Aaron Williams: Transition, Songwriting & Making Disciples

Evan Wickham joins Aaron Keyes on this month’s podcast! Evan is the Lead Pastor of Park Hill Church in San Diego. This episode covers a lot of ground - Evan’s journey of transitioning to a senior pastor/ church planter role after decades as a worship leader, Sabbath being the thing that changed everything for the Wickham family, and how where you sit determines what you see. The conversation closes with a vulnerable, honest question of whether Jesus experienced fear, guilt, and shame the same way we do. Lots of big questions with gentle, kind, thoughtful responses.

Aaron and Jess Leslie sit down with Jess’ very own boss, Zac Hicks, lead pastor of Church of the Cross in Birmingham, AL. Zac’s book “The Worship Pastor” (Zondervan, 2016) laid out a compelling and comprehensive vision that aligns so well with what we teach at Worship School and in this conversation we get to explore his journey from being a worship pastor to a lead pastor. Zac and Jess are a dynamic partnership leading a new church plant in Birmingham, Alabama.  We also talked about “How do you know when it’s time to leave your church?,” “How lead pastors might overstep their bounds in regards to working with their worship pastor,” and how to reach those who are slipping through the cracks of cultural Christianity. 

Aaron Keyes and Dee Wilson sit down with Elias Dummer, a Canadian musician and the principal songwriter and founding member of the City Harmonic band. This thought-provoking conversation will stir every worship leader to wrestle with the (often unspoken) desire to produce those goosebump moments on a Sunday morning. There’s a much stronger connection between behavioral science and song/set structure than we might realize. What’s really beneath it, and how does it affect what we’re communicating about God and the spiritual formation of our congregations? At the end of the day, what does it mean to actually lead HUMANS in worship?

In this episode, Aaron Keyes and Lauren Settembrini (10KFAM’s Executive Director) chat with New Testament scholar and author, Lynn Cohick. We discuss a variety of topics arising from her decades-long journey as a woman in academic and ministry spaces, the road blocks along the way, and the importance of community. Dr. Cohick is the Academic Dean, Provost, and Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary, with whom we’re partnered for a Master of Arts in Worship degree. She’s spearheading a new Master’s degree in Women’s Studies at Northern, and has become a leading voice in the affirmation of women in leadership in the church.

Aaron Keyes and Jon Egan chat with Leslie Jordan on everything from The Fold, the non-profit she co-founded to nurture creatives of all types, to life and ministry after All Sons & Daughters. This conversation dives deep into what it means to create in a way that’s transformative, how the best art is born from tension, and the skill (and value!) of always looking for what’s good. Leslie also shares her thoughts on navigating social media and her advice to songwriters.

In today’s climate of divisive, either/or narratives, Preston Sprinkle’s Theology in the Raw podcast is quickly becoming one of the safest, most thoughtful places to engage with a variety of not-so-simple topics with a posture of curiosity and connection. Aaron has been a guest on Theology in the Raw multiple times, but in this episode we get to flip the script and interview Preston! The conversation covers everything from how his podcast journey began and how he’s living differently because of it, what breaks his heart, seeking belonging over entertainment, and a way forward that gives hope.

If you’ve been around the 10,000 Fathers & Mothers community for any length of time, you are probably acquainted with our dear friend and coach, Aaron Williams. Aaron is the co-founder of Dwell, a parachurch ministry serving both the individual Christ-follower and the church, and a resident artist at The Worship Initiative in Dallas, TX. In this episode, Aaron (Keyes) and Jess Leslie sit down for a conversation with Aaron (Williams) about discerning the will of God, songwriting, making disciples, and his first full-length record titled “The Hope of Christ,” available everywhere music is streamed/sold.

After playing (and teaching) guitar for years, worship pastor Jason Houtsma built an online platform to help train musicians. Worship Artistry has since grown to have thousands of musicians, and they now offer lessons on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, bass, keys, and vocals—with lessons covering 500 songs and counting. At 10,000 Fathers, we’re all about training leaders in character and competency. I know of no better resource for the musical side of competency than Worship Artistry. Hear some of my own testimony on how it’s helped me, hear some of Jason’s heart on why any of this matters, and go over to their site and get started for free!

Australian pastor & author Steve Cuss joins Aaron at home to talk about how leaders can get unstuck from chronic patterns, and move from being managed by leadership anxiety to proactively managing it. Steve's book has been instrumental in helping countless leaders, and this episode will give you a sneak peak at some of the tools Steve is joined by two of his staff members (Jimmy Carnes & Mariah Van Tress), both of whom are involved in the worship leadership at his church, Discovery, outside Denver, CO.  Managing Leadership Anxiety (Yours & Theirs) is available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Leadership-Anxiety-Yours-Theirs/dp/1400210887 To apply for worship school, visit Worship.School.  For more information about Mere Worship, go to MereWorship.com.

Mack Brock was a worship pastor at Elevation Church for a decade. He songs have been sung around the world, with millions of streams online. He has continued writing, producing, and touring, and his new album comes out soon. Here, Micah and Aaron sit with Mack to talk about a few of his takeaways from his career, as well as lessons from this current season.  Intro music is Mack's newest single, "Bless the One."  For more information about 10,000 Fathers Worship School, visit us at worship.school. For more information about Mere Worship, check out mereworship.com.