those articles and you know, publishing them and people are finding them so helpful today.

And that's because we've always been focused on creating training that is grounded in the Bible, you know, and making sure that it's sound, not training that is trendy.

So I think for me, you know, I'm excited that we're going to start introducing some more podcast shows.

I've shared that with you, and I really see podcast shows as being kind of like the calumnists for the magazine back in the day.

And you know, there's so many podcast shows out there nowadays.

It's like, how do we really curate and say these are the ones that we know, we've vetted, we believe in, and we'd like to put them out there for more people to use.

We're going to continue to kind of get back to basics when it came to the magazine and covering the topics that are important because they haven't changed.

And we're going to continue to find the authors like the Ron Allen's, like the Robert Webers who really spoke into worship and helping give more of this language around it.

And my hope is, really, how are we helping train worship leaders beyond Sunday?

How are we helping them understand their role as a leader, helping them understand what it means to spread the good News of the Gospel through some prayer through music.

You know, for me, music was always a vehicle for how I would sing my prayers and I hear a lot of my dad's friends, you know, from the Jesus Movement days, you know, they like to talk about that time and they'll talk about how they would walk into a church service and they would hear a song and it would move them so much that they would write then and there give their life to Jesus and they would talk about it.

Or the way that they talk about it today is like it doesn't exist anymore, And I disagree.

I believe that there are songs out there, and how are we just them and sharing them with the church and helping that spread and helping those songs that have been yet to be discovered that are out there, giving them a platform, giving them a place where they can be reached by others.

So yeah, it's kind of like a snippet into the things.

But I mean, Curtis, I'm just excited to be able to work with folks like you who are pouring back into the church from the church, who are staying rooted where they are called and growing exactly where God's called you to be.

And so anytime that I get to be able to like chat with you or like dream with you is always like that's like my favorite part of what I get to do.

Oh man, I'm honored to be a part of this family.

And yeah, I mean grateful that you guys believe in Worshipology, the podcast, and I think you know, just just so you know, as a worship leader, and I've been leading worship.

Gosh, I've started at fourteen years old, and I'm a little bit older than that now, so let's just say around thirty I've been leading worship and twenty five thirty years And to know that there'sh you don't have to do it alone.

I think the cool thing about like Worship Leader magazine is it's a resource, whether you're finding new songs and through song discovery, or you're reading an article that reaches the exact struggle that you're in, or just a podcast.

Like you said, there's there's so many different things out there that you guys are doing that's providing resources, and it's providing you know, opportunity to walk alongside with with worship pastors and worship leaders and worship teams, and it's just so encouraging.

I know several times, you know, I'll have our band, you know, in between two services and I'll share, you know, just like a devotional thought that I read from something that y'all had put out that week.

And I think that's what it's all about.

You know.

It's like we're a community of faith, We're a community of worship, and and so you guys keep doing the thing, keep doing the thing.

And what I hear you say is really cools.

It just reminds me of what Revelation talks about to the Letter to the Church, where it's like go back to your first love, you know, like do the things you did at first, you know, do the things you did at first, because like you said, those timeless truths, they don't they don't expire.

And I mean there's so many songs that I mean, the older songs are coming back, the hymns.

I mean you see the hymns behind me, these old songs like Greatest, like Faithfulness, and but the hymns and these these songs from the eighties and nineties that continue to live on just like that.

There are things that were written back then that you know.

It's like man like when you pick up a book by A.

W.

Tozer or C.

W.

A.

C.

S.

Lewis, I mean, it's so good even still today.

And I think there's a beautiful truth in that.

So so props to you for for not just letting those things be buried, but maybe reviving some of those things that we need for today's day and age worship leaders.

Well, going back to you when you say going back to your first love, it's like, that is your relationship with God first and foremost.

That is that is where you should grow from.

You shouldn't be trying to grow from a talent or trying to grow from you know, something like that.

It's literally, your relationship with God comes first, and everything that you are is going to grow from that, and it's going to be beautiful.

It's going to be challenging, it's going to you know, push you to your edge.

But that's why it's so beautiful.

It's because when you are at your breaking point, go back to your first love, because he's still there.

He's still with you through everything.

You know, you're talking to a person who I moved across the country.

You know, I had four knee surgeries over the last year.

There's just been so many times where my dad, he you know, died unexpectedly, you know, and there's just so many things that have happened.

I went to my therapist and we've had our own little like media things too, and I went to her and I said, Donna, what is going on?

Why is there so many bad things happening?

You know?

And I was just like, it just feels like one slam after another.

And she was like, LEXI is life.

We are not here to just have an easy path to heaven that is not going to help spread the good news of the gospel.

And so it calls me back to with each of these challenge that I challenges that I faced, you know, and remembering that God isn't causing my pain.

God didn't cause me to have this knee surgery, but he's brought me through it.

He didn't cause me to off the second, third, or fourth one, but he's literally, you know, I the second knee surgery that I had to have.

I had just had my first knee surgery.

I was downstairs in the mud.

I thought I was doing great, and I literally I slipped.

I slipped in the mud and I fell on that knee and I didn't have my phone and I couldn't call for help.

I think I called for my mom once, but I didn't want to make a scene with the neighbors.

I don't know why.

That's just who I am, you know.

And I had my Apple watch on and my little sister called me, like out of the blue.

And it's just like another example of like God shows up for you in ways that you could have never planned.

And I thought I could plan things, you know.

I thought that I had my whole plan mapped out, and his plan was so much better.

I just had to let go and let God.

I know that's like such a trendy saying, and it's so much easier to say it than to do it.

But I'm telling you, like where God guides, he does provide, and he will.

It might not be in your timing, but his timing is better.

And it's just a matter of making sure you steward what he's providing you with.

I think oftentimes I see worship leaders they you know, they I don't know why it's ingrained in us as like a kid.

It's like, Okay, we have to we're the worship leader, but I want to be the pastor, you know, that's my goal is to be the pastor of this church.

And it's like, but then what's going to happen with the worship leader?

And aren't you a pastor?

You know, like that whole debate, And it's like, what if you instead of like striving for the next position, what if you just really try to be the best worship leader that your church could have, and like and beyond the platform, like in your community, like stepping down from just you're not just leading songs on Sunday.

Your role is so much bigger than that, Like leader is in the title for a reason, you know.

And it's just like, how do we encourage worship leaders to be more than just a musician?

How do we encourage pastors and congregations and the whole church to view the worship leader as more than somebody who's talented, or more than somebody who can just play the top songs that you hear on the radio, you know what I mean.

It's like, yeah, it's not just on the worship leader.

I think there's way too much pressure that comes on the worship leader and we need to help them know how to navigate that pressure as a leader.

But at the same time, we need to help educate the rest of the church to support the creatives in their church.

So anyways, I'm sorry, but.

That's really cool.

Lot well, I mean, you know, you said it really well.

I mean, nothing in this life is promised to be easy.

I mean, John was a John sixteenth thirty three.

Jesus said, for you know, you will have trouble in this world, but take her for I've overcome the world.

So he's not promising us easy life.

He's just promising us his presence as as we go through it, he will be there and he's with us to the end of the age, you know.

So, but I do appreciate that, you know, like it is easy to kind of just view a worship leader as you know, a musician who just gets up there on Sunday and kind of takes us through songs so we can get to the message.

But having been somebody, I mean, you know, I was a lead pastor for five years in Nashville, planted a church, and you know that was a calling for a specific time.

We were able to raise up a team and the church is still in existence today and going on and doing great things.

But as somebody who's kind of been in both of those worlds, lead pastor and worship leader, you know, each of those roles and areas has such unique challenges and unique callings.

But you're also reaching different people.

You know.

It's like they say, different fishing lures catch different fish, and I think it's the same in the Kingdom of God.

It's like, you know, a worship leader might be able to catch a fish that lead pastor may not be able to catch, you know, and and and vice versa.

And so I think it's all of these things working together for the good of the Body of Christ to grow the Kingdom of God.

Are you trying to get into denomination conversation?

Oh, I don't even know anything about that.

I was raised non denominational.

We were, we were the nons, right, we have no history, we don't we don't know our history.

We have a history.

Yes, yeah, that's just safer that way, it's easier that way.

But but you know, I think I think that's the thing where it's like there's I mean, my goodness, yeah, there are so many denominations, but there's so many different you know, focuses and what is it, different strokes for different folks.

You know, I think any church that's preaching Jesus, any church that is preaching the Gospels, the church I get behind.

And you know, I think that's the thing where you know, worship leaders just need to know too, Like, man, we we are gospel proclaimers.

You know, we get to do it through music.

We get to do it through song and tell the story of Jesus and and invite you end of that story.

And I mean we just came out of the Christmas season where you know, we got to sing about the birth of Christ and the hope, the thrill of hope that for all of humanity, and the hinge on which all history hangs is the birth of Jesus.

And the hope isn't gone.

Hope is still here.

Well, we need the gospel every day.

We need I mean Christmas every day, Easter every day, we need the Gospel every day.

So and we need this day new songs.

Well, let's talk about that for a little bit.

Like, you know what, what has kind of been a staple point for Worship Leader Magazine in discovering new songs not just through song discovery, but like getting those voices out there that maybe people have never heard of before.

And what does that look like as we look ahead to the year.

Oh man, curtis you really want all the tea?

No, I don't have anything to hide.

Yeah, I I'm really passionate about song discovery, and it's been put on hold, just like you know, when I came on board, we paused printing.

We we paused it.

I like to say we stopped because I would like to bring something back at some point, but as far as song discovery goes, we paused it.

It just it was something that my dad and I were really passionate about.

But we were also really passionate about the Worship Leader Institute and getting the training from the conference available year round, which we have been able to do.

And so next up, it's just like you know, Song Discovery was this disc that went out with every issue, right, and it was the way that folks Yeah, and I love that.

I love that people still remember and you know that they still have.

I see so many folks who still have like their CDs and everything, and it's like, well that was beautiful.

But now we have Spotify, right, But what we're still missing is that curation of like those songs, right, Like I mentioned before, Like I really do believe that those songs that are changing lives are still out there.

They just haven't necessarily been discovered or haven't been put out in a place where people have access to them.

And so yeah, we're doing some dreaming with Song Discovery.

I've had a lot of friends come to me and now that I have this freedom again that I was mentioning earlier, you know, freedom to kind of go after those things.

And I've always believed that, you know, folks came to worship or magazine for the music, and then they would stay for the training.

You know, they'd come to find some new songs to sing, and then they'd be like, oh, there's some helpful articles, you know, or you know, this might help me a little bit.

So yeah, I mean, we're doing some dreaming with Song Discovery, and you know, my hope is just how can we find those songs that even if it changes one person's life or two people, like, we're not looking to change millions, you know, that's not that's not where the work needs to be done.

It needs to start smaller than that.

And so yeah, we're just trying to kind of create a place once again where those songs can be discovered and they can be available in a way that folks can use them.

And you know, if you have a song, we want to hear it.

And so it's been so well received with the folks that I have spoken to, and we also kind of want to go back in our archives of songs that we still think need to be sung today that we had put out on Song Discovery.

So I'm actually working with some folks who were involved in the early days of Worship Leader magazine that God's just brought into my life in recent months and said, hey, here's someone who wants to help and wants to be part.

And it's been beautiful to continue to kind of learn about my dad through all these different stories.

And I used to be in a place where Donna helped me, you know, walk through this.

But I used to be in a place where it was really hard to hear those stories of my dad.

I was I was jealous that I didn't get that, And now it's kind of moved into more of a place where it's a huge blessing to be able to continue to learn about him.

So song discovery, it's still it's definitely a part of the vision now than i've before.

That's cool, that's awesome to hear that.

I'm excited for it.

Cannot wait to see the songs that let's go.

Hey listen, man, there's some songs that have never been brought out of a basement, and so we'll see what happens with those.

I don't know, but let me ask you one more question.

I think this is so huge just for people listening, because this is something that everybody can identify.

But what would you say to someone who's maybe just unsure of their calling or or you know, kind of like yourself, you know, for knee surgeries, moving across the country, doing something you never could have imagined.

What would you say to someone whose life maybe hasn't gone according to their plan?

And what do they do next, Like, what's just the next step right now for somebody who's a little unsure of the future.

I mean, first and foremost, so it encourage them to get into prayer.

I'd encourage them to get out in the garden, of course, but you know, I also you know, my dad used to always say God directly moving object.

And so for me, what that's meant is continuing to knock on doors and don't get stuck at ones that are closed.

And then also I would just encourage you that you don't have to see the whole path.

You know you're not going to and so you know, I often talk with folks who won't take that next step until they see, you know, four or five steps down the road.

And I agree, have that next vine, you know, before you let go of the one that you're on.

But don't try to predict what's going to happen tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes or it's always today, you know.

And I would just say that God doesn't waste anything, and that your story is important, whether that finds you like in the thick of it, feeling alone, feeling you know, battling depression, I mean, anxiety.

All of those things are so real, and so you know in our face nowadays, be because of just the accessibility that we have to so much information, which could be a whole other episode.

But yeah, I just I would just encourage them that God doesn't waste anything, and that he wants to use your story.

And yeah, I mean, if it was Donna here giving advice, she would tell you to journal, so we would just save some money.

That's really good.

That's really good.

Don't waste Yeah, I paid for that advice.

I'm giving it for free now.

Nice.

Nice, Well, I appreciate that.

I appreciate our listeners will appreciate that too.

So ask me if I'm good at journaling.

It's just still one of those things.

It's a discipline.

It's a spiritual discipline, and just like prayer is just like you know, generosity and every other spiritual discipline, journaling is one.

And I think that's how you steward the hard seasons, is uh.

You know, I just have a notepad full of all of these crazy, you know, left turns and curve balls that we went through both in church planting and the years and decades of ministry.

And you know, it's wild because you can go back and see the track record of God's faithfulness in your life, and you can go back and say, man, that he did back then, you know.

And and it doesn't matter what we walk through, He's going to be with us, and you know we're gonna come out on the other side, you know, stronger believers better for it.

You can come out jaded or you can come out better.

And my advice is to come out better.

And it sounds like that's what you've been able to do through all the ups and downs, and it's so.

Hard to see it when you're in it, the friend like, and I think that's why journaling is so important, is because we're learning every day, right, whether it's like whatever you're in, whatever the season, we're learning every day.

And give yourself an opportunity to learn from that day, I think is why it's so important to journal too, And just give yourself grace and kindness that you get from God, you know, and and don't be so hard on yourself, Like I think we need to show more love.

Always, always, grace for others, grace for yourself.

Lexi, thank you so much for joining us on the wa It's been a journey.

Thanks for having me my first interview So good.

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