Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)

Episode 515: Author Jon Ward
Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation 
 
Jon Ward is senior political correspondent for Yahoo News, author of Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation (Brazos Press, 2023) and Camelot's End: Kennedy v Carter and the Fight that Broke the Democratic Party (Twelve Books, 2019), and host of “The Long Game” podcast. His Substack newsletter is called "Border Stalkers." Jon has covered American politics and culture for two decades, as a city desk reporter in Washington D.C., as a White House correspondent who traveled aboard Air Force One to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and as a national affairs correspondent who has traveled the country to write about two presidential campaigns and the ideas and people animating our times. He has been published in The Washington Post, The New Republic, Politico Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, and The Washington Times.
Web Site: https://www.jonwardwrites.org/
Get the Book: Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation (Brazos Press, 2023)

Episode 514 - Envy and Jealousy: Your Spiritual Allies
 
This week’s episode is inspired by the book, Boundaries for Your Soul: How To Turn Your Overwhelming Thoughts and Feelings into Your Greatest Allies.
 
 
Get the book:
https://amzn.to/3IhF57z

Episode 513 - Worship Leader Research with Marc Jolicoeur and Adam Perez
 
www.WorshipLeaderResearch.com is the home for articles and news related to a collaborative study focused on the behaviours of the primary contributors to contemporary worship and the attitudes and behaviours of local worship leaders towards them. By exploring the relationships between quantitative and qualitative data, they hope to better understand the relationship between the worship music industry and local worship practitioners. Their study aims to equip practitioners with a deeper understanding of the forces that impact their corporate worship song selections.
Their first article caused quite a stir online, revealing that (Almost) 100% of the Top 25 Worship Songs on CCLI are associated with just a handful of Megachurches.
Today I am joined by two researchers from the Worship Leader Resources Team, Marc Jolicoeur and Adam Perez. 
Marc is a worship leader in New Brunswick, Canada. 
Adam is a prof at Belmont University in Nashville.
Worship Leader Research Articles: 
(Almost) 100% of the Top 25 Worship Songs are associated with just a handful of Megachurches
https://worshipleaderresearch.com/100-of-the-top-25-worship-songs-are-associated-with-just-a-handful-of-megachurches/ 
How Songs Like “Great Are You Lord” Are Connected to the “Big 4” Worship Megachurches
https://worshipleaderresearch.com/how-songs-like-great-are-you-lord-are-connected-to-the-big-4/?fbclid=IwAR3W8qE6XcO-al-uAVe65wwfP27Gw9X_SjphFZOrryBTBwRj-aQYv9mip88&mibextid=Zxz2cZ 
 

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 512 - Canyon Hills Worship with guest Michael Monroe
Canyon Hills Worship has been churning out album after album with DREAM Records since 2017. Though they have yet to charter an international smash the way Bethel, Hillsong Worship, UNITED, Jesus Culture and Chris Tomlin have, they are getting better with each record. The worship team is part of the Canyon Hills Church in Seattle, Washington, a church founded in 1995 by Steve and Tammi Walker. Now the church has over 3,500 people on a weekend, and more than 190 Life Groups functioning throughout the week.
"All to Jesus (Live)" is the follow-up to 2022's "Spirit of God." Featuring 9 new live tracks and a studio version of their current radio single "Every Season," the songs center around the theme of surrender. This is most explicitly expressed in the ballad "Surrender." Utilizing the hook from the hymn "I Surrender All," the song is a drawn-out ballad that puts contemporary expressions to the ancient song. "Abide," a song inspired by the words of Jesus in John 14, describes what the posture of surrender looks like. With exquisite and heartfelt vocals, the team's rendition of the pensive ballad "Set Me on Fire" is the emotional hub of the album.
"On and On," the team's most successful song, has generated over 10M streams and downloads. One listen to it and you know why. The ultra-catchy hook (You're holy, holy, holy are You, God/You're the only One who's holy) will get even the most tune-deaf person singing in no time. Worship leaders will also do well to include the pop-centric "Glory Hallelujah" into their song sets. Though the 80s-esque "Mercy of Jesus" has a singable-melody, the lyrics are forgettable. A greater reliance on scripture will make a track like "Every Season" rise from good to great.
Canyon Hills Worship has shown improvement with each album. "All to Jesus (Live)" is easily their career best. With lots of congregationally focused songs, this album will help the church to learn what it means to truly surrender to Jesus. 
 
 
More about Canyon Hills Worship
https://www.canyonhillscommunitychurch.com/worship/
 

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 511 - Superman at 85
What is it about Superman that has made him so popular for 85 years?
 
Blessings,
Rick Lee James

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast) Episode 510 - Theology of Suffering
What is God’s answer to us when we suffer?
 
Blessings,
Rick Lee James

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 509 - The Disabled God 
 
A slightly late Holy Week devotional reflection which leads us into the first week of Easter.
 
Blessings,
Rick Lee James

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 508 - Dr. Moses Taiwo 
Dr. Moses Taiwo is a Certified Educator with the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) and a Board-Certified Chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC).
He earned two doctorates: Religion-New Testament (Andrews University, 2002), and Management and Information Systems Technology (University of Phoenix, 2015), respectively.
At present, he serves as CPE Educator and Manager, Spiritual Care Services, Kettering Medical Center, Kettering, OH. Moses is also the Chair of ACPE Research Committee.
Moses received ordination from the Seventh day Adventist Church and has maintained endorsement with Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries since 2003. He has served as a church pastor and a head elder in many parts of US since he came to the country in 1997.
Moses completed his first CPE unit at Saint Joseph Medical Center, South Bend, IN, in 2000, and his Residency Units both at Howard Community Hospital, Kokomo, IN, and Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC between 2003 and 2005. Moses did his supervisory training at Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte.
He is originally from Nigeria and is now a US citizen with his wife and three adult children.
More about Dr. Moses Taiwo
https://ketteringhealthcpe.org/our-staff/

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 507 - Michael In The Middle (Crossover Podcast)
 
This week’s episode is a crossover show with Michael T. Johnson’s Michael In The Middle Podcast.
 
Michael In The Middle is an inter-generational, relational podcast for people interested in healthier human interaction. It features interviews and stories of and from people who are in the middle of doing something to make the worlds in which they operate a little better day by day.
 
Watch this episode and on the Michael In The Middle Podcast Page on YouTube at this link https://www.youtube.com/@michaelinthemiddle-thepodc4591/featured
 
 
 

Voices In My Head (The Rick Lee James Podcast)
Episode 506 - Shane Claiborne - Rethinking Life
 
 
Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author.  Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia.  He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living "as if Jesus meant the things he said." Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. Now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty and help stop gun violence.
Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, Executing Grace, his classic The Irresistible Revolution, Beating Guns, and his newest book, Rethinking Life (to be released February 2023). He has been featured in a number of films including "Another World Is Possible" and "Ordinary Radicals." His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, TIME, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame. 
 
 
Get the Book: https://thesimpleway.myshopify.com/products/rethinking-life-embracing-the-sacredness-of-every-person?_pos=1&_sid=c8edd8ea0&_ss=r
 
Visit Shane’s Web Site: http://www.shaneclaiborne.com/