The Heart of Worship with Steve Swanson (137)

Liz has a conversation with Steve Swanson, international worship leader and co-overseer of Friends of the Bridegroom Worship Ministries. Steve shares all about the journey that led him to worship, as well as the heart posture needed to lead worship corporately. True, authentic worship requires a heart which seeks after God, and it’s from this place of overflow that one can facilitate encounters with His presence. Let your hunger be stirred today for this pure, authentic worship of our King today. He is worthy of all our praise.    Show Notes:   “It’s really those one-on-one times with God that really fills your lamp; that’s where you get the oil.” - Steve Swanson   Liz has a conversation with Steve Swanson, international worship leader and co-overseer of Friends of the Bridegroom Worship Ministries. Steve shares all about the journey that led him to worship, as well as the heart posture needed to lead worship corporately. True, authentic worship requires a heart which seeks after God, and it’s from this place of overflow that one can facilitate encounters with His presence.    Having grown up in the church, watching his step-father preach and his mother lead worship, Steve was deeply stirred by worship and the freedom it brought to people from a very young age. Absorbing this atmosphere almost daily, he knew at the age of seven that he was called to lead worship. With a hunger for Jesus that is contagious, Steve explains that the key to maintaining this everyday connection with Him is to seek Him and spend one-on-one time with Him in order to fill your lamp with His oil. It’s from this authentic cultivating of relationship that corporate worship overflows. When you live from this place of intimacy and union, it draws people in.    Worship leading doesn’t mean simply putting together a powerful song-list; it means partnering with the Holy Spirit in order to accomplish His will in that place and in that moment. You find out where He wants to take His people, and then you allow Him to guide you there. As Steve explains, you’re creating a landscape for people to step into. This prophetic worship is an invitation from the Lord’s heart for His people to come into intimacy and union with Him. It’s keeping your eyes on Jesus and encountering His holy presence. Whether you are a worship leader or not, we were all made to worship Him, beholding His face and coming into union with Him. Let your hunger be stirred today for this pure, authentic worship of our King today. He is worthy of all our praise.