The Rival Religion of America and A Prophetic Call to Pastors with Brian Zahnd
Release Date: 07/16/2025
The Tension Between Organizational Progress And Pastoral Care Within The Church with Michael Olson
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: Developing a theology of suffering The highs and lows of growing up Pentecostal What we can learn about Spirit and Truth from Eugene Peterson The diversity of the body of Christ within the attractional mega church, reformed church, and Pentecostal church The tension between organizational progress and pastoral care The story behind Michael's book title, "Daddy Set The Church on Fire" Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: by Michael Charles Olson by Michael Charles Olson Show Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Planning Center, helping you sync all your ministry...
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What Native Culture And Indigenous Theology Can Teach Us About Following Jesus with Terry Wildman
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Part of what I love to do with this podcast is highlight some voices that often get overlooked. Cultures that are often pushed to the margins of influence in the Church but have so much to offer us. Today I’m speaking with Terry Wildman. Terry is the Lead Translator of the First Nations Version of the Bible. Currently there is a New Testament and Psalms and Proverbs available. And the Old Testament is currently being developed. Terry is a man with native ancestry who grew up in Michigan, was saved during the Jesus Movement, and became pastor early on in his life. What’s fascinating about...
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Beating Procrastination with Jon Acuff
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Humans disagree on a lot of things. Religion. Politics. The best brand of peanut butter. But if there’s one area where we can find some common ground, it’s productivity. Getting stuff done. We all - to a certain degree - have to cross items off our to-do list. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, Fortune 500 CEO, pastor, or entrepreneur, you have to take action on the goals that matter to you. That’s why I’m talking to author/speaker Jon Acuff. He’s written a book called Procrastination Proof that simultaneously makes me feel seen and convicted at the same time. You see, I’m a...
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The Bible: How To Read It, Understand It, & Build A Daily Habit Around It with Zach Windahl
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: Zach's journey of coming to Christ Following Jesus and suffering Why we need to understand the historical context of the Bible How to read the Bible accurately Out of context Bible verses The clumsiness of prayer How to create a habit of prayer and Bible reading Coffee routines Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: by Zach Windahl by Cal Newport by Charles Duhigg by James Clear Show Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Planning Center, helping you sync all your ministry details across your whole church. Planning Center has become so essential to how I manage a...
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Worship Leader State Of The Union with Chris Kuti
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: How Chris got started in Worship ministry How the explosion of a worship industry has malformed us for local church ministry Why we need Worship Pastors in the church What unique challenges Worship Leaders are facing today The downsides to the seeker sensitive movement in the American Church How worship leaders and lead pastors can develop a healthy partnership Leadership skills every worship pastor needs to develop in a multisite context Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: Show Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Planning Center, an all-in-one church management...
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Leadership Lessons For All From The History Of The Black Church with L. Michelle Smith
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Something I am so grateful for is the leadership experience I received growing up in the church. From a young age, I got involved in worship teams. I led small groups. I developed skills. I was put on stages I had no business being on. Church wasn’t just a weekly service we attended. It was a leadership incubator. L. Michelle Smith has written a new book called Call And Response: 10 Leadership Lessons From the Black Church. In it she discusses how the Black Church has historically developed high level business leaders. The book borrows from culture, neuroscience, and positive psychology to...
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Making Worship Music That Doesn't Sound Like Worship Music with Trip Lee
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
There’s an argument that has gone around for decades and it revolves around the idea of how much worship music do we need? Do we have enough? On the one hand, yes, we have more worship music than we’ll ever be able to use in our Sunday morning services. And there’s also the argument that worship music is the most lucrative music in Christian music. I don’t think that can be debated. So while there are business and industry incentives to make worship music that will always exist at the intersection of Christianity and industry, what is the biblical perspective? What does the Bible teach...
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Uncommon & Creative Ways to Reimagine Your Worship Services with Dr. David O. Taylor
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: The difference between formation and experience in worship Why our current model of worship experiences isn't wrong, but inadequate The value of silence in our gatherings Why we need artists in the church Creative ways to introduce silence, reflection, and community in our worship spaces The kinds of songs the church needs to be singing today Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: by W. David O. Taylor Show Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Planning Center, an all-in-one church management software made to help churches help people. You can organize your ministries and...
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Evangelicalism, Justice Work, And Red Letter Christianity with Brittany Packnett Cunningham
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: Brittany's faith tradition growing up The need for liberation theology and what it means for the local church The importance of unlearning and contextualizing theology Noticing how white supremacy undermines the prosperity of black people The defunding of HBCUs and what that means for black thriving in America What it means to be a red letter Christian Politics and faith The prophetic witness of the Black Church Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: by C. Eric Lincoln & Lawrence H. Mamiya by Kristen Kobes Du Mez Show Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Planning...
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Ministry For The Down & Out, The Discarded, And The Underdog with Calvin Nowell
Beyond Sunday Worship Podcast
Topics Covered: Calvin's journey as a worship leader The reality of starting music later in life Why we shouldn't be afraid of frequent new songs Why diversity is important How the Christian music industry needs to change Why God still has a plan for you The struggle of weight and image as a worship leader Resources Mentioned: Show Sponsor: Show Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Planning Center, an all-in-one church management software made to help churches help people. You can organize your ministries and keep everyone on your team communicating and aligned around what’s going...
info_outlineTopics Covered:
- The story of how Word of Life Church lost 1500 people
- Why America is a rival religion to Christianity
- Why America is more akin to Babylon than ancient Israel
- How the charismatic movement went awry
- Why charismatic worship is so aligned with DT and Christian nationalism
- Why music, literature, and films are important to Brian
- How Brian uses music to write sermons
- Brian's reading habits
- Why Brian is reading the KJV right now
- Why reading fiction is so important to preaching and theology
Resources Mentioned:
- Show Sponsor: Planning Center
- Brian Zahnd
- instagram.com/brianzahnd
- Postcards from Babylon: The Church in American Exile by Brian Zahnd
- Radical Forgiveness by Brian Zahnd (the book Brian refused to be interviewed on the Paula White show with)
- Water to Wine: Some of My Story by Brian Zahnd (a great overview of Brian's church story)
- Septology by Jon Fosse
Show Sponsor: Planning Center
My goal in this podcast is to help you grow as a worship leader. Of course that includes your formation, but it isn’t limited to that—it’s also with practical tools to help you in your ministry.
It’s hard to talk about being a worship leader without mentioning Planning Center. As you know, I’m a huge fan. A lot of you are already using Planning Center Services to schedule your volunteers, plan your worship services, and give your team the tools they need to learn their music. But with Planning Center People, you can stay even more engaged with your volunteers and anyone looking for how to get plugged in.
First, some good news: People is completely free with any Planning Center subscription. No, you didn’t hear me wrong—it’s free. Second, some better news: you can use People to add new volunteers to your teams quickly and automatically.
In People, you can make forms for anyone interested in volunteering, put them in a step-by-step training workflow, and then automatically add them to Services to schedule them for the right team. And that’s just one way you can use People. From sending automated emails and seeing church-wide engagement to organizing your member database and kee