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| Castleton Community Church |
JR: Let's start with the important issues. How did you come to faith in Christ, and when did you get interested in music?
LJ: I came to faith in Christ through going to a summer youth retreat when I was 13. I grew up in a Christian family and knew the gospel from a young age but had not been born again. At the youth retreat, the Holy Spirit convicted me of the way I had been living for myself and showed me that the only path to true life is in Christ alone. It was shortly after that when I began playing guitar. My dad is a musician and so is my brother. I would have them show me things on guitar and I would practice every day after school. I then started helping lead worship for our church youth group and this proved to be a great training ground for me to grow in my abilities and gifts.
JR: Who would you consider influencers in your life both in faith and in music (e.g. author, musicians, family, current and previous pastors)?
LJ: My youth pastor was highly influential in my life. If God had not placed him in my life, I would not be where I am today. He really pursued a relationship with me and discipled me well. My previous pastor at Walnut Grove Chapel, Randy Worland, was another huge influence on my life, particularly with regard to theological matters. He helped me grow in my understanding of God’s sovereignty and a theology/philosophy of worship. Some musical artists that have influenced me are Shane and Shane, Phil Wickham, All Sons and Daughters, Tenth Avenue North, Matt Boswell, Bob Kauflin, and many more.
JR: I know a pastor's week includes sermon prep, visitation, and counseling, as well as other things. What does a worship leader's week look like?
LJ: It’s probably different for every worship leader depending on what their responsibilities include. For me, I am responsible for planning our Sunday morning worship services. I spend a good block of time planning out the songs and different worship elements that go into a Sunday morning service. I lead both the volunteer teams for the worship team and the tech team so this requires a lot of time scheduling and communicating with volunteers. I am over both worship and tech so if any technical issues arise with our audio, video or lighting, that falls on me to figure out. I set the stage each week for the team and make sure I am prepared to lead the team through rehearsal on Thursday nights. I also plan out our prayer and praise nights which happen once a month. These are times for the congregation to gather for prayer and singing. Outside of the music sphere of ministry, I also oversee our Global Outreach, Prayer, Facilities, and IT at the church. So when I’m not doing something worship arts related, there is no shortage of things for me to do : )
JR: What do you consider when selecting songs for worship on Sundays?
LJ: Colossians 3:16 tells us to “Let the message of Christ dwell in us richly, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs…” The gospel of Jesus dwells in us richly when we sing various types of songs together in the church. So first and foremost, I want to make sure we are singing songs that are full of gospel truth. That does not mean every song needs to have lyrics about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. But I would hope that at some point during a Sunday, we sing about those things. We need the gospel every day, it is not the starting point of our faith, it is the main point that we need daily! Some other things I think about when selecting songs is singing songs that are more God-centered than man-centered. We want the balance to be singing more about who God is and what He has done rather than what we are going to do for God. Another thing I think about is trying to sing a variety of both hymns and contemporary. We value singing songs from the Church throughout the ages, this communicates that we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves.
JR: In interviews, I often ask how the interviewee is doing in a time when things look like they can be difficult for Christians. But allow me to take a different angle. The coming storm is a motivation for Christians to unify and encourage one another. Yet one of the issues that often causes division in a local church is music. How can the music ministry contribute to building unity in the church?
LJ: Church music can often be divisive in church, this is sad reality. But at the same time, it has the potential to be one of the most unifying things that a congregation does! When we sing together, we are confessing together what we believe to be true. Hearing the congregation’s one voice lifted up, proclaiming the truth of the gospel and professing our love and devotion to God, is something that draws our hearts together as one. No matter what is going on in our lives or in the world around us, we can unite around the core truths we are singing together and find encouragement.
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