The Worship Lab Podcast

Well, we had a good run, but all mediocre things must come to an end. This will be the final episode of WLP. Michael explains his transition from Houston's First into his new position, the guys discuss whether or not the show has served it's purpose, and some other final thoughts. We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have. Please write in and tell us what the show has meant to you. Stay in touch: Michael's email is mbrady@live.com Sam's email is thesamjones@gmail.com www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

In addition to whining about keyboards being hidden in piano shells, Michael and Sam have a conversation about pastoral care and specifically about hospital visits.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

As a part of the ongoing discussion about how to define a "win" for worship services, Sam leads a conversation about worshipping with our head, heart, and hands. www.worshiplabpodcast.com

This week, the guys give a crash (and we mean crash) course in scales and modes. We hope it helps.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam start sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge on this episode where they countdown the top 20 worst Christmas songs of all time. Ho ho ho... Now I have a machine gun. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam countdown their top 20 favorite Christmas songs of all time. Merry Christmas! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Paul Baloche joins the guys this week for a conversation that covers a wide range of topics. Paul has a great heart for the Lord and for church musicians. We hope you enjoy it! Check out http://www.leadworship.com if you haven't yet and be sure to get a copy of Paul's latest release "For Unto Us (Christmas Worship Live from London)". Info here: http://smarturl.it/ForUntoUsChristmas  As always, reach out to us via our home on the web: www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Liz Trask joins the guys this week for a conversation about Singers - a small choir that leads with the band at Houston's First. Liz shares her approach to leading that group and some of the benefits of having a vocal ensemble on the platform with a contemporary band.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Cynicism is a common problem among church musicians, and Michael and Sam aren't immune its siren song. Here are some practical ways to help protect your ministry from the often-inescapable pit of cynicism.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Sam and Michael work their way through a list of pet peeves - things that congregants find annoying about their worship leaders. Meh, what do they know?! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam talk about how to have a healthy debrief of your worship services. Check out our website below and be sure to leave us an honest FIVE STAR review on iTunes. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Everyone wants to quit their job at some point. Michael and Sam are joined by Zac Hufty (who works with Michael at HFBC Cypress) on this episode to discuss when it's appropriate to leave and how one should go about doing that. To be clear though, you might should just stay. Pray about it. Please don't use this episode as an excuse to make a rash decision. Unless that means you hurriedly leave us an honest FIVE STAR review on iTunes.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This is the second (and final) installment in Michael and Sam's misguided (but well-meaning) excursion into church history. Hope you enjoy it! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam discuss the significance of the Reformation - does it matter for modern worship leaders? Look for the second part to this episode next week. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam have a conversation this week about some things that may not be totally obvious to some pastors. This episode is based largely on the insightful work of Bob Kauflin from his blog post. Here's a link: http://worshipmatters.com/2015/10/05/what-worship-leaders-wished-their-pastor-knew/ Here's our home on the web: www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam were interviewed by Todd Wright on his show, The Average Everyday Worship Leader Podcast, and so we thought we would gravy-train and release this as a bonus episode. Hope you enjoy it! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Todd Wright from the Average Everyday Worship Leader Podcast is trying to take over the show this week. Michael and Sam join him for a discussion about older worship leaders. We realize how absurd the idea of two guys in their early thirties giving advice to people with more experience. Also, Todd's new album is about to drop! Pick it up from iTunes on October 6th, which is also Todd's birthday. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam offer advice to younger folks in ministry. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

We've seen a lot of worship leaders trade in their acoustic guitars for electric guitars. Here's a few tips to keep you from jumping the shark. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam are joined by Edward Pingenot for a discussion about revival and spiritual awakening. Are we able to manufacture a move of God?  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Nostalgia time. Michael and Sam talk about (mostly) 90's worship songs that they think have held up.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

After a delightful listener mail, Michael and Sam attempt to address the topic of volunteer rotation. The key word is "attempt".  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Quick update from the guys... Praying for everyone's safety.   www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam have a discussion about delegation this week on the show. Unfortunately, Michael couldn't find anyone to delegate writing this description.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Veteran guest Johnny Simmons from Church of the Holy Trinity returns for a conversation/debate about the adaptation of hymns for modern congregations.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam have a conversation about spiritual disciplines this week. We hope it's edifying.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam interview each other on this week's episode. Sam is definitely an extrovert and Michael is an introvert... so how does this affect their leadership? www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Responding to a listener mail, the guys discuss how to evangelize better on and off the platform. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam walk through John Wesley's brilliant rules for singing. Check out our back catalog of episodes if you're new to the party! www.worshiplabpodcast.com

Michael and Sam have a conversation about the tendency in churches to replace older players and worship leaders with younger people.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

It turns out that tuning drums is so easy a caveman could do it. Well, not exactly, but Isaias Gil joins Michael and Sam for a practical episode on drum sound and tuning. Hope this helps! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam are joined again by Justin Teague from Faithbridge for a discussion about the all-too-common attitude of entitlement we see on worship teams. Justin, as usual, provides great insights - in spite of the clumsy hosts. www.worshiplabpodcast.com   

What does it mean to be hospitable? Why does scripture require this characteristic of leadership? On this week's episode, Michael and Sam try to answer these questions. Let's try and be more inclusive this week, eh? www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam have a conversation about the difference between building a culture of family and building a culture of consumers. We hope this is helpful! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Ambition is a good thing, right? Michael and Sam have a conversation this week to discuss the pitfalls associated with always wanting to move up in your church.

On this episode, Michael and Sam discuss some tips to help you play well with others and make the most out of your collaborations. Check out our website if you're really bored: www.worshiplabpodcast.com   

How do you deal with nerves? This week on the show, Michael and Sam are joined by Chris Wilson for a great discussion about how to deal with stressful moments in worship services. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Sam leads a discussion through the things he's learned about worship from playing outside of church. While the two venues are vastly different in purpose and approach, there is some overlap. Subscribe and leave us an honest FIVE-STAR REVIEW on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

In response to a great listener mail, Michael and Sam discuss and demonstrate several guitar amp modelers on this week's episode. Subscribe to get more episodes like this every week WHILE YOU SLEEP. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

The delightful and wise Dr. John Yarrington (of First Presbyterian Church as well as Choral Master and Professor of Music at HBU) joins his former pupils for a great discussion about choir and lots of other topics. He has authored five books, and several are mentioned on this episode: Have We Had This Conversation? Somebody's Got My Robe   Visit our website to leave us a comment or question: www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam are joined by coworker Ryan Langford and his father, Dr. Mike Langford this week for a discussion about memorizing scripture. Mike has memorized large portions of the Bible and hearing him talk about this discipline was both convicting and inspiring. Hope you're encouraged. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

John Bolin returns to the show this week for a conversation about how to run effective choir rehearsals. Lots of great wisdom and practical stuff on this episode. At the end of the episode, John mentions a free resource from First|Worship. Here's a link to sign up: http://firstworship.com Leave us a comment on our website: www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week on the podcast, Michael and Sam have a discussion about 'secular' music. Are certain styles inherently evil? Are bands that identify as Christian always safe? We hope this discussion helps. Let us know how you think we did. Subscribe today and please leave us a 5 STAR REVIEW on iTunes. www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam have a conversation about leading through emotional or physical pain. God will, at times, lead us into difficult situations and although he will never leave nor forsake us, we should suffer well. We hope this is encouraging.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Michael and Sam walk through the basics of how to create a rhythm chart for your band. Hope it helps. Let us know (via the comment page on our website or social media) if you have any questions or if we really missed the mark on something. Subscribe to get a new episode every week! www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Johnny Simmons returns to the show again for a discussion about the over-emphasis on the pursuit of leadership among Evangelicals. Should leadership in itself be the primary pursuit for worship leaders? Spoiler Alert: we don't think so.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! On this special bonus episode, Michael and Sam are joined by Johnny Simmons for a discussion of the life of St. Patrick. There's also a reading of St. Patrick's Breastplate as well as a discussion of some of our favorite Irish hymns.  www.worshiplabpodcast.com    Note: The instrumental underscore used with the reading was performed and recorded by Andy Leftwich from his album "Instrumental Hymns". We don't own it or take any credit for it. 

Meetings can be a drain and demoralizing. Let's work on making them better. This week, Michael and Sam share some practical ways to make meetings run better. Hope this actually improves your life.  Also, since you've already read the rest, you're probably a thoughtful person, so why not take a moment to leave us a positive review on the iTunes store?! It would really help others discover our podcast and keep the wind in our sails too. Here's a link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-worship-lab-podcast/id965950597?mt=2 Here's our home-on-the-web: www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, Michael and Sam are joined by Wes Mathew (drummer and owner of Puresound USA) for a conversation about Wes' awesome story, drumming, and some easy sound upgrades for small to medium sized churches. Subscribe today to get more episodes like this without even trying. www.worshiplabpodcast.com  http://www.puresoundusa.com 

Ready or not, here it comes. On this Easter episode, Michael and Sam talk about what their plans for the big day, how to distinguish between good and bad traditions, and many other topics (rants and rabbit-trails). www.worshiplabpodcast.com 

This week, the guys discuss why and how to easily incorporate scripture into worship services. It can be tempting to overlook the simple yet profound beauty of the sacred scriptures. www.worshiplabpodcast.com