Voices In My Head (The Official Podcast of Rick Lee James)

Voices In My Head Podcast Episode #271: Build Your Multicultural Ministry Super Power with Nikki Lerner Nikki Lerner is an artist, a teacher, a speaker, an author and a culture coach helping others engage with one another relationally and across culture lines.  Her passion is to see people come to an understanding of one another through music and conversation and learn to remain human with each other.  Today we’re going to discuss the Multicultural Worship Leaders Network 2018 Conference which will be happening in Abingdon Maryland this November 1st and 2nd.   Multicultural Worship Leaders Network 2018 Conference in Abingdon, MD on November 1 & 2.  The MWLN exists to equip, inspire, resource, and network church leaders to become highly effective in ministering cross-culturally.        Our times require courageous leadership from the Body of Christ as a community who is unafraid to step into the deep waters of true reconciliation and intentional multicultural ministry.  We want to equip YOU to continue to do that.      Cost & Schedule Individual Rates: Early Bird (through June 8) : $135 Regular (June 9 through August 31) : $175 Full Price (starting September 1) : $200 Group/Team Rates (5 or more people): Early Bird (through June 8) : $125 Regular (June 9 through August 31) : $155 Full Price (starting September 1) : $180 Conference Sign-in will begin at 8:00 AM on Thursday, November 1. The conference will run from 9 AM-5 PM on Thursday, and from 9 AM-4 PM on Friday. A formal schedule will be announced closer to the conference date.   Multicultural Worship Leaders Network 2018 Conference in Abingdon, MD on November 1 & 2: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/multicultural-worship-leaders-network-2018-conference-registration-39408540004 Nikki Lerner’s Web Site: http://www.nikkilerner.com   Coming Soon: Rick Lee James new album - THUNDER

This week I found a great article by Jonathan Aigner on Patheos.com called Not Just A Good Feeling: What Mister Rogers Can Teach Us About Worship. On this episode of Voices In My Head I share selections from the article and expand on them with soem of my own thoughts on the benefits of authentic, faithful and consistent worship practices.   Thanks for listening to Voices In My Head. Make sure to check out out my music, interviews, & videos on https://www.ccmmagazine.com/?s=Rick+Lee+James. Alsofor updates, freebies, podcast news, and more, join my email list at this link. http://rickleejames.wufoo.com/forms/join-rick-lee-james-mailing-list/

My guest on this episode of Voices In My Head is Crowd Music’s Founder and CEO, Mike Castronovo.  Crowd Music is an Industry Renovator that values music and realizes that today’s music creators are being robbed of their intellectual properties. Mike wasn’t looking to start a music company, but on January 22, 2014 he read a piece in the Wall Street Journal that opened his eyes to a massive problem.  He learned the current music industry wasn’t fairly compensating those who actually create the music we enjoy, which ultimately hurts all of us as music listeners and fans in the long run.  The more he dove in to trying to understand the problem, the more he was amazed that nobody had come up with a viable solution that would work for everyone. A lifetime guitarist and songwriter himself, Mike was still far enough outside the industry that he was able to take a different perspective. He imagined how the music business could be changed in a way that would benefit everyone. And so Crowd Music was born.   To join Crowd Music and support this podcast go to www.crowdmusic.com/RickLeeJames and use Promoter #337

This week I welcome back my old friend and co-writer, Randy Cox to the show. As a Song Consulant, Randy is helping to shape the music of a whole new generation in some beautiful ways which you will hear abut on today's show. Randy Cox has published or represented songs which have appeared on over 80,000,000 recordings. Print products, including those songs have sold millions of choral collections, musicals, anthems, etc. In the late ‘70s, Randy began his music publishing career in Nashville. Starting at Paragon Music with Bill Gaither, Ronn Huff and Bob MacKenzie, Randy soon discovered and developed the early writing career of Michael W. Smith, Gary Chapman and others. He also received the company’s Dove Award for Song of The Year "He’s Alive." Over the past 7 years, he has produced over 400 Choral, instrumental and children’s recordings. Randy’s new focus on writing lyrics/composing now includes pieces published by Lorenz, Hope, Choristers Guild, Hal Leonard, Word, LifeWay, St. James Press, Lillenas, Brentwood/Benson, Prism, Alfred and others. Currently, Randy is a Consultant for the music publishing division of LifeWay Worship Resources (Southern Baptist Convention), working with songwriters, songs and developing opportunities for LifeWay Songs to the Church, recording artist and for other outlets on an international scale. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Publisher of the Year. Dove Award winner. Music Publishing Leader for 36 years. Producer of artists and choral products. Composer, lyricist, arranger. Committed to the Church and the mission of Christ’s message to the world.

In May of 2018 I participated in a small forum with attendees  of Lexington Calvary Church of the Nazarene on Worship As Spiritual Formation. This was a fun show podcast to record because of all of the ages of people involved in the conversation. I hope you enjoy the discussion from Pastors, Theologians, laypeople, and even some toddlers who were present. It was a great time and I think you can hear that in this episode.

Matthew Cole is a Pastor, an adjunct theology professor at Asbury University, and a great friend. He is also one of th emost gifted preachers I have ever had the privilege of hearing. Today I wanted to feature a sermon from a service I did with Matthew at his church in Lexington Kentucky at Calvary Church of the Nazarene. We end the sermon with a live version of "The Invitation" being sung while communion is recieved by the congregation. It's a beautiful time of worship.

There are few spiritual masters who have touched my life in the way that the late Thomas Merton has. His book, "Life and Holiness" is one of the finest books on holiness that I have ever read. This is a short podcast today but I hope it will be a meaningful one that gives space to contempate as well as some prayerful guidance. If you have never read a book by Thomas Merton, maybe this will provide you with some motivation to do so. I promise you, it will be good for your soul. Blessings, Rick Lee James Life and Holiness by Thomas Merton Buy the Book at This Link: http://a.co/eCRSFv3

Episode #264: I'm Proud of You - Tim Madigan's Friendship with Mister Rogers My guest today on Voices In My Head is Tim Madigan. In a journalism career spanning more than three decades, Tim has written for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Politico, Reader's Digest, and for thirty years the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tim's books included the critically acclaimed The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921; and a novel of the Greatest Generation and the aftermath of World War II, Every Common Sight. It was a 1995 assignment for the Star-Telegram that led to Tim's interview with Fred Rogers, the icon of children's television, and a close friendship between the two men that last until Rogers' death in 2003. Tim's memoir, I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers, is an intimate account of Rogers' human greatness, and a testament to the healing power of friendship. That transformative relationship and Tim's own experiences as seeking and healing human being remain at the heart of his work. More than a decade after it was first published, I'm Proud of You continues to inspire readers around the globe, and Tim continues to speak of Mister Rogers and matters of the heart to varied audiences around the nation.  Find out more about Tim Madigan and his work at https://www.timmadigan.net/   Follow Rick Lee James on Twitter at @RickLeeJames Follow the Mister Rogers Twitter accoun that Rick Lee James runs at @MisterRogersSay Rick Lee James Official Web Site: www.RickLeeJames.com  

This week Superman Turned 80 and we’re celebrating with a history of Superman's real life battles against Populism, Racism, and Religious Discrimination. This is a very special episode of Voices In My Head.   Below are the pictures referenced in this episode.    

Voices In My Head Podcast Episode 262  Guest William Willimon: Who Lynched Willie Earle? Preaching to Confront Racism. My guest today on Voices in My Head is The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon, Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School of Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he led 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. He is the author of over sixty books including Resident Aliens,  Thank God It’s Friday, Word, Water, Bread and Wine, Worship as Pastoral Care (which was selected as one of the ten most useful books for pastors by the Academy of Parish Clergy), and What’s Right with the Church?  In 1996, an international survey conducted by Baylor University named him one of the Twelve Most Effective Preachers in the English-speaking world. Today we discuss one of his latest and most timely books, Who Lynched Willie Earle? Preaching to Confront Racism.   Donate Now To Rick Lee James New Album at www.RickLeeJames.com/Thunder

This week I take some time to talk about Mister Rogers, something I am involved with related to his life and work through the Twitter handle @MisterRogersSay, plus I get into a couple of other news items. By the way, my new album is funding on Indiegogo until April 27th. Pre-order the new album today at the link below and get two songs immediately. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rick-lee-james-new-album-thunder#/

My guest on this episode of Voices In My Head is Christa Wells. Christa is an award-winning American singer and songwriter who writes deep-reaching, alternative-pop music. In 2006, Christa was named GMA Songwriter of the Year for her song “Held,” recorded by Natalie Grant. She has released five albums as an indie artist (Rogers/Wells Project, Frame the Clouds, How Emptiness Sings, Feed Your Soul, Covers) and will release her newest project, “Velveteen” will release on April 6th, 2018.  The first two singles, Down Down Low + Velveteen, have already been released and the new EP can be pre-ordered at http://www.christawellsmusic.com/ ----more---- In other news, Rick Lee James is funding a new album on Indiegogo. Pre-order the new album today at the link below and get two songs immediately.   https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rick-lee-james-new-album-thunder#/

Voices In My Head Podcast Episode #259: In this episode I am back from the recording studio in New York, I share some exciting things that my friends at Crowd Music are doign to shake things up in the music business,  Andrew Peterson offers an apology for his beautiful music video, and I close the Podcast with a bit of a somber prayer for our violent nation.    

As I head into the recording studio on March 12th, I'm reflecting more on what making another album means at this point in my life. There's a passage in the book, "Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth: Spiritual Conversations Insipred byt the Life & Lyrics of Rich Mullins" that I find is speaking to me in a big way as I prepare to head to New York. As much as anything, this episode is a prayer request humbly submitted to the listeners of Voices In My Head. I hope you will join me.   On March 12th, as I enter the recording studio, album pre-orders will begin at this link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rick-lee-james-new-album-thunder/coming_soon#/ Join me for regular updates from the studio and in the post-production process. Sign-up here to be a part of making this record.   Blessings, Rick Lee James   Be the first to know when we launch onMarch 12th from the studio by signing up here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rick-lee-james-new-album-thunder/coming_soon#/       

https://youtu.be/eZ04wQcbqIsWe Now Have A New Funding Goal For The New Album and Two Easy New Ways To Contribute Our New Funding Goal Is $6000 Two Easy Ways Help Make The Album:1.) By Text Message (Text ‘Thunder’ to 555888) 2.) Indiegogo Pre-Sales will start on March 12th, 2018   https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/rick-lee-james-new-album-thunder/coming_soon#/ ----more----