I'm a 35-year-old serial collaborator and praise & worship historian, currently serving as an assistant professor of worship studies at Belmont University. I’m a euphonium player by trade, though there’s not much demand for that in the worship world! I grew up a proud band nerd and British Wind Band enthusiast. As a pre-teen, I started playing drums at church, which sparked a long-standing interest in worship music. I studied music education in college, sacred music in my master’s program, and the history of contemporary worship music for my doctorate. These days, I spend a lot more time thinking about music than making it, unless you count singing along to Ron Kenoly. Being part of this project allowed me to reconnect with the thrill of creating. Writing alongside such talented songwriters, worship leaders, and musicians reminded me of how beautiful and challenging the collaborative process can be. The dreaming, listening, responding, trial and error, improvising, and refining, it’s all what makes creating something new so rewarding. This project turned out to be much more than the sum of its parts. I also really appreciated the downtime we shared; these folks are an incredible group, and great music came from great people. Also, worship music needs to be more fun, we’ve gotten so serious! Ron Kenoly’s Lift Him Up was the high-water mark of worship in the joy of the Lord.