In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Ryan Loche, who holds a PhD in Christian Worship from Liberty University, to talk through a tension a lot of worship leaders feel but rarely name: the space between worship ministry and the worship music industry, and how that gap has shaped the way churches lead worship today.

What we cover:

* Why worship and the music industry are more connected than ever

* How radio, streaming, and CCLI changed songwriting and church culture

* The rise of using tracks and growing production expectations

* Why comparison is driving decisions in local churches

* What “God-adjacent” worship looks like in real life

* How burnout shows up for worship leaders

* Whether worship songs are written for churches or for streaming

* What church leaders wish the industry understood

Resources mentioned:

* Formation to Transformation Podcast

* The Pastor by Eugene Peterson

* A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

* Lean Learning by Pat Flynn

* SM7b Microphone Dupe

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

02:00 Ministry vs industry

06:00 Production and multitracks

12:00 Songwriting and motivation

20:00 Comparison and pressure

26:00 God-adjacent worship

32:00 Burnout in ministry

39:00 Industry impact on the church

47:00 Habits for worship leaders

EPISODE TWO! Rob Estevez and I chat about getting started in worship ministry, college, and even share a couple horror storries from the road. I had a blast chatting with him and I hope you have a good time with us!

I'd really appreciate it if you could give the podcast a comment or a review - it helps the podcast get in front of more people!

If you'd wanna find out more about Rob, go check out his instagram:

http://www.instagram.com/robestevez (this username is why I started calling him Robe Stevez lol)

And if you're still reading... feel free to follow me on instagram too:

http://www.instagram.com/jessedeanrivero

And for all info about this podcast you can go to www.thanksforhaving.me 

EPISODE ONE! Huge shoutout to my guest, Elizabeth Chan, for joining me on the first ever "Thanks For Having Me" podcast. In this episode, I edited down our 2 hour conversation into a 20 minute segment about our experience on the road touring together and also some great insight from Liz. 

Please feel free to comment on, subscribe to, and even rate this podcast! It'll help it get in front of more people!

Everyone should stop reading and go follow Liz:

And if you're still reading this, feel free to follow me!

Thanks for tuning in!

We're doin' it! I'm going to haphazardly release episodes of a podcast I've recorded but not really edited yet... starting with this trailer episode! Learn the origin of "Thanks For Having Me" and get ready to randomly receive podcasts notifications when I get spare moments to edit these. LOW EXPECTATIONS, PEOPLE. If we don't expect much from my podcast, the results will blow you away.

Check out my site:

thanksforhaving.me

And feel free to follow me on Instagram:

@jessedeanrivero