Kierre Bjorn: From The Voice to a Collective Chorus

[00:00:10] Speaker A: Welcome to Becoming Church, the podcast where we discuss how the message and movement of Jesus is not just about becoming Christians, but about becoming the church that the world needs. My guest today is my friend Kier. If you have ever been to Mosaic or worshiped with us online, I know that you're already excited because we are big fans of his over here. If this is your first introduction to Kier, I am thrilled that I get to be the one to make the introduction and to bring his joy into your life today. Friend. I'm so excited you're here. [00:00:45] Speaker B: So excited to be here. It's taken a while, but I'm here. [00:00:50] Speaker A: I know, but we did it. We did it. [00:00:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:00:53] Speaker A: Here's what I'm going to need you to help me do, though. [00:00:56] Speaker B: Okay? [00:00:56] Speaker A: I'm gonna need you to help me remember that I have this microphone right here, that we are both behind microphones, because my concern is that you and I are just gonna get to chatting like it's a Sunday lunch. [00:01:06] Speaker B: Right, Right. At Verde. [00:01:09] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:01:12] Speaker B: That'S right. [00:01:13] Speaker A: And, you know, I mean, those are good and fun and important conversations, but they don't need to be out in the public. [00:01:19] Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly. Yes. [00:01:23] Speaker A: Well, I want to get a little bit into. I feel like. I mean, I call you my brother. I feel like I know you very well. But for people that are listening, maybe they haven't worshiped with you here at Mosaic. Give us a little bit of background. Whatever you want to say about who you are. [00:01:36] Speaker B: Hey, everybody. My name is Kier. Kier Lindsay. Also Kier Bijorn. Don't be thrown off by that. That is my middle name, not a stage name, but I guess it is a stage name, but it's my actual middle name. Kier Bijorn Lindsay. [00:01:49] Speaker A: Okay. I keep mixing it up. First I was calling you Kier. I think I went from Kieran. Yeah, Say it again. [00:01:57] Speaker B: Kia Bajorn. [00:01:58] Speaker A: Bijorn. And then I think I switched to Kiera Lindsay because I was like, no, that's his real last name. And then my brain was like, no, you're doing it wrong. And then I went back. [00:02:06] Speaker B: So I've confused everybody for. [00:02:09] Speaker A: You have. Thank you. [00:02:10] Speaker B: At least since 2010 with that. But yeah, so it's Kier Bajorn Lindsay. [00:02:16] Speaker A: Hey. [00:02:17] Speaker B: Yeah. I'm from Winston Salem, North Carolina. I live in a small suburb outside of. Of there and with my wife and our three kids have been married for. It'll be nine years in August. I'm an artist, I'm a songwriter, I'm a worship leader. Worship Pastor. And I love all things creative. I have my hands in a few other things as well, but I'm just me. I thrive in collaboration. And I love laughing. I love food. That's me. And I love taking naps. [00:02:53] Speaker A: Yes. [00:02:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:02:54] Speaker A: Even with those three little kids. [00:02:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, you know, you try. I'll. I'll nap with John. [00:03:00] Speaker A: There you go. [00:03:01] Speaker B: There you go. But that's me. That's. That's a little bit about me. I love the Lord so much, and I am forever a promoter and disciple of his. [00:03:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:03:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:17] Speaker A: Well, and you. I just think your joy. When I think of you, I just think joy. Even when I can't think of which last name to use, I do just think joy. [00:03:25] Speaker B: Good. [00:03:26] Speaker A: And it really does come from. You can tell in leading, worship, and behind the scenes conversations that, like. It really does come from. [00:03:32] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:33] Speaker A: Not just your love of the Lord, but also, like an acceptance that of how much he loves you, I think. [00:03:40] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I feel that. [00:03:43] Speaker A: Well, let's go back to. I think you said 2010, which is probably where this whole name confusion thing kind of started, right? [00:03:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. [00:03:53] Speaker A: You. You almost lived a different life. You did something that's very fun, that a lot of people have probably dreamed of doing. What? What did you do? What am I talking about? [00:04:00] Speaker B: Well, so that was in 2000. 12. In 2000. [00:04:03] Speaker A: Okay, then take us back even further. [00:04:05] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. I. I was on the Voice and It was season six. [00:04:12] Speaker A: Okay. [00:04:12] Speaker B: I think now they're on, like season 30 something, which is crazy. So I'm a dinosaur when it comes to. But yeah, it was 2012. But the whole process, what a lot of people don't know, it takes a while. So from 2012 to 2013 is the whole process of where even I made it on the show, which was not very far at all, but really still a cool experience. So the Voice was a show that I had always wanted to like. In my mind, I'm like, I would love to do something like that. Just seeing the energy in the room. But one thing I was like, I'm not standing in line with 50,000 people to do that and sleeping outside, and I'm not doing all that. So I kind of let it go. And I enjoy watching. I was hardcore watching the show. One day I was literally on the couch taking a nap. Told you I like to nap. I was taking a nap and I woke up and I checked my email and there was an email from NBC and they were like, hi, Kieran. I'm sure I should have had the email to read to you, but. Hi, Kier. We've heard so much about you, and we love all your videos and blah, blah, blah, blah. You're. You're an incredible artist. We would love to invite you to be a part of. To audition for the Voice and a private audition. So I was like, first of all, I was like this spam, spam playing with my heart and my emotions. And then I did my due diligence, and I called the email back, okay, me back immediately. And I called the number that they provided, and it was real. NBC was contacting me to go to Charlotte, do a private audition for the show. [00:06:01] Speaker A: It was here. [00:06:03] Speaker B: Yeah, it was in Charlotte at a studio. It was a cool studio in Charlotte. Charlotte that we did the. The audition. And it was like the camp. It was like a performance. They had the camera set up. It was like. I think they had some candles. It was like an actual, like, stuff set. [00:06:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And video. [00:06:20] Speaker B: Yeah. So long story short, with that part, they gave me a list of songs to choose from of, like, 300 and something songs, and I could choose three songs that I would perform for the producers that were there. And I did that and fast forward again. Didn't hear from them. From them for about a week, two weeks. Heard back. We loved it. We want you to come to the executive auditions. That's when they fly you to Los Angeles and you spend two, two and a half weeks there. And they're getting to know you, and you get assigned a producer that is just your producer, and they're learning all about your life, your family, your loves, your dislikes, who you are as an artist. Like, having conversations throughout the week, every week, like, they're your friend. And. Yeah, I mean, they treat. They treated me like an artist. Like, not a number, not a wannabe, but, like, what is your name gonna be? What is your style gonna be? What is, like, all of that stuff? And they take you to the Universal Studios back lot. They take you into the dressing room. They like, what do you want to look like? I'm like. [00:07:41] Speaker A: And it's like just like a big old closet. [00:07:43] Speaker B: It's walls of belts and hats and pants and shirts. [00:07:48] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Were you in heaven? [00:07:49] Speaker B: My God. Shoes, like, any. Any brand that you could think of was there for people who like fashion. And if it was not there, you could put in a request and they would get it for you. No lie. [00:08:04] Speaker A: That's amazing. [00:08:04] Speaker B: But I was so overwhelmed by that that I didn't even do all that. But, yeah, so give me that black T shirt. [00:08:09] Speaker A: And those jeans. [00:08:10] Speaker B: Exactly. I collaborated with the stylist there a lot, but, I mean, they gave you the top voice coaches, top performance coaches, the top lawyers, because why are you on the show? There's a lot of legal things. So you get great lawyers, like Justin Bieber's lawyer, John Legend's lawyer, all these different pop stars lawyers, and they pay you to. I mean, I don't know if I'm telling too much, but just to be there. Just to be there, just to be there. I got paid, and I'm not. [00:08:39] Speaker A: Did they pay you? Like, like when people go to jury duty and they get, like, $11, I. [00:08:44] Speaker B: Could have bought at that time in 2013. I probably could have went in, like, put a really good down payment on the car. [00:08:55] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. [00:08:57] Speaker B: I'm talking about a few thousand dollars. [00:08:59] Speaker A: Now, hold on. Do you think this is true across the board for everybody that makes it, or is this because you were on that, like, private invitation? You kind of got fast. [00:09:07] Speaker B: Oh, no, this is everybody. This is everybody who's at that point. So it goes from, like, at that point, I don't know, 50,000 or more. 60,000 people audition. Okay. The next executive auditions. By the time the executive auditions are around, we are down to, like, 200 and something people. Okay. And then I did that and went home, came back a few weeks later, and that was the blind auditions. When you get down to the blind audition section, it's like a hundred or less of you guys out of 50,000 people. And so, yeah, they're paying you per diem, put you in the nicest hotel. Anything you need, you have. There's something that we had at the time. I don't know if they still do that. It was called the bat fund. And so they give you this number. Anything that you need, 24 hours, seven days a week, around the clock, you can call. And if they can get it, they will get it. That's great. They had the penthouse in the hotel. So if you needed a place to clear your head, just to hang out, talk to somebody there, you could go there at any moment. I mean, they really, really took great care and probably still do. I mean, that was 2010. I can only. I mean, 2012, I can only imagine that they have upped what they were doing before, and they were already killing the game then, like, really taking care of artists. It was an incredible experience. I don't know how much you want me to talk about it or where you want me to go, but it does intersect a little bit with where I was in My life as far as ministry. Like, what's next? Yeah, it really was a. Like a stepping stone to that. [00:10:44] Speaker A: Before we get to the ministry and the stepping stone part, I think what the people really want to know is one. What did you sing? [00:10:53] Speaker B: Right. [00:10:54] Speaker A: What song did you sing? [00:10:56] Speaker B: I sang. I don't even think they make music anymore. Sorry. If you guys do and you end up seeing this, I'm sure they're listening. Right. I appreciate you. Swedish house mafia. I sang don't you worry child don't you worry don't you worry Chad. Oh, yeah. He's got a plan for you. Yeah, I sang that with my own, like, arrangement a little bit. That's what we ended up on out of 300 and something songs. Because when they're choosing the songs, of course, they're like, making sure each artist has a song that represents them. But also, it's not too close to what another artist is going to do and, you know, trying to place everyone right. So that. That was little stressful for me and hard because I'm an indecisive person and you can give me 300 songs. You're like, choose three. Your favorite three. I'm like, oh, my gosh. I think another one of the songs was a John legend song, and then I forgot the other one. But work with that amazing band to create my own version of it. They approved, and, yeah, I did that. I did it. That's the song I did. [00:12:04] Speaker A: I love that. So you made it to the stage where they, like, turned around in the chairs. [00:12:08] Speaker B: Yes. But who were the judges then? Do you remember Shakira, Usher, Adam levine, and Blake shelton? [00:12:16] Speaker A: You got to talk to Usher. [00:12:18] Speaker B: I got to hug each and every last one of them. And after you perform on the. On that. On that stage, you get a few moments to just talk. When the cameras stop rolling, you get to keep talking to them and just gleaning from them. And that was an amazing experience, too. Yeah. [00:12:39] Speaker A: So who turned around for you? [00:12:41] Speaker B: So no one turned around. [00:12:43] Speaker A: Shut up. [00:12:45] Speaker B: No one turned around. If someone would have turned around or if, say, if all four of them would have turned around. It was between, for me, Adam and Usher because clearly I grew up on Usher's music, and he was an inspiration. But also Adam Levine at the time was a big inspiration to me with, like, his style and everything and his songwriting as well as Usher. But they always told you when you. Throughout the whole process, they're like, we know that you think you know who you want to choose, but you don't know until you get on the stage, first of all, because you don't know who's going to turn or if anyone's going to turn. [00:13:23] Speaker A: Right. [00:13:24] Speaker B: But. But also in that moment when they turn, your final decision making process is dependent upon the conversations that you're having, the way they're fighting for you. Like, what you feel in that moment is more important than who you're a big fan of. But I would have. I think I would have chosen Usher just because we have such similar backgrounds and just with music and church and faith and all that stuff. But I didn't turn any chairs. [00:13:53] Speaker A: I. Kier. [00:13:54] Speaker B: I know. Well. So, okay, think about this. It was many years ago, so I've grown a lot as. As a singer, as an artist. But also I ultimately, I don't know if I did have the right song. Yeah, I. I don't. And even above that. So I was. It was 2012. I had dropped out of college for this, y' all. Okay. I was just. In the time, I. I've always wanted to do music. I've always done. I started at 12 years old with professional theater. Started singing in church when I was six. Started leading worship when I was 12 as well. And so I knew music was my thing. Went to college for music business, was going to do entertainment law. Then I was like, well, that's kind of depressing. So let me stick to performance. And that doesn't sound so fun. Right. I was not a star student. Like, I love to learn and all that. But in the classroom setting, I would always be daydreaming about, like, what I want to do with music or. Or I was working at the time. I've been working since I was 12. So I was getting calls. I was going on many tours and things, studio sessions and all that through high school, through college. And so I got this opportunity and my professors didn't really support it like that at the time. So I had to make a decision. And I felt like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. They were like, if you do this, you'll have to withdraw from school. Okay, whatever. Withdraw. Because in my mind I'm like, God is. I'm about to be the boy. So I did that and went there. And I was also currently in talking. I was leading worship every now and then at a church in Greensboro and possibly going on staff. And we were, you know, negotiating and talking about that. And while there, in the. One of the meetings with the lawyers, they do like a big meeting with. It's not your personal lawyer. You. It's your lawyer but it's like 15 other people, too. And so I was sitting in the room while they were talking, and I was sitting, sitting beside this guy. I won't name names, but sitting beside this guy. He was there with his son. Because if you're 18, 17 or younger, you had to have a guardian with you. And he was texting, and they took a little break, talking with the lawyers. And he asked me about myself. Like, I'm from, you know, North Carolina, went to Salem. Worship leader. You know, what do you do back home and worship? Worship leader. I'm actually about to possibly come on staff at a church. And he was like, oh, cool, what church? I told him the name of the church, and he stopped. He was like, really? Are you serious? And I was like, yeah. Why? He was like, this guy lives in Colorado, by the way, and was a ministry there. He was like, I'm texting so and so who's the worship pastor at that church right now? He was texting him. I was like, really? What's his name? He told me his name. I was like, wow. Like, like. Because during this whole process, I'm like, God, okay, I'm doing this voice thing, but I, I, I just need to hear your voice. I need, I need some kind of signs. I need some direction, like, if this doesn't work out, what's next? And he's like, I'm texting him. I'm like, no way. So he starts telling me, like, he's been a mentor to the, the worship pastor that was going to be hiring me. And so that was like the first thing. And then another one of the. [00:17:28] Speaker A: You weren't going in to take that guy's spot. [00:17:31] Speaker B: No. [00:17:31] Speaker A: You would have been, like, hired in this. [00:17:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I was a, I was hired as a worship. Yeah. No, right, right, right. No, it was a good thing. Okay, okay, good. And fast forward. Another one of the moments was there with the miners there. The parents would get tired at the end of the day, and they'd be like, kier, do you mind working with so and so with this song? They really need help with this or whatever. So I find myself praying with these kids, building these kids, like, confidence up and helping them with their songs. And I was like, okay, this feels really good. Like, I had done it a little bit before, but I was really doing it now. And that's what I ended up doing at this church. And these kids were also worship leaders. I don't know what people think that, like, now these shows are like, oh, everyone's a worship leader. This was 2012, almost everybody on the show was a worship leader. So much so that we would have worship nights on Wednesdays around the fire pit at the hotel. People would have the guitars and cajones and all that stuff. Producers, the producers heard that we. There were a lot of believers on the show, so. And we weren't allowed to leave the hotel and things like that to hang out because reporters are trying to figure out who's on the next season of the Voice. Because while we were there doing our thing, the current season was also filming. So American Idol was also staying in the same hotel and also filming. So it's just reporters trying to figure out what's happening. But the producers found out, and on Sunday mornings, they set up a room for us that had instruments and was set up as a church so that we could have worship service. On my season, that ended up being an actual pastor there who was on the show. Shout out to Biff Gore. I love you. He's in color, Colorado. He would preach the services, and then we would lead the worship. It was like this incredible, incredible experience. But the last confirming thing for me was when I was about to go on stage the first night to audition, and we had been there since 7 in the morning, and it was now 9pm you know, makeup, hair, wardrobe, all that stuff, Interviews and all that stuff. And I'm back there with my mic, my voice, coach gives me my microphone, producer gives me my microphone, and we back there and then I hear, oh, Kier, we're going to shut it down for tonight. Usher's birthday is today. And he. He wants to end early and go party. Like, okay. I was like, halfway thankful, halfway annoyed because I'm like, I've been here since 7am Bro. Usher. So started that process all over. Go back home. I mean, go back to the hotel, a different hotel. Because at this moment, we don't have our phones, we don't have any communication because we. They don't want us to know. Teams are filling up and all that stuff. So they keep us all separated. Come back the next morning, 7:00am Again, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Now it's 9pm Again. We're doing this again. Got my microphone, producers hyping me up like, you ready, Kier? You've been. You've been killing it. You ready? You know, you ready? I'm like, yeah. But then I had this feeling like, I don't think any chairs are going to turn for me. Like, not this depressive or deflating feeling, but, like, I really think, like, my Purpose here has been fulfilled. Like, I've gotten what I need from here. We're feeling. But I'm still excited because I'm like, I'm still about to go out here and have fun. I get on the stage. It's quiet, but you can feel the energy in the room. The lights are doing their thing. And then in my ear, you hear the countdown. And then the band starts, and I start singing, performing. I don't remember anything about it other than it just felt so good. Like, the crowd's going and dancing. They're singing along, and the judges are in their chairs doing their thing and go through my song. In my song, I'm like, oh, no. Cheers are turning. I think I was right. And by the end of the. The. The ending note, no chairs are turned. And so, you know, they all turn around. [00:21:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:21:36] Speaker B: They're like, oh, what's your name? Kier. Kier. Oh, I don't know why I didn't turn right. You know, I didn't turn my chair, and just. I don't. They said, nice. I remember Shakira. I forgot what she said, But Usher was like, dang, man, you can sing. Sing. And said some other things. Adam said the same thing. Blake said some really nice things about my voice, and he liked my shoes. I remember that. [00:22:03] Speaker A: You always have good shoes. [00:22:05] Speaker B: Well, thank you. He liked my shoes. And then we talked about some other things, and I don't remember all that stuff, But Usher was like, hey, I want you to come back. I was like, okay, I'll come back. And, like, when they. When they say that, they really mean it. Got off the stage. As soon as you get off the stage, there's this camera in your face. They're like, how do you feel? You didn't. You know, how do you feel right now? Yeah, I feel good. I remember saying this camera had an amazing time. I met some incredible friends that are lifetime friends, and I'm about to go back to North Carolina and be a part of an amazing church as a worship leader. Like, I'm saying this to the camera. [00:22:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:41] Speaker B: Like, I just felt so emboldened by holy spirit. Like, hey, I got you. I had you. This is what you asked for. The experience you asked for. [00:22:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:22:51] Speaker B: You did not have to stand in line at all. Yeah. Like, I gave this to you on a plate. Like, I never prayed about anything, but I always wondered what it would. You know, what it'd be like. So he gave this to me. I got back to the room at this time, they had flown my two God Sisters out to be with me. They flew them out for like four, five days just to hang. [00:23:09] Speaker A: Okay. [00:23:10] Speaker B: Pay them per diem. They didn't have to worry about anything. So they were with me and they were like. While we were in this room, we saw the camera, like, all the judges were like wanting to press there, but they had their hands on the button. They were like just waiting for something. Yeah. But they just couldn't. They couldn't press their buttons. And so it was like, holy spirit. Like this, this is this. What I experienced was for me, all the rest. No. And have such a well oiled. Well oiled machine. They put us in a car, drove us across the lot to a psychiatrist because again, they take you from whatever life you're living. Some people came from homelessness, like literally living on the street to being treated like a superstar. You're getting paid people, you. You send a text message and something is waiting at your door. Like they send in nail text to the ladies and hair, you know, all the things you're. You're living like a superstar. And so you go right back to reality when I say right back. The next morning. [00:24:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:19] Speaker B: The first fight out we were on. [00:24:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:24:21] Speaker B: So some people can't handle that. So you go see the psychiatrist. I walked in the door, he was like, kier, get out of my face. He knew, like, he was the coolest guy ever. [00:24:33] Speaker A: He was like, you know, this is not your plan. You know, you're supposed to be somewhere else. [00:24:36] Speaker B: He was like, you had a great time, didn't you? I was like, yes, I did. So he shoot me out of the room, gave me a hug, shoot me out of the room. And then I gave them some of their clothes back that I had some of them from the backlot. Because you don't get to keep the clothes now. [00:24:51] Speaker A: Okay. [00:24:52] Speaker B: Okay. Which is a really cool thing because you think about, I didn't get to keep the clothes, but those clothes have probably been on some of the top show, other shows, singing show, like, how many other people have worn those things too? But they put us in the van, took us to the hotel, by the time we got there, handed us our flight for the next morning. We were out the. The next morning. And I'm at. I'm in the airplane, like, leaving lax, looking down. I'm like, what the heck just happened? [00:25:21] Speaker A: Yeah, I bet what, like. [00:25:24] Speaker B: But it was like, this the coolest thing. It was a little bit. When I got home, I did experience a little bit of, like, sadness, but I was like, what the heck just happened? I just, like, was living a part of my dream, and my. My sisters were here. That was. That was pretty cool. Most. One of the most amazing experiences I've ever had while I was there, too. Like, you walk across the street from the hotel and you're eating lunch, but in the room, because where it was, Jonas Brothers, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears. Not Britney Spears, Rihanna's folks, like, you just, like, intermingling with these superstars. And then people. They don't have their bodyguards and stuff, and you just chilling, you know, you're here, but the Jonas Brothers are there. You're trying to, like, you know, eat your food. [00:26:11] Speaker A: Like, yeah, like, yeah, we're cool. [00:26:12] Speaker B: We're cool. I'm not phased. Jonas Brothers have always been some of my favorite, just for their style and their music and stuff, you know. Okay, I'm not phased. But I want to go over there and be like, but, yeah, that was my experience. It was incredible. And it. I got home, accepted my job offer, and first of all, they gave me their blessing to do that because I knew I was interviewing. I was like, okay, this is what's happening. They were like, cool, Go do it. And so I did that and came back. And, yeah, so that was my. That was a very long story. And there's so many other things, too. But I still talk to a lot of those folks today. They are still good friends of mine. And, yeah, it's. It's. Sometimes it feels like another life lived, I'm sure. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Well, and that's kind of what I was thinking, too. Like, I know that you had this supernatural peace and clarity of like, hey, this is even before you walked out. Like, this is not going to be your plan. And you had a thing. God had a thing for you to come back to. But do you ever have. You remember that Sliding Doors movie with Glenn, Gwyneth Paltrow? Do you ever have a Sliding Doors moment where you, like, wonder what your life would have been if you had one or if you had gone further? [00:27:30] Speaker B: I do. Because when I got back, first of all, you have to be silent for a while because you signed the contract and they're filming. You don't get to tell any. I didn't. I wasn't able to tell anybody why I was even in LA for months. [00:27:43] Speaker A: Oh, why you were. That you were even there? [00:27:46] Speaker B: No. [00:27:46] Speaker A: Oh, wow. [00:27:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, okay. Most people didn't know. My mom knew. I think that's it. Because I couldn't tell anybody. And I was there. All that for the blind auditions, all together. I lived in la. For like, a little over a month doing that. But they make it look like you just walk up, like, hey, no, I'm there. They're putting a lot of money and effort into making sure you're ready. But I couldn't talk about it when I got home. Of course, people like, people that knew at the church were like, can you tell us a little? I'm like, I can't. This was like, fall. [00:28:20] Speaker A: Okay. [00:28:20] Speaker B: Or end of summer. The show wasn't going to be debuting until January or February, so I'm like, quiet. And what. When it finally came out, I. As I was watching some of my friends on there, like, getting selected for teams and just watching their journey unfold, I did start wondering, like, that would have been cool because I never wanted to win. I never wanted to win. Only because just having. Even back then, I had friends who were in show business. I always knew that winners of the shows contractually. And so it's just a lot of weight. [00:29:01] Speaker A: They get locked in, right, to, like, a time frame and periods and things they have to do and all that stuff. [00:29:07] Speaker B: And I was like, I don't know that I would want that. Yeah, but to have a good run on the show for a few shows, make a good impression, catch somebody's eye. Cause at that time, I did, I was like, I want to be this singer that is, like, world renowned, this performer. I was like to, you know, catch some ears and eyes that are movers and shakers in the industry. I would love that. And I thought about. I also thought about, you know, getting paid some more, but just hanging out and watching those dreams unfold with my friends. But I got to do it vicariously through them because while they were on the show, I'm texting them, you know, like, hey, you killed it tonight. Or whatever. Or they text me, like, hey, did you see this? How was that? And so that was really cool for me that, first of all, that they would include me in that because we were friends, but we weren't. We were still building relationship. You know, it could have been, like, competition type friends. Like, you go now, you're not gone. But. But no, I had, like, good friends, and so I got to live through them with that. And that was really cool. And when any of them would get, you know, put off the show, call them and encourage them, like, hey, you, you. You did great. You did what you were supposed to do. Now let now go do what you're supposed to do next. So, yeah, I think I would. I know. This is what I know. I'm not trying to get deep. I wouldn't have met my wife Marika because I met her at the church. [00:30:38] Speaker A: That I came on staff at that very first church. [00:30:42] Speaker B: Yes. [00:30:42] Speaker A: Oh my gosh. [00:30:43] Speaker B: Met her there. I. I think about our three kids. Like that would have changed that trajectory for that. I can't imagine not having them. I have zero regrets about that experience. It was incredible. I love that I have that story and that experience. And I was invited back. I was invited back, but I was like, I took. I took about two weeks to really think about, like, do you really. They wouldn't do the same thing like fat? Well, they were actually going to fast forward me straight to executive part where you're just with the main producer of the show. I was like, do you really want to give that time back again? I was like, nah. Like, I'm honored. And this was at Usher's request and I was honored. But I'm in a different season of life now. I love my job and I had a great experience that I don't have any regrets for. So. Yeah, that's awesome. [00:31:48] Speaker A: It's so crazy to think about those like, sliding doors moments. And I do sometimes too. Like, I went through a really, really rough season of teaching when I was teaching and sometimes I'm like, God, why did I leave this amazing, amazing school that I was at and go to this one then? That was like so not amazing. I didn't know. But if I hadn't done that, I would have never left education. I would have never gotten into ministry. Like, I would never be doing this. I don't think. I don't know if, I mean, God's gonna do what God's gonna do. He's gonna work it out. [00:32:20] Speaker B: But you can route it, but correct. [00:32:22] Speaker A: But like, if I hadn't done that, I would not have then been in the opportunity to like step into ministry when I did. I mean, and just then it, you know, it snowballs. [00:32:30] Speaker B: Yeah. The path, what I've learned is like, of course God has. God has a solution and an answer for every and a move for every single decision we can ever make. You know, his will prevails because he's so wise. And if I would have won, I have no doubt because I think about my kids purpose, Marika. I have no doubt that he could do his thing to make it, you know, to bring me here today. But also it's like that specific path. All of the things that I learned along the way, all the things that I gained, the maturing in my faith, maturing in My gift. Gift maturing just in how to be a good friend and all that stuff. Yeah, I don't. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Yeah, I. I wouldn't have. Although some of the other ways would have been cool, you know, but. It would have been cool. But, no, I wouldn't have done it any other way. And I. To think that I had an opportunity to do it again, and I was like, you know. No, I'm good. Yeah, I'm good. Yeah. But it was really. It was. It was really cool. It. It changed my life and made me bolder in my faith, too, because going there, I was afraid. I'm like, I'm a Christian. I really love the. The Lord, and I. I don't want to, like, be sequestered away from people because I don't know what people are, you know, going to be like. [00:34:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:34:05] Speaker B: But I get there, and we're all, like, praying and crying together and worshiping the Lord, and we actually got in trouble one time by the hotel. Like, y' all are a little loud. Can y' all take it inside? We were around the fire pits outside, y' all. It's like, y' all sound great, but do you mind going into this room? But it was. It was. Yeah. What a. What an amazing time. [00:34:30] Speaker A: Good. Okay, so fast forward. Like, what, 20. No, 12 years? 13 years. Something like that. [00:34:37] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:37] Speaker A: What are you doing with music now? [00:34:39] Speaker B: Now I am writing for a lot of artists. I. I think two songs should be out this year. Christian artists, gospel. Gospel artists, CCM artists. I'm also working on my own music. I have a single that is coming this year featuring a friend of mine, and I'm wrapping up some stuff with that to try to make sure it's. It's ready. But we got that single coming, and then I'm working on the ep. I'm working on a Christmas song that I've been working for, like, three years, right? Two Christmas songs. And every now and then, I get to do some theater. I'm a part of the national. The International Black Theater Festival here in Winston Salem, which is a huge festival that brings a hundred thousand people here to the city for a week every two years. And so I get to be a part of that every year with theater, because theater is a love of mine. After I got back from the Voice, I actually ended up doing some off Broadway in New York as well and doing. Doing some theater, doing music, and, you know, still leading worship and doing all the things I can with music. Music really is not my Life. I used to, you know, as a young person, I'm like, it's my life. No, it's not my life. But I very clearly recognize, respect, honor, and receive the mantle of music that the Lord has put on me. And I'm here to use it however he does it. Because, I mean, if he can take me to the voice when I didn't do anything to get them, like, okay, yeah, whatever you want to do, Lord, let's do it. And so I answer as he calls. [00:36:31] Speaker A: So great. And you've got your own. You already do have. I know you're working on stuff, but you also have some of your own music out there already. [00:36:37] Speaker B: I have a few songs out. I have a little Seed out, and that features my friend Naomi Rain from Maverick City Music. And I have Little Seed dance mix. And then you Walk with Me, which is a special song, which I'm actually doing a. Another version of that. And I have that, and then I have songs with a collective. It's not really a collective. We call ourselves a library of songs. It's called Common Hymnal. And so I have plenty of music with Common Hymnal for over the last eight years, and I'm still very much a part of it. What we call ourselves the ecosystem. And we've got tons of music rolling out, literally, as we speak. [00:37:23] Speaker A: I'm glad that you brought them up, because I want to talk about Common Hymnal. I love Common Hymnal. I obviously love you. So every time I hear your voice, I'm like, yeah, but Common Hymnal talk about how. How they got started and what they're doing, because I don't know how to explain. Yeah, it's so much more than just like, here are some people coming together to make fantastic music. [00:37:47] Speaker B: Yeah. Thank you. So Common Hymnal, like I said, it's not a collective. It's not a group. It's not a singing group or anything like that. We call ourselves a library of songs. And so the goal of Common Hymnal is praise and protest. It's worship with a social conscience. And it's everything from political things to poverty, sexual abuse, any of those things. We try to make music for every season and even problem that somebody might be facing in life, alcoholism, whatever it might be. And so we started, man. My introduction to Common hymnal was 20. 2018, and it was at Johnny Cash's farm in Tennessee. Right. We were a part of a. A thing called Reunion that United Pursuit used to do. Okay. And, yeah, I met Malcolm Duplessis, who is the founder of Common Hymnal. He's a white South African man who is passionate about justice, who was a part of all the apartheid stuff back in South Africa, created music like we do have with Common Hymnal now, that made an uproar in the government. I mean, he's here because he had to get out of there because his music was causing people to rise up and stand up and fight back against injustice, like being jailed and everything. So he. He's been here for 40 years now. Kindest man ever. And he started Common Hymnal because he felt, well, he had a prophetic vision of what his life would look like here in the States and. And what God was calling him to do. And so he followed that, and that is common hymnal. And it's. It's like, I can't put a. A number on how many people are apart. I would say at our core, it's like 25 to 30 of us, but. [00:39:59] Speaker A: We have fluid and just kind of changes. [00:40:01] Speaker B: Very much so. Like, when we're recording music, everything is very well oiled and very well organized, very well thought out. Like, we'll listen to one song 10 times. Like, whose voice? Whose voice is this? We'll try. Like, I've gone to Nashville or Knoxville, sang on a song, came back, they're like, nah, we need someone else's voice. Like, we put the time in to get the right people on the right songs. Yeah, but we have a lot of albums. We have about maybe like six albums, whether they're EPs or full albums. We have songs about depression, about alcoholism, sexual abuse, political things, racism, poverty, all the things that. The whole gamut. And that's what we do. That's who we are. We. We're not offended by people. What we call, we call ourselves the underground church. Nothing creepy. Not like vampires, not like nothing Christian. But just knowing that a lot of our music won't be played at churches on a Sunday morning. [00:41:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:41:08] Speaker B: Fast forward to today. A lot of our music actually is played on Sunday mornings, which is really cool. And all kinds of churches, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, all kinds of churches. And so that's who we are. And we are passionate about being the hands and feet of Jesus with our music. And if you ever need anything that you need to check out of the library, you just go to our site. You can see our songs. You can go to Apple Music, Spotify. We have songs for everything that. That are meant to encourage you and to help lift you back up. And we also have fun songs, too. Don't get me wrong, we got. We got a lot of like, just, you know, do your. Do your thing. So we got some vibes, too, but we love to reach across and hold people by the hand with whatever they're going through. [00:42:07] Speaker A: Well, and I. I think. I don't know when I found Common Hymnal, if it was through you. I feel like it wasn't until a little bit later, 20, 20, maybe. [00:42:14] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:15] Speaker A: And I just remember. Yeah, what's that? [00:42:18] Speaker B: I was gonna say. That makes sense, because that's when a lot of people started to find out music because, like, the George Floyd stuff, a lot of the injustices and people were searching for, like, music and encouragement or. Or Spotify playlists, and things started, like, putting our music out there because this is. It was applicable to what was going on in the world. [00:42:40] Speaker A: Well, it's real. It's real in a way that. And I don't want to offend any of the creatives or even. I know you write other stuff, like, yeah, there's a lot of great music out there. There's a lot of great music that points people to the Lord and talks about the love of Jesus and, you know, brings people in whatever season or emotion or stage of life that they're in. But something about the songs that Common Hymnal writes is real and powerful in a way that. And consistently real and powerful in a way that I have not seen any other group do. [00:43:14] Speaker B: We. We toil with our music a lot. You can tell Malcolm is very, very intentional, very focused. And, you know, we have a. [00:43:28] Speaker A: We have. [00:43:28] Speaker B: We have a WhatsApp group. We have text chains where we are like, hey, this just happened. Anybody want to try to write a song about it? Anybody want to process your thoughts creatively? But it's always flowing every day. Every day or every week. They're just. We're keeping the conversation going. We've gotten to do some really cool things, even with the Martin Luther King foundation, with Ms. Bernice King and their beloved organization or continual partnership with them. But he's just very intentional with who we connect with. He's not like a dictator at all with it. Like, he lets us run the show, and he's like the old wise man who's like, you know, these are my thoughts, but there you go. [00:44:22] Speaker A: Well, it's working because you guys stay so super relevant. There are times sometimes where I'll get a new song that pops up on Spotify or I use a lot of Common hymnal music when I'm. When Instagram is like, hey, this post would do better if you put a song behind it. I'm like, let me see what I can find. [00:44:38] Speaker B: Look us up. [00:44:39] Speaker A: But there are times where I'm like, how did y' all already write and put out a song about this? I feel like it just happened. [00:44:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Like, a lot of the songs releasing even now are songs we wrote two years ago. Wow. And we can. It can be two people writing together, five people writing together, one person. The songs are vetted. It's just a very honorable, respectful atmosphere for artists. Everyone is respected, but also business wise, everyone is respected with. With royalties. Like, some. Some of the songs you hear were inspired by conversations that someone had with their mom or their pastor or their friend. Those people that inspired the conversation that became a song get royalties from the song as a. As a piece of honor of, like, helping inspire the song. So it's like a. A very. And these. Some of these people are not musical at all, but they're getting music royalties because they inspired a song. So it's a really honoring atmosphere. And everything is not. Like, some of the things we have written have been times where we had to have a discussion about, like, because we weren't agreeing with how we felt or someone wasn't fully there on processing, you know, their thoughts about it. And so we had to. We had to talk through some things in order for the song to be birthed or be prophetic. Even with the song when we weren't feeling it, it's a really healing atmosphere that we have with Common Hymnal. Malcolm is amazing. Everyone that's a part. We do have some new leaders that are, like, kind of leading the charge. I think about Jalen and so Chill and Gosh Royce. Everybody's just very intentional, very loving. We have every race and ethnicity represented. We have songs even that are dedicated to the Asian community. It's just, we try to. We try to see everyone and honor everyone with at least one song. So, yeah, it's incredible. It's exhausting sometimes, too, because you're being so intentional and you're. You're really trying to. To high five everybody or hug everybody or. Or. Or see everybody with a song and. But it's so worth it. It's worth all of the work. It's worth it. [00:47:18] Speaker A: Well, you called. You called Common Hymnal of the Underground Church, and I know that you worship in a lot of churches, so I want to ask you a couple questions about the church here as we kind of get toward the end of our conversation. But I know that you lead worship and have led worship at a lot of churches. What are you seeing in the the global church or maybe the Western American church right now. That gives you hope. What are you seeing that gives you hope? We'll start there. [00:47:46] Speaker B: Well, my number one strength on strength finders assessment is positivity. So I have a lot of hope. Despite a lot of the things that are happening. I see. I see people, you know, doing this motion, like, maybe I, you know, thinking and leaning into conversation, even leaning into common hymnal, some common hymnal stuff. I have a conversations weekly about, hey, can I talk about this? Can I do. How do you feel about this? How did y' all do this? So I see people who are like, worship leaders at large churches leaning their ear in and saying, okay, I'm listening. I see being in green rooms. I'm being a part of conversations that I'm like, wow, this is good. Like, this is a real conversation. This is not conference talk. This is not. Like, I sense authenticity. It's not. It's not performance. You're not just, like, talking to blow some hot air out. Like, you're actually asking a good question that I'm like, I need a minute to think about that. Because I wasn't expecting to have this conversation. Whether it's about race, culture, as a music, as a musician, I am really passionate about, and I have always been about how. How churches are. Let's. Let's call them not underground churches, but mainstream churches are. Like, how are you choosing your music? How are you considering those on your team, whether they're black, white, Hispanic, whatever. Like, how are you making this an immersive cultural experience to the best of your ability? Because that's. You can get really technical with that. But to know that people are wanting and desiring and trying, not always even, like, success excelling in that, but trying is. Has been really encouraging. I feel like God is being so gracious with us, with the church, because I'm a part of underground church and the mainstream church. Yeah, unapologetically, I know what God has called me to do, and at this point. And so I feel like a bridge between what we do with common hymnal and what most churches are doing. And it's a badge of honor for me to be that bridge. But I feel like people are walking across the bridge. And that has not always been. Because some people will walk across the bridge to throw a rock or, you know, to talk, to talk junk or whatever, but people are walking across the bridge both ways and. Or at least meeting halfway on the bridge to talk. And so that's encouraging to me specifically, again, musically, because it's so important. Music is the universal language. It's in restaurants, it's in church, it's at birthday parties, it's in clothing stores, it's everywhere. So music is important. And so to see people talking about music and its effect and how it can bring people together, specifically believers in Jesus, how it connects us and how it is old. Respect the truth of what you're doing with your music in your churches, to honor the people on your team and to honor the people in your congregation. So that's what I see. And apart from, you know, musically in general, I feel like people are so desperate for the presence of God and for the. The blessing of God to be on what they're doing, that it's pushing them to love better because they're realizing, I can't do this on my own. So I'm having a conversation with you now. And so they're loving people better, which also is an instruction from God, and God honors that. And so it's like things are happening because people, despite some of the things that are not loving and are unkind and are unjust and all this stuff that. That. That's happening, and that's going to always happen until Jesus comes back. But there's a lot of love happening too. And I refuse to not acknowledge that. I refuse to not celebrate that some beautiful things happening through conversation and through. [00:52:25] Speaker A: Authentic relationship and through music. Like you said, music open the door. I mean, again, not to go back to Common Hymnal, but I'm gonna even those, you know, when I think the people that are like, I would like to walk across the bridge, but I don't know where it is or I don't know how to, like, step onto it. I do think that music can help them find the language and start to have words and understand concepts. And so it's. It's beautiful. [00:52:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:54] Speaker A: On the. On the other side of the coin, what are you seeing in the church that gives you pause or that maybe you wish was a little different? [00:53:02] Speaker B: Yeah. So on the other side, I see siloed churches, which, again, is not new. But I feel that we should all know now and be able to discern that. Siloing ourselves is not helping. It will not help. Of course, you still see a lot of people who are like, hey, you're speaking about racism and injustice and you're causing division because you're speaking about it, you know, and they're talking about it from their pulpits or whatever. That's not helpful. That's also not true. That's a lie. You're exposing and shining a light on injustice and division that already exists. So I see that again, I don't think that's ever going to actually stop until Jesus comes back. And I also see still just blatant wrong teaching of culture. Like people teaching from their pulpits to other people, like for, for their people to other people. Like, you know, the, the phrase of don't other that person. Like don't. Don't put them aside and devalue who they are and who they are in the world and what God has called them to do. There's still a lot of that because we're not taking the time to understand each other and knowing that we can disagree. I know it said all the time, but we can disagree and still love somebody. It's not so simple and it's not black and white or this narrow, easy road, but it's worth it and it's what God has called us to do. And so instead of having conversations with people, people are going to their pulpits or to their social media in Jesus name and othering people and not loving people well, and shaming people, casting people down, canceling people. And it's just such a hypocritical thing to do because each of us can be canceled for something. Sure, each of us maybe deserves to be canceled or shunned, but we got, we got to show grace and love and when we do need to call something out, call it out in love without shunning the person away from the world. But I see a lot of that still mainly on social media. You know, the power of social media. Everyone has a voice, whether it's a voice that is dividing or uniting. [00:55:44] Speaker A: Yeah. I think the difference between the two on social media, at least what I've. I've seen is like the hopeful ones, the ones that are really trying to, you know, show empathy and compassion and love for people and, you know, kind of take those red letters of Jesus and bring that into the world. That's a conversation. [00:56:00] Speaker B: Right. [00:56:01] Speaker A: Where the ones that are then going to go like, shaming, no division, they're like just monologuing. [00:56:09] Speaker B: Boom, boom. Yeah. [00:56:11] Speaker A: And that's a very easy way to tell the difference. I mean, if you can't already tell. [00:56:14] Speaker B: The difference, but, you know, exactly. And just, you know, to, to I know we, we're about to end just to. Even politically, I feel like at this point in our lives, at this point in, in the political sphere, it's undeniable that there's a lot of hate and malice coming from the White House and administration to all people, like, yes, excuse me for saying, but even white people, like, there's just pure hate coming from there, from the administration and a lot of other places, and people are still scared to call that out. And we got to call it out. It is the enemy. I'm not calling them the enemy, but it is the enemy. It's a lot of words of the enemy. A lot of words of shaming and devaluing people and dehumanizing people coming from the White House. And it's like, stop being scared to talk about that. [00:57:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:57:14] Speaker B: Because when you are silent about it or you are posting something that kind of seems like a alike, that's divisive, because now I don't see you calling out the injustice, so I'm left to think that you're okay with it. Or I'm seeing you share something without using your own words about how you feel about it and it looks like you are supporting. Supporting it. Or you were really vocal at the beginning of this campaign and all this crazy stuff has happened and now you're silent. Or it's just, we just gotta stop every. Everyone's political affiliation is private, as. As in they don't have to discuss it with someone, even though you can look it up. I don't look it up. I'm not saying I look it up, but I've had people come to me saying, oh, I looked up your voting stuff. Absolutely. You're a Democrat. It's like, no, I'm not. I'm an Independent. But anyway, what was I saying? Just stop being scared to talk about it. [00:58:20] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:58:21] Speaker B: Because it's happening every single day. It's happening. And don't wash it up as just being the media or whatever. No, the. At this point, it is. The media does its thing, but the media is showing us what is actually happening as well. Yeah. And so stop being here to talk about it. [00:58:41] Speaker A: And I think. I think the way that we align ourselves, like you said on social media, you can talk about. I really, really love. And here, you and I both know we could do a whole nother hour on this and we won't put a pin in it. But I do want to reiterate that you said you can talk about things that are of the enemy that sound like the enemy without calling the other or the other people the enemy. We don't have to name names. We don't have to, like, listen, we're going to pray for our leaders. We're going to pray for God's wisdom and discernment and all of the things. Yes. And we can call out hateful behavior and things that do not even the tiniest little bit look like the love or grace of Jesus, because either one. [00:59:25] Speaker B: Of those actions doesn't cancel each other out. Even if it was a president that I, first of all, there's no president that I've, as an adult that I've been like, I agree with everything that's happening, so that's not a thing. But like, even if it was another president or administration, it's important to pray because our Bibles say pray. And it's important to call out things that are harming other people, especially people that you're sitting in your church with or serving on your teams with or doing team nights with or having coffee with or have you have family members who are being affected by what this administration is doing. It's very important and harmful. It's important to talk about it. And it's harmful if it's just silent or you're, you know, celebrating what's happening. It's weird. It's very weird. And it seems oppressive. Back in the day, I would have been oppressed by that. But these days I'm like, okay, let's talk. Because this is how I'm feeling with what you said, with what I saw. I want you to know I respect you and I love you, but I need clarity because this is what's going on in my mind. Also, I don't want to have a fake relationship with you. [01:00:42] Speaker A: Yes. [01:00:43] Speaker B: Also, I don't want to have a relationship with someone who actually hates me, who is supporting what's being done to people of my culture like you. [01:00:51] Speaker A: Self awareness and maturity to have those conversations. [01:00:53] Speaker B: It does. And I have not always had that or sometimes I have had it. I'm like, I don't want to use it, but I try to be productive as honoring to what God has called me to do, what I believe he's called me to do in that bridge bridging place, but also in honoring in honor of what we do with Common Hymnal. I don't want to just completely throw away what we do. We are very adamant about injustice not being tolerated. But we also like, okay, but we want to have a conversation about it. And so, yeah, I'm still learning. I mean, I'm 36 years old. I'm not gonna sit here and act like I know everything, but I've learned a lot, experienced a lot, and always seeking God with how to handle this because this is always a part of my life on the Daily. In some way. [01:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah, well, and you might. You might have maybe just given us your answer, but I'm going to ask you anyway because it's. I have to ask everybody this last question or my listeners are going to come for me and be like, why didn't you ask here? So. Because the podcast is called Becoming Church. How can the people listening become the church of people around them? [01:02:07] Speaker B: Become your brother and become your sister. Because we are each other, and this doesn't work without each other. It doesn't work without me, it doesn't work without you. So become me, and I'll become you. And that means I'll get to feel your pain, I'll get to feel your celebrations, and you get to feel my pain in my celebrations. And we'll learn together how to celebrate with each other, how to mourn with each other, because there's a season for all of that. But become each other. Become your brother. Become your sister. [01:02:51] Speaker A: That is so beautiful. I'm like, oh, that might be my favorite answer. Thank you. [01:02:57] Speaker B: You almost got me, too. I know that question. That's a great question. [01:03:01] Speaker A: Thank you. Well, I am so, so, so genuinely proud of you. I love you. I can't wait for you to be back here so we can worship together and. And go to lunch. [01:03:12] Speaker B: Yes, soon. [01:03:14] Speaker A: Thank you, friends. [01:03:16] Speaker B: Thank you. [01:03:21] Speaker A: Okay. My face actually hurts from smiling through the. This entire conversation. I just nodded along like a proud big sister the whole entire time. If you don't follow Kier online, I encourage you to do so and definitely look up his music on Spotify or wherever you like to listen. He is one of the most genuine, loving leaders out there, and God is speaking through him in a very powerful way. I actually have an interview with another member of Common Hymnal, David Gates, coming up for you in a couple of weeks, so be sure you're subscribed and have your automatic downloads turned on so you don't miss it or any of the other fantastic guests I've got lined up for you. I'm Kristen, and you can find me at KristenMothler Young on social media. As always, thanks for listening, and until next time, keep becoming the church to the people around you.