Using music pastorally

SOUND + DOCTRINE
Sovereign Grace

Since it arrived late last year, the Sound + Doctrine podcast from Sovereign Grace Music has time-and-again distilled Biblical, practical wisdom from a lifetime of faithful music ministry into brief, engaging conversations.

The goal has been to equip and encourage those who lead sung worship in the local church; and I’d say, it does it brilliantly. Listening along with others from my church and further afield has led to some great discussions, caused me to think more deeply about a breadth of issues surrounding music ministry, and provided a great way to train others when it’s been hard to meet them in person.

Heart of the podcast

You quickly get a sense of the heart behind the podcast, hosted by Bob Kauflin and David Zimmer, when you see the title of an early episode: ‘Music is great: Jesus is greater’.

I’d particularly recommend starting with the mini-series of five episodes entitled ‘Shepherding Souls through Song’ (Season 1, episodes 8-13). They pick up on the vital and often neglected reality that the role of choosing and leading songs for corporate worship is an inherently pastoral one. Also, episodes on The Pastor / Worship Leader Relationship will prove insightful and invaluable to church leaders in how to relate rightly to those who lead the music in their church.

Warmth and wisdom

Fresh episodes are coming out weekly, with topics ranging from songwriting to the place of lament to the work of the Holy Spirit. All of them are presented with great warmth and wisdom from someone who, by God’s grace, has much to teach us and has proven faithful over more than four decades of music ministry in the local church.

Find it on YouTube or your podcast app of choice, and pass it on to the person who leads the singing in your church, if you’d like to see them grow in their love for Christ and be better equipped to serve God’s people on Sundays.