On Harmony in Leading Worship
We spoke to this singer/songwriter as she is getting ready to release the Will Hunt-produced “Bravo God”, her first release since 2003’s “Wash Over Me”. Here’s what she had to say about finding her voice (alto) and her destiny.
How did it all begin for you?
I started leading worship in college. I didn’t plan it. It wasn’t my life’s goal. I wanted to be the next Amy Grant. I loved the way God had a plan for me and changed my direction without my even being aware of it. It started as a small group at college where I was part of a committee for a year or so, trying to find ways to have worship services on campus that would interrupt the flow of the day and cause students to reflect on God. I wasn’t leading worship or anything like that.
Absolutely. Music lover. Concert-goer. In choir, sang in church. So that was all in place. But in my sophomore year, when I was 19 or 20 years old, I knew I was being led in a new direction. Keep in mind that I was raised in the Baptist Church where the minister stood in front of the congregation and waved his arms around …
… that old-time religion?
Right. My campus minister came to me one day after he heard me singing along with what was probably an Amy Grant track. I wasn’t even playing guitar at the time. He said, “I know you’re going to think this sounds strange, but when I was watching you sing that song, God told me to tell you that you are a worship leader.” I thought he was talking about one of the guys that waves his arms around and tells you to stand on the third stanza, so I kind of thought, “Sure, dude.” And it’s not that I didn’t have the advantage of seeing great worship leaders in my life as I grew up; but this was a completely different style of worship.
So when did you start playing?
About two years later, I picked up guitar through a random series of events. I wanted to sign up for a percussion class for my degree, but it was closed, so I took the guitar class. I borrowed a guitar that a friend of mine got at a garage sale, and I just fell in love with it. I couldn’t put it down. Once I started playing songs, I gravitated toward worship songs.
Were you writing songs?
That happened when I started playing guitar – there was a place. Songwriting just happened kind of naturally – there was a place to put it. I’ve been writing songs since I was a little kid. I thought everyone did that.
You’ve mentioned Amy Grant. Who else were you listening to as a young woman?
In college, I started listening to secular music – people like Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin and then later on, Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morrissette. I loved the authenticity of their lyrics. It was good to branch out and listen to other writers, other singers …
Mostly women, then?
I listen to everything. I love Sting. I love Coldplay. I like the Beatles and I listen to a lot of the old jazz vocalists. I’m just fascinated by music.
What about role models?
In Christian music, there were several women who really paved the way. Amy Grant. Margaret Becker. Susan Ashton. People who were really successful, really strong and influential in the contemporary Christian world.
As far as worship leading goes, I didn’t really have a role model and I liked that. Every time I did it, I felt like He blessed it. If I led worship at a camp or a conference or a retreat, the blessings were there and that was my inspiration. I did my first worship CD in ’95 – really at the request of people who asked me to record these songs - and it just flew off the table.
I wasn’t emulating anyone and I tell students that all the time when they say, “I want to do exactly what you’re doing.” I say, “Please don’t. Don’t follow me or Charlie Hall or Chris Tomlin or David Crowder or any of those people – do what God has planned for you.”
Meaning …?
It’s not what was “supposed” to happen. You were supposed to get a record label, get an image and go on tour as an opening act. I didn’t come from that mold. All I did was write worship songs and go to camps and lead them. Eventually, I got enough money together to put them on a CD, sell the CDs and then make another record. I did that for seven years before I signed with Integrity in 1999.
Any obstacles?
Sometimes if I’m leading worship in a place where they’ve never had a woman leading worship before, there may be a little skepticism. It’s a new thing if they’re used to guys leading worship in guy keys. And I have to remind them that I worshipped my entire life in a corporate body of worship settings with males and I’ve learned to harmonize. Worship is about the heart, about adoring and worshipping God. It’s not about the gender of the person who’s leading worship.
There was an article somewhere that commented about your alto voice being ‘too low for worship’. What do you make of that?
In corporate worship, there’s a standard of women singing an octave higher than men. I don’t lead it that way. I must have a thousand women come up to me every year and thank me for being an alto. I just tell the men to harmonize and not to miss the point of worship.
2. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, wiser than you and have the same work ethic that you’ve got.
It’s gotten a little harder since we added electric guitar. Even my traveling band was acoustic. But in 2001, we went electric and that really influenced the writing and the creative process. I love it. It’s very fun.
You’ve recorded two CDs this year, right? It’s been awhile since “Wash Over Me”, which came out in early 2003. What happened?
Part of it is that I really took my time writing. I didn’t want to rush the process. I tried songs live to see how people reacted. I think we ended up with eleven songs that will really be good for the church. It’s called “Bravo God” I got it from a psalm out of The Message, which is a really contemporary interpretation of the Bible. It’s another way of saying, for instance, “All praise to God!”
It’s called “Hope of All the Earth”. It’s got five traditional songs and five original songs that we wrote. It was so much fun to write Christmas songs. It’s very bluegrass. Its main instruments are dobro, banjo, accordion and strings woven in as well. Will Hunt arranged and produced all of it at Space Way Studios. Both CDs are independent, but we’re getting some interest from labels for promoting them, so we’ll see.
How do you keep balance in your life?
About five years ago, God was shouting “You need community!” and he was so right. I needed a church, I needed friends who didn’t care if I opened up my mouth and sang another note. I have more of that now than I’ve ever had. We don’t say, “yes” to everything, and I feel grounded.
Didn’t you perform at the recent Oklahoma City Marathon?
I sang the National Anthem, and it was awesome. We had about 10,000 runners to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the bombing. I’ve done it two years in a row, and it’s a real honor. This year, I came down off the scaffolding and ran the first leg of the race.
What’s next for you?
Releasing the two CDs. I’m so proud of them that I am really anxious for people to hear them.
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