5 Reasons For Churches To Consider Writing Original Songs

1. Original songs can focus

   Songs written in Australia or Northern California can be an easy choice for many good reasons. One downside however is that only YOU have a pulse on your church and your community. How could writing original music help you shepherd YOUR people?

2. Original songs can equip

   In one of the pastoral epistles, Paul explains to Timothy that one fo the roles of a leader in the church is to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry.” As songwriters, producers, and worship leaders, how can our original songs equip believers to be effective in their calling and purpose?

3. Original songs can make disciples

   Jesus’ final words on earth before returning to the Father were to ask us to go to all people, everywhere and make disciples. During the Jesus Music movement of the 60s and 70s many artists and musicians became followers of Jesus and then naturally used their music platforms to make disciples. Obviously our culture has drastically changed in recent decades. These changes can make the former methods of missions through music a challenge. But what if your original songs could help lead people to take significant steps toward following Jesus?

4. Original songs can teach good theology

   AW Tozer said in his book The Knowledge Of The Holy: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” That goes for individuals, but I feel can also helpful to apply collectively. Since God can’t be anything people may WANT Him to be, how can you original songs help unwrap what can be known about God through general and special revelation?

5. Original Songs Can Be Inclusive

   What if there are amazing songwriters hidden within your church? Let’s expand that just a bit. What if your church contains amazing, undiscovered graphic designers, musicians, copywriters, publicists, sound engineers, and more just waiting to be included in the original-song-crafting process?

What if the benefits of writing original music for your church are worth the time, effort, and resources? Might be worth considering.

Are you HERO or HOST?

During this recent #ArtistDevelopment Coaching Call, this #artist and #songwriter wanted to know, “How can I promote and market myself better?” Before I answered that question “tactically” this was my “mindset” advice. I hope it's a helpful reminder for you...

3 Ways to Cure Perfectionism

Hey Learning Community! Let's revisit perfectionism. It's about believing your Identity, letting go of fear of failure, and living in light of your mortality...

What Making A Table Reminded Me About Music

Here I share what I was reminded of while working on my wife's Christmas present. Hope it helps you remember WHY you started making music. Much love! - Sam

Less talkin. More rockin.

“What you do shows what you believe. The rest is just words.” How does this apply to songwriters, artists, producers, entrepreneurs, etc?

When Making Music Is Like Posting Selfies

Making music meets the needs of SOMEBODY. Is your music's purpose primarily to meet YOUR needs? Or the needs of others?

Five Steps To Epic DIY Lyric Videos

If you've ever wanted to make great lyric videos, then this how-to is for you! Here I take you through my five easy steps:

1. Establish your song's "brand identity"

2. Choose your stock footage website

3. Decide on your video editing software

4. Choose a theme for your footage

5. Type in your lyrics

Enjoy! Hope it's helpful to you.

Three Basics Of Gain Structure

No matter what your #gear, no matter what your budget, you can get great #recording results by understanding these 3 simple basics of #gainstructure 👍🏽

4 Questions For The Artist Embarrassed By Christian Music

Are you an artist who has avoided being associated with CCM, Gospel, or Worship music because of how you might be perceived, or perhaps because of how you perceive IT? Or maybe you just don’t like it but you suspect you were uniquely shaped to write and create Christian Music? These 4 questions are designed to help you wrestle through why you may feel this way and what to do about it…

5 Questions Before You Launch Your Music Career

Your answers to these questions can make or break your success in music:

• Do you know your why?
• Who are you as a music maker?
• What is the story you’re telling?
• How are you going to reach those who share your why? (Similar but different than #1)
• When are you going to start?

10 BOOKS TO HELP YOU GO FULL TIME IN MUSIC

These 10 books absolutely contributed to my personal transition from “side-thing” to “full-time” in music over the last couple of years. Going from hobbyist to pro is no accident. If you are in the midst of deciding whether or not to make the jump it might help to gain some insight first from people who have been there so you can know what to expect. Bonus: All of these make GREAT audiobooks!
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DISCLAIMER: Being that I’m a person of faith, some of these suggestions come from that world-view. However, I believe that whether you’re religious or not all of these books have some great take-aways. Cheers and happy reading!

6 Productivity Boosters For Songwriters