Beyond Sunday Worship Leader Podcast #371: Worship And Songwriting Trends Of The Last 15 Years with Worship Leader Research
Just because something is “Christian” or has the label “Worship” on it does not mean its existence is completely sanctified. The truth is, the church exists in the world and is susceptible to any manner of abuse or dysfunction that any organization is. The same could be said for CCM or worship music. Worship Music still exists within the music industry. And that’s why it’s helpful to study the mechanisms that drive the worship music industry and how that affects local church worship leaders. I know for many, this is an uncomfortable topic to address. But the truth is, it can only help us be more wide awake to what is happening at the intersection of industry and ministry. The industry is always going to industry. Industry is designed to make money. I don’t have much hope for reform or change within the worship music industry…and that’s ok. What matters is how we respond to the machine of industry as local church pastors and worship leaders.
That’s why I wanted to bring my friends Marc and Shannan from Worship Leader Research on the pod today. They released an article recently called Worship’s Mostly Male Power Players: The Rise of the Songwriting Family. The article – and this podcast interview – dissects the worship songwriting trends of the 2020s – what we have seen 5 years in as it relates to the top songs being sung in churches all over the world. We also look back at the 2010s and compare those trends to what we’re seeing today.
Worship Leader Research is doing some fascinating work that is keeping us wide eyed to actual data and what that could mean for our local churches. This isn’t some ploy to expose fraud, abuse, or capitalism in the church. It’s looking at the data and coming to pastoral conclusions for our local communities so we can all create healthier churches and worship cultures.
Topics Covered:
- Why many have a difficult time evaluating worship industry realities
- Worship trends in the 2010s
- How worship movements dominate a market
- Why influential worship movements may not write the best songs
- Why small songwriters and movements should feel empowered
- Worship songwriting trends in the 2020s
- Why songwriting has become more of a “family” endeavor
- What we can learn about the rise of Brandon Lake
- Why so few women are involved in the top worship songs
- The “Billy Graham rule” as it applies to songwriting
Resources Mentioned:
- Show Sponsor: Planning Center
- Worship Leader Research
- Worship’s Mostly Male Power Players: The Rise of the Songwriting Family
- @worshipleaderresearch
- @marcjolicoeur
- @shannan.k.baker
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 on.
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The post #371: Worship And Songwriting Trends Of The Last 15 Years with Worship Leader Research appeared first on Beyond Sunday Worship.