Today's Music and the Church episode features a conversation with Noel A. Snyder about his new book Sermons That Sing: Music and the Practice of Preaching.More about Sermons That Sing: Preaching and music are both regular elements of Christ

Ethics and Christian Musicking

Aug 25th, 2021 32m 18s

Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza is back after a summer hiatus while I finished writing and editing my book Professional Christian: Being Fully Yourself in the Spotlight of Public Ministry (coming your way Spring 2022) - glad to be back i

A Data Dive into the National Congregations Study

Mar 26th, 2021 24m 22s

Dr. Mark Chaves, director of the National Congregations Study, shares recent highlights from the survey and how they compare with the last 20 years of data.The National Congregations Study is a wide-ranging survey of congregations in th

Nourishing Your Musical Soul Amidst Disruption and Constraint

Feb 26th, 2021 29m 8s

Imagine you have a beautiful garden in your backyard with amazing sunlight and soil, and plenty of room for practically whatever flowers and vegetables your heart desires. But then you move to a small apartment, and your only outdoor space

Mid-Marathon

Jan 29th, 2021 11m 17s

Let's take stock of where we are in the marathon of the pandemic and of the program year.Enjoying this podcast episode? Click here to find other Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza episodes, or subscribe to the show wherever you list

Building Christlike Church Communities through Music, on Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza, Ep. 57

Dec 7th, 2020 34m 10s

I am so delighted to be talking with author Andy Thomas about his new book Resounding Body: Building Christlike Church Communities through Music. So often we think that a great church music program must be heavy on financial resources, but he "

A Positive Approach to Virtual Rehearsals with Dr. Adan Fernandez, on Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza Ep. 56

Nov 11th, 2020 24m 31s

In this episode, Dr. Adan Fernandez shares his positive approach to virtual rehearsals and performances. Dr. Adan Fernandez is the Director of Music at Holy Family Catholic Community in Glendale, CA, and is the Campus Organist at Califo

Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship, Part 2

Oct 12th, 2020 42m 11s

Listen in for an in-depth interview with Andrew Eastes, Jonathan Ottaway, Glenn Stallsmith, and Deborah Wong, four of the authors of Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship. This is the second of two episodes on Flow - click here to fi

Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship, Part 1

Sep 7th, 2020 51m 14s

Listen in for an in-depth interview with Lester Ruth, Zachary Barnes, and Adam Perez, three of the authors of Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship. This is part one of two parts; next month's episode continues with Flow's four other

Flaming? An Interview with Author Dr. Alisha Lola Jones

Aug 10th, 2020 38m 52s

Listen in for an in-depth interview with Dr. Alisha Lola Jones about her new book Flaming?: The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance.Resources:Dr. Alisha Lola JonesAlisha on Twitter, Facebook, an

Composer Jessica French

Jul 14th, 2020 22m 17s

On today's episode, Jessica French shares her compositions, how her compositional process is influenced by synesthesia, as well as her work as a soprano and music educator.Find out more about Jessica French and explore her choral compos

How I'm Planning for the Fall

Jul 2nd, 2020 24m 59s

You know the old joke: if you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans. Be that as it may, here's how I'm planning for the fall. Not the usual hymns + anthems + a few handbell pieces, but plans nonetheless. Yes, the plans will change, bu

Music Ministry with Brian Hehn, on Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza Ep. 50

May 26th, 2020 32m 22s

What does music ministry look like - sound like - right now? Whatever your answer, it's certainly different from what it would have been earlier this year. On this episode, Brian Hehn and I discuss leaning into our identities as music ministers

Taking Church Music Online, on Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza Ep. 49

Apr 14th, 2020 20m 28s

We're putting church music online - whether we want to or not. Fortunately, we're finding lots of grace and permission to fail as we figure out what on earth we're doing! Craig Harmann and I talk about our mindsets as we live in this new season

Bringing People Together with Sacred Music – An Interview with Deus Ex Musica’s Founder Delvyn Case, on Music and the Church Ep. 48

Mar 10th, 2020 37m 16s

Delvyn Case is bringing people together by creating conversations around sacred music. And he's creating these conversations not just with other musicians, but with folks who haven't trained to talk about music by coupling live musical performa

Choral Music by Women Composers with Sarah MacDonald and David Schaap

Feb 24th, 2020 30m 40s

Want to program more music by women composers? Selah Publishing has just released a fantastic new choral series edited by Sarah MacDonald, and all the composers are women: Sarah Cattley, Elizabeth Coxhead, Eleanor Daley, Elizabeth Kimble, Steph

Our Top Five Hymnals

Jan 13th, 2020 29m 13s

What are your favorite hymnals? Crawford Wiley and I talk about our top five favorites. Since none are hymnals that our congregations sing from, we use them in our service planning and sometimes devotionally. Enjoying this podcast epis

Singing, Hospitality and the Sacred Stranger, with Helen Phelan

Dec 10th, 2019 42m 59s

How can singing foster our relationships with strangers? And how can singing not just foster relationships, but be a powerful means of hospitality? Dr. Helen Phelan draws on her ethnographic work with a Congolese-Irish choir to show the potenti

The Language of God with Jean Kidula

Nov 11th, 2019 37m 46s

What language does God speak, and how can the metaphor of language help us better understand our relationship to God? Dr. Jean Kidula, Professor of Music at the University of Georgia, shows how thinking about dialect expands our ways of thinkin

Strengthening Congregational Song with John Witvliet

Oct 22nd, 2019 22m 51s

In this conversation with Dr. John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, we talk about making change in our churches in a week-by-week process, the importance of resources to validate aspects of ministry that aren't c

Old Hispanic Chant, with Emma Hornby

Sep 9th, 2019 30m 32s

Learn about: the Old Hispanic Chant, methods for analyzing music we can't hear, and what we can learn from medieval processions.Here's the Big Why: "I think these artifacts that we have - these musical and liturgical artifacts - are as valu

Music and Faith in a Post-Secular Age with Jonathan Arnold

Aug 30th, 2019 32m 4s

Music and faith, music and belief - what's the difference, and how can music illuminate our lived experiences of faith?This is the first of five episodes featuring conversations I recorded this summer with the plenary speakers of the Ch

Hymns: In Hymnals? On Screens? (Paperless?!)

Jul 22nd, 2019 42m 49s

Hymnals and screens often get a knee-jerk response. Supposedly, either hymnals are for old fogeys or people staying true to the faith. And either screens are for people who hate hymns or people who want to use current tools in the church. B

7 Church Leaders on What They Wish People Knew

Jun 11th, 2019 27m 18s

We work harder than you think, calling doesn't always look conventional, and other things your church leaders wish you knew.Throughout the past year of interviews, I asked people extra questions and this one drew the most passionate respons

A Peculiar Orthodoxy — Thinking about Music with Theologian Jeremy Begbie

May 14th, 2019 32m 17s

“The great thing about a chord - you’re already dealing with something people enjoy. You’re not telling people God is a problem to be solved - you’re saying that the Trinity is a reality to be enjoyed.” - Jeremy BegbieI knew our conversatio