With The Perrys - For Your Glory: Why and How We Worship with Trip Lee

Episode Date: April 20, 2026

Trip Lee is an author, teacher, and hip-hop artist who recently released new worship music titled “For Your Glory.” He joins Jackie and Preston for a conversation about worship music, rap music, a...nd the importance of music in our lives as followers of Jesus.  Music plays a major role in spiritual formation – singing truth helps us remember and believe what is true about God. Worship is not just the fluff before a sermon; it’s a response to who God is. Ultimately, worship is about making much of Jesus, and it’s something we’re called to participate in together. Connect with Trip Lee: https://www.instagram.com/triplee/  https://builttobrag.com/  Listen to For Your Glory, the new worship project from BRAG WORSHIP & Trip Lee: https://link.reachrecords.com/fyg1  Scripture References Ephesians 5:19 Psalm 77:1-3, 13-14, 16 Psalm 103:1 This Episode is Sponsored By: https://magicspoon.com/PERRY — Get $5 off your next order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:09 It's the saints and the aes. I told myself, I said, she going to start off with this song today. It was the hat that gave you away. I don't know what they got to do. The head is just, you know. By identifying the two different demographics that are engaging in this conversation today, which is the saints in the age. Realistically, do you think it's a lot of Ains that listen to our podcast?
Starting point is 00:00:35 No. No. You just like to acknowledge them? I think they are Ains that don't know it yet because they serve in church. Oh my gosh. Why does she just come for y'all next like that?
Starting point is 00:00:47 No, that's not even shade. I just think the form of godliness is a thing. So you engage with religious things without necessarily having the eternal substance that matches what you do externally. So shout out to you though. But this is a part of that process. You know, God is able to like Saul,
Starting point is 00:01:08 you know, remove the scales and show you that you were living according to your own righteousness. So basically what you're trying to say, people would be singing that song with you and not really realizing they are ain't. For sure. Wow. They definitely, because who wants to be an ain't? Yeah, yeah. You know something I was thinking about this really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really.
Starting point is 00:01:27 them. But we were watching something the other day where somebody was breaking into somebody's house. Did you take the dog out? I did. Okay. We, we, we were watching something the other day with somebody was breaking to somebody else. I was like, I don't know if you ever told that story. We don't have time of you tell the story, but one day we're going to tell the story story about how pressing broke into that man house and how that man was there. Yeah, yeah, storytime with Preston Perry. I was doing some, a lot of crazy things. But the Lord redeemed you and now you worship, just like Tripley. Huh?
Starting point is 00:01:55 You like that same way? I like that. I like that. I like this. You're so light-skinned. I don't know. God made me like, no. Are you by Rachel? I really look like this. What happened? Who's white in your family?
Starting point is 00:02:05 Somebody's white. I've never met them. Now, I am, now, look, I know black people always say this, but this is real. I have receipts. Okay. I am one-eighth Cherokee. Okay. My grandmother was half Cherokee.
Starting point is 00:02:20 You are a little red. Yeah. My grandmother's half-cherekebones. No beard. I can see that. I can see that. I can just be saying. darn it stings.
Starting point is 00:02:28 No, the light of you are, I'm like, you got some white up in there. Yeah, I mean, look. I haven't met them. They hadn't. I ain't met them. Anyway. I would like to, at some point, maybe when we're done, hear this story about you working in somebody house in there, though.
Starting point is 00:02:42 Because I was engaged by that. I did feel like I was just sitting in the living room for a second. I thought I was just watching the podcast. I feel like he's told it, but I just kind of, I think we got new people that haven't heard it. You want me tell it now? We have a guess. It's up to the game. You want to hear it?
Starting point is 00:02:56 I would. loved here, but I don't have to be on a podcast. It's up to y'all. This is I'm a guest. I'll tell it afterwards. I'll tell it afterwards. We'll tell you all next week. How's that? Yep. Okay. Tripple. You got a new album. Tripp. What's name your album? For your glory. Okay.
Starting point is 00:03:11 Bray worship is the umbrella for the worship stuff I'm doing and the title of the album is for your glory. Are you singing? A little bit. You singing? Not mostly, though. So on a couple songs, I am. Okay. Because there were a couple demos where people were like, Because my goal was like, I'm just Kirk Franklin this without being a generational genius.
Starting point is 00:03:31 You're going to be the head of genius. But I'm like, I'm going to write, produce these songs, and then I'm going to just get people to sing them. Because I don't want people being able to see them in a worship space to be limited by my limited vocals. But it was a few of them that people were like, nah, you got to stay on this one. So it's a couple. Oh, wow. Most of y'all know Tripp as an author, a pastor. I don't know if you're pastoring now.
Starting point is 00:03:55 I'm not pastor now. pastoral gifting, Bible teacher, and rapper. This seems new for you to be venturing into the worst. Speaking of a rapper, I want to just quickly say, I told you all this before the podcast started, I want to say it in real time. Our first out of show with one another as friends. Out of town.
Starting point is 00:04:18 Out of town show. That wasn't in LA or Chicago. It was in Ohio at a Tripoli concert. Oh, wow. And this had to be... We were openers. Yeah. So, like...
Starting point is 00:04:29 I wasn't actually. I think I was a supporter. No, you know, we were openers. Like, so I tell people all the time when we first started off of... When we first started off of spoken word poetry, especially in those early days when our poems went viral, people didn't know how to place us. And we came like second fiddle to the Christian Raptors. So like people will literally book us just to your breathing room. Like, you needed like space in the...
Starting point is 00:04:56 Throw a poet up there. That's funny. And that was the first time I met you. It had to be like 2011. Dang. A long time ago. And you were just real quiet and they told me you like, you're introverted. So I was like, I'm going to talk to him.
Starting point is 00:05:08 If I gave off, don't talk to me energy. I apologize. No, it's all good. Throughout the years, I got to know you. You know what I'm saying? And like, you're just like my wife. Y'all are part person. I always are like.
Starting point is 00:05:18 But yeah, I remember that. It was like the first out of town show me and Jackie here together. It was Ohio. That dude, what was his name? Opposition in my face. I feel like there was a little person there. I'm bigger than this dude. I aired Jordan on him.
Starting point is 00:05:30 You know what I said? K-Drama. Yeah, K-Drama. Wasn't there a little person there? Yes, and the promoter was a little person. Yep. Do you remember this? I do, yeah.
Starting point is 00:05:41 Because I remember them being other events too, other stuff around that. Yeah, that's crazy. It's the first day I met you, man. That's crazy. You know, I was telling the trip that when I became a Christian, I was immediately introduced to him, Lecrae, flame, thistle. Not even the truth, the truth came later.
Starting point is 00:06:00 What I liked about you, I was like, oh, he country, and he sound worldly. He's telling the truth. And it was like, it was a 2020 album, because I just remember me it looked like you was on Mars or something. It was like a little space bubbles. Yeah, yeah. And I was like, oh, like, that's a great album, by the way. I don't know where he from, but he sound like us.
Starting point is 00:06:17 And so shout out to you. That's dope. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Now, you said, but, you know, there may be lots of things that I do, but y'all, too, I I mean, I can think of many different errors. I was like, oh, I didn't know they did this too. Oh, I didn't know they also did this.
Starting point is 00:06:31 I didn't know they also did this. I love that. It's kind of like the Lord. Yeah. Well, speaking to that, you said something about the worship. You said you wrote these worship songs? Yes. Wow.
Starting point is 00:06:41 So that's, I'm really intrigued by that. Have you always kind of had a gift of writing songs like that? Is that something that you developed over the years? This is something I developed over the years. It was something that I wanted to do for a long time. but felt like I don't know how to do this. Wow. When I was in college, I was part of a urban church plant.
Starting point is 00:07:04 You know, it was real young, hip-hop influenced. And the songs we sang together, the worship songs felt like they were so at the center of our time together. It was like when we were evangelizing, we were singing these songs. When we were in small groups, we were singing these songs. Sunday morning, it felt like some of our richest time together. And this church had, from the beginning, which churchmen
Starting point is 00:07:25 normally don't have. They had amazing musicians that could take those songs and make them feel like us. So they was like taking CCM songs making them feel more like us. They was taking like traditional gospel stuff making it feel more like us.
Starting point is 00:07:37 And I was just always like, man, I wish there were more songs that felt more like us. I wish that the categories didn't always feel so firm. But at that time I was like, but I don't write worship songs. And I was like,
Starting point is 00:07:51 I'm not going to ask somebody to send me a trap beat to write worship songs. I don't even know where I would start. We had a couple people in the church who was starting to write stuff. And so that was just something that had been in my heart and mind for a long time. You know, I also was at a church in D.C. Four Seasons, about four years, this church completely different.
Starting point is 00:08:09 No drums, old hymps. Took me very long time to be able to connect with those. But again, I was like, man, there's some rich truth in these old hymns. Now, I would, you know, sometimes getting disagreements with the disagreement sounds strong. But I would be like, hey, pastor, this song has beautiful truth and the melody is a funeral. And I wish that, yeah, I just wish that there was a way for this to connect more to me and how I'm interacting with it. And when I held playing a church in Atlanta, we didn't have amazing musicians at first. And, you know, so it was hard to have songs that really felt like us.
Starting point is 00:08:42 So anyway, through all these seasons, I'm like, man, I would love to, I just see the gift that songs are the guys' people when they gather together. And I wonder if I could ever do that. That's dope. I love saying people who've been known musically in a different space to kind of venture into another space because it just shows you how complex and how creative God has made. That's dope. I'm excited to hear it. What's ironic is I was listening to this sermon before I came downstairs from John Mark Comer about Jesus in the wilderness.
Starting point is 00:09:12 And he quoted this passage from the screw tape letters where the senior demon is telling the little, you know, intermediate demon, that two things that Satan hates is silence and music. And I guess I'm wondering how, what do you think about worship? How is that developed? What is your theology of worship and how has that led you to this point? Yeah, I think, I think initially when I was first, I became Christian. I was like 14 and, you know, I knew I didn't really like the songs that they sang in big church, what I was calling at the time. We was going to youth church. And in youth church, we would, there was stuff that felt more like stuff I liked, but you know, it was
Starting point is 00:09:56 Kirk Franklin's stuff, he's able to for a ham and stuff, still some of my favorite songs. And then remixing random songs. I remember, you know, that gap band song Outstanding. That was an offer song. I never knew it was a gab band song because we sung the Christian version of it.
Starting point is 00:10:17 And then one day I was like, Charlie Wilson stole this from my worship. But my church. How dare you? We are thankful that Magic Spoon has created something that has the macros of a protein bar, including 12 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber. And if you love sweet snacks but hate the sugar crash, then this is for you. This is about to be your new obsession.
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Starting point is 00:12:32 And I started to see how important it was to kind of the life of what we were doing. That's when how I thought about it began to change. And I think I've been saying, like, if there was one thing that this project did and it just gives me the opportunity to have these conversations, is I think we undervalue the importance of sense. singing when God's people gather together. I think we do not fully appreciate the importance of that. Tell us more. I think we, yeah, I think some of us treated like it's like a fun, fluffy part. It happens before the serious gospel work.
Starting point is 00:13:09 You know, I had a friend who's like, Drew, like, do we have to sing in church? I was like, wow, he was like, I don't like it. I don't like the songs, my church sings. I don't think they sound that good. I don't connect with these songs. Can I just show up when it's time for the sermon? And I think a lot of people, even if they don't say that, that is kind of how we think.
Starting point is 00:13:29 We think like, oh, if I'm running a little bit late, I'll still be there for like the message. That's the main part. I think some of us think almost like, the Western Church, we added all this stuff. We got lights and fog and we sing songs. And it's like, well, no, no, no. That part is not a West.
Starting point is 00:13:44 That's not a new thing. That is something God commands us to do. So, yeah, we do have to sing songs. And it's also not just, an emotional part of the service. It's not, I think even pastors make this mistake, where they, like, think about shepherding every part of the life of the church, and they think about all the disciplining,
Starting point is 00:14:01 and they're like, oh, but, you know, worship leaders are used to do your thing, and then we'll get to the serious gospel work. The Bible, I think, is treating the songs we sing together as how God is disciplining his church in some ways. It's part of the big gospel work. So I think of, like, Colossians 3. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. teaching and admonishing one another
Starting point is 00:14:21 through Psalms, Hems, and spiritual songs and sing with gratitude to the Lord. So it's like if the word of Christ is supposed to dwell in us richly, one of the ways we're teaching and admonishing each other with that word is singing Psalms, Hems, and spiritual songs. And so sometimes I want to encourage dudes especially who don't like to sing in church. What you're doing is you're not just kind of opting out of the part of the service
Starting point is 00:14:46 you don't like. You're disobeying God's clear command. you're not just robbing God of glory, you're also robbing other people in the congregation of getting to hear God's people sing to him. Because it is us singing with gratitude to God, but it's also singing to one another. There's something that happens
Starting point is 00:15:04 when we're singing God's truth to one another together. And so that, like, over time has just become a really strong conviction of mine, even pastoring, you know, like, while pastoring, I'm saying no one is ever going to, I don't know, music has access to our whole self in a way that just words don't. I mean, and we know this kind of instinctively, you know,
Starting point is 00:15:27 there's songs that you haven't heard since you were seven that you remember all the words. No one is ever on a Thursday morning like driving to work and reciting the words to my third point of my sermon. They're just not doing that. There's a way that music gets in us. Like there's something special there.
Starting point is 00:15:43 And I'm like, that's a tool in my tool belt to help guys people grow that I don't want to let me. go of. I was talking to a girl one time, she was like, hey, Tripp, you know, I struggle with depression and anxiety. I've been struggling to read God's word, and I've been struggling to pray this week. And she said, but on Sunday when we came and we were singing these songs, and I got to hear
Starting point is 00:16:03 hundreds of people singing God's truth. I was reminded that, oh, God's goodness that I've been wrestling with sin, this is a reminder. We all walking in this together. And it was almost like a way for us to bear each other's burdens, you know, to sing God's truth to one another when we're having difficulty doing it ourselves. Yeah. Yeah, I do think you bringing up the point of men struggling in worship. I think it can be a temperament thing. I think it's gender but temperament because I think worshiping or singing out loud has a vulnerability to it. And I was going to say that too.
Starting point is 00:16:39 I was going to say that too because it's like, I don't mean to be funny. But like some people sound like a coughing motorcycle when they sing. Yeah. And it's not like. you saying that some people just don't sound good and so like what's that got to do with you what they got to do with you living up your hands and giving god glory what i'm saying is i i feel like i listen i know the lord probably receives it but i don't i don't feel like my singing is joyful like it oh so you're embarrassed it's it's i feel like it's a distraction when you when you get it you you know what i think it's a fair like because i's true because i had a family member I applaud him because he had no shame.
Starting point is 00:17:21 Yeah. But the way he sung, we made fun of every week because it sounded like somebody was snatching his big toe off every time he hit a note. He sounded like a, he sounded like a dolphin or a dog. Yeah. That, you know what I said, got hurt.
Starting point is 00:17:47 You heard a dog got hurt. And then how they used it. That's the note that he stayed in. And that was the only note. That's the only note. This is the way you are reinforcing so many people's insecurity. Listen, what I'm not trying to do, I'm not trying to say don't sing in church. I'm just saying, if you can't sing well, probably like, low.
Starting point is 00:18:04 What do you got to say? No. So, and I'm not going to say no names, I have a really close friend who we, anytime we, and we didn't live in the same city. We go to conferences sometimes, but any time it would be like, in Christ, Christ, along. I hope is fine. And me and my other friend were always like, in all serious, yeah, can it be an distraction? That's what I'm saying.
Starting point is 00:18:30 Yes, it can. But I think, like, I think the part that makes it a joyful noise is not that it sounds good, it's the heart that it's coming from. Tell us. And, you know, if it was necessary for us to have singing talent to obey this command, then God would have made very specific. You know, all the commands of Scripture
Starting point is 00:18:53 to sing to the Lord a new song, to sing praises to the Lord. None of them are as long as you have these particular gifts. Yeah. So I want to go so far to say is music and singing is an important part of your following Jesus that you cannot ignore. Music has to be a part of how you follow Jesus
Starting point is 00:19:15 because he commands it. That's convicting. Why do you think it's, one, I think it's helpful to define terms. So what is worship and why is it important? Yeah. The way, one of the things that I, and I even wrestle with whether I wanted to call this
Starting point is 00:19:32 brag worship or not, because I think, you know, I even talk about this with my daughter, you know, when we were talking about Sundays, and I'm like, oh, how was service said? She'd be like, oh, I like the worship. I like the, and I've already started saying, hey, so let's just be clear when we say that what you're meaning right now is the music.
Starting point is 00:19:48 There's nothing in the Bible that talks about singing as more worship than the rest of us worship in Jesus. But it is a way that we worship Jesus. People call it worship music. We know what we mean by that. Worship is, so it's not like music. It's not like a genre of music. It's not a particular sound. Worship is responding to God's greatness.
Starting point is 00:20:11 Worship is acknowledging the greatness of God. and we know in the Old Testament, the kind of groups of words that they use for worship, you know, some of them had to do with service. Some of them had to do with bowing and reverence. And, you know, some of that had to do with the ways that God command as people to worship in the Old Testament, in the temple and in the tabernacle.
Starting point is 00:20:34 And in the New Testament, when it talks about worship, it, as we know, is saying, let all of your life be a reasonable service to God so that every ounce of every day is a, trying to acknowledge the greatness of God. When I wake my kids up, I want to do it in such a way that acknowledges how incredible God is.
Starting point is 00:20:53 And so even when God's people worship come together, we want all of it to be worshiped. That's what God has made us to do. It's to make much of him. I call it a brag worship because the Bible, you know, that's been the theme of my music for a long time talking about bragging on the Lord.
Starting point is 00:21:13 And then hip-hop is so boastful. You know, we know how rappers are. If there was, like, bragging Olympics, rappers were gold medal every year. Sure, absolutely. It's very impressive, actually. How good rappers are bragging. And so I always felt like, if this is a boast for our form, I want to boast in the Lord. Scripts is clear on that.
Starting point is 00:21:32 And I thought that's a good way to talk about what we do when we sing together. And worship is making much of God. Yeah. You got a question. I want that. Is that answer you? I mean, you can, I'm trying not to, like, talk too long. I want you to.
Starting point is 00:21:46 because you didn't did all the work. But I guess I'm really interested on why God has created and instituted music as a form of worship. Because I was even thinking about it yesterday. Music means a lot to me. It just always has. And yesterday I was really processing some really hard things. And what was helping me process well was music. You know, it was, but it was, I think the deal.
Starting point is 00:22:16 difficulty is that the music was producing certain emotions that like I that wouldn't have been produced by a sermon per se, but it also was leading me into prayer because those emotions were present. And I was like, I think this is one of the reasons why we have the Psalms because it just gives us language for what's happening within our bodies. And I think that's an aspect. And I'm just curious on what you think about that. Yes, that's definitely an aspect. I wish I could remember a couple of passages off top, but there are passages where the Psalms are talking about tuning instruments to mourning. It's like, what is it about music that, like, accesses our emotions in some unique way to where it should be a part of how we mourn?
Starting point is 00:23:03 It's deep. In times when, you know, musicians playing for David as he's in a season of mourning, it's like, it's not something that we came up with. There's some way that God has made us in a way where, I mean, where, for whatever, every reason sounds and rhythm in time have a profound effect on us. I mean, and we see it like one of my favorite passages in the Red Sea, Pharaoh chasing after Israel, right, they're behind them, Red Sea in front of them. God splits the Red Sea miraculously. They walk through on dry ground, the wall of water, a wall of water, they just walk, God made a little street. They get through and then
Starting point is 00:23:49 God crashes the Red Sea in on them, which is miraculous, incredible. And the first thing they do when they get to the other side, they don't just talk about it. They don't just say, man, God is good. They don't just send it to the group chat. They sink. And they sing these beautiful words like, God is a man of
Starting point is 00:24:07 war. Pharaoh and his chariots have been thrown into the sea. And it's like, there's something about the glory of what God just did that just saying words wasn't enough. that there's something about the beautiful poetic language and the singing together that is able to praise praise God in such beautiful ways.
Starting point is 00:24:23 And we notice in all of culture, like, music and especially singing together is in stuff that we enjoy. You go to a concert, obviously, people singing together and you feel something emotionally. Basketball games, defense, you know, just chanting together, this is a unifying thing. And that's not by accident.
Starting point is 00:24:41 And God is like, one of the reasons I gave you all that is so you can make much of me. Yeah, and it just connects to us And that's fire. That's fire. Yeah. Yeah, my next question is... Oh, can I say one thing I just forgot about? Please.
Starting point is 00:24:54 Because my five-year-old yesterday, when something scary is on TV, so he, I applaud him, he knows himself, so he knows when he's going to get scary. His name is Silas. He got glasses. I never want to, my kids, to have glasses when they were little because it can look a little crazy, but he's very cute.
Starting point is 00:25:11 And he, when something scary's on, he doesn't cover his eyes. eyes, he covers his ears. And so sometimes he thinks something is about to be scary because, like we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos yesterday. The music they put under was kind of ominous. And it's like there's something about how that music sounded that like made him think like, uh-oh, here comes a scary thing. And I just think it's interesting that we have an innate sense for what certain kinds of music do to us emotionally. And I think the more like, I don't know, depending on what kind of theological circles you in,
Starting point is 00:25:45 you may think that anything emotional that comes along with worship must be suspect. Like if it does something to us emotionally, that it wouldn't do without music, then that must be negative, as if God didn't create us this way. I think what we should be more concerned with is that those things are matching up
Starting point is 00:26:05 and what they're producing in us is a love for God and a brokenness before God and not something counterfeit. and we're not convincing ourselves because we only had an emotional experience. But yes, that's on purpose. Can I say something here? Because I wrote a paper,
Starting point is 00:26:21 I might have said this on the podcast before, a couple years ago. And I was trying to answer the question is, are there, like is God's present dependent on the worship styles of the church or something? And one thing I started to discover is that there are,
Starting point is 00:26:42 some musical styles that feel more oily, feel more, feel more powerful. And it isn't necessarily that it has more power or more oil, because when God's people are gathered, God's presence is there regardless. I think what we're experiencing is, I think there are some songs that give more room for Selah and then more space for what feels like presence. Because some songs lean more intellectual. I think some lean more emotive. Both are beautiful, but I think we sometimes depending, like, especially you grew up Pentecostal like me, I think you'll be like, nah, all is on that, all ain't on that hymn. Or it was on that, all ain't on that liturgy. It's like, no, it's like one is tapping into different parts of your brain and your body. It doesn't make it
Starting point is 00:27:23 less powerful. That's very interesting to me. Yeah, because what's crazy is when you were listening to the guy you just say you were listening to John or whatever, and he was like two things that the enemy hates is music and silence. I was brushing my teeth, but I was like, low key, that part, you know, caught, I listened to that part. And then I think what he said next, he was like, because the devil he hates, like, he loves chaos. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:49 He loves things to be noisy and disorderly. And so I think, with that being said, I think to what you just said, I think, I never thought about that, you know, I think creating an environment for people, hearts to kind of be bare. To be still. to be still, to be reflective. And so it's probably not more so about necessarily the music, but how music helps us and prepares our heart to be...
Starting point is 00:28:15 Yes. To respond. To respond to the Lord. You know, I'm just processing, but I think that's deep to me. Yeah. How has pain, I guess, developed your relationship with worship? That's a great question. I think some of the vulnerability, even though we're
Starting point is 00:28:34 just talking about the comes with singing, especially with other people. There is, yeah, I'll say this. Part of it is when I look in the Bible and I see the songs that we have in here. Like, there's a whole songbook in the Bible. Right. What's it called? The songs. Okay.
Starting point is 00:28:55 And that songbook is not, it's full of pain. You know, I say sometimes you might go to church on Sunday and all the songs sound like the Lego song. Everything is awesome. And it feels like if we're going to engage with God honestly and talk about how good he is, we kind of have to like forget about all the hard stuff and the pain. And then we have this moment, which I think we can treat engaging with God like that sometimes. I don't think that's what God wants us to do. I think God wants us to bring that pain in with us and then stand it up next to him and his goodness. And I think about how he speaks to it. And so like for me, when I, so that's helpful for me because when I begin to write even in how I
Starting point is 00:29:36 want to worship God and want to lead people to worship God, it feels inauthentic if I'm not being honest about how hard life is. So much of my last, I don't know how long it's been, 17 years that I've had a chronic illness, so much of how I begin to write and express anything, it's almost like, I can't not talk about this, this here too. And then I look in the Bible and I'm like, well, there's all this pain that's there too. You know, I was thinking about ASAF, like, there's these 10 Psalms of ASAF right when the, in the third book of Psalms, it's like 73 to 83. And all of them are just like heartbreaking. Let me read them.
Starting point is 00:30:25 You know, like, you know, sometimes people like want to just open up to the Psalms, like, it's a happy devotional. And I'm like, you may open it up and just pick one and be like, everybody has. hates me. I wish I was never born, you know. But Psalm 74, why have you rejected us forever, God? That's the first verse. Um, or Psalm 77. I don't think that would get a double word. I can't. I cry aloud to God, allowed to God, and he will hear me. I sought the Lord in my day of trouble. My hands were continually lifted up all night long. I refuse to be comforted. I think of God. I groan. I meditate. My spirit becomes weak. He goes on and on about how he's in this deep distress and I want people to find comfort in the fact that this is what the songs in the
Starting point is 00:31:10 Bible sound like. Because when you get to the end of all of them, you know, like verse 16, he says, the water saw you God. The water saw you. It trembled. Even the depths shook. Right. Verse 13.
Starting point is 00:31:20 God your way is holy. What God is great like God. You are the God who works wonders. I just read that to say, we can say life is hard and God is good in the same breath. And if we feel like we have to ignore one to do the other, there's a problem. So for me and my worship of God, my pain, my difficulty, my trials, I always feel, I don't know at the forefront of how I begin to engage them. And one thing that pastoring did for me at least is, I don't know, it just gave me a clear picture of what's going on in lots of people's lives all the time. And so when we gather on Sunday morning, you see people singing, like there's a lot of people going to do lots of stuff that we don't know about.
Starting point is 00:32:00 And so we want the songs that we sing to be able to have space. to be honest about that at the same time. And I think even being able to limit together, lament. So not just like, oh, I'll deal with my pain when I'm alone, but when we come together, we just say happy stuff. I want us to be able to say sad stuff together too. That's great.
Starting point is 00:32:17 And talk about how God can speak to it. That's great. How is your condition, for those who don't know your condition, I think if you want to explain some of the things that you went through over the years, but how have your condition kind of helped your worship and influence the way you worship, whether that's rap or writing, you know, music.
Starting point is 00:32:41 So I've had an illness for the past, what years is, 20, 26, 18, 19 years, man, 2007. And when I first got, you know, like, it was after my first year of college, I went to Bible college, because I found out you didn't have to do math in Bible college. And the only thing I cared about when I was 18 was Jesus and hip hop. And I met some dudes, I was like, wait, you know, you mean? to a Bible college. Like, you can go to college and study the Bible. They're like, yeah, so I went to Bible college.
Starting point is 00:33:14 Coming back for my second year, I just felt horrible. I wasn't sure what was going on. I felt like I had, like, a virus or something. I was starting to sleep, like 18 hours a day, and I was still exhausted for the other six hours that I was awake. My roommate's calling me a bum. He's like, you're squandering your education trip. God does it.
Starting point is 00:33:36 It's not glorified in this. And I'm going to the doctor They're like, I don't know what's wrong It's a virus, take this, you're good And long short, it just continues And I say doctor after doctor after doctor They test me for every single thing They can think of
Starting point is 00:33:49 And they said, you know, if it's all of these things I think you have chronic fatigue syndrome And I was like, all right, bed, what do I do? It's like... Sleep? Nothing. There's nothing you can do. Try to live a healthy lifestyle. We don't understand it that well.
Starting point is 00:34:06 and doctor after doctor after doctor. And there's stuff to treat symptoms that, you know, you do over time. But so in different seasons, it's affected me more or less in different ways. Some symptoms have come and gone. But it's been the hardest part of every part of my life for the last 18, 19 years. Hardest part of my marriage is my health. Hardest part of my relationship with Jesus is my health. Hardest part of parenting is my health.
Starting point is 00:34:30 Hardest part of my work. Yeah. And so it's a constant challenge. is something that feels in some ways good, some ways maybe not good, but it feels like a shadow, a kind of a cloud over every minute of everything I'm trying to do,
Starting point is 00:34:45 never know how I'm in a feel. You know, so I don't know how many good hours I'll have in any given day, and I don't know what time of day those good hours would be. And so yeah, that's just hard. That's why I'm not pastoring now. It was just hard health-wise.
Starting point is 00:34:59 So, yeah, that has, so when I've, the songs that people talk to me about that I've written, like a sweet victory the songs that have meant the most of them, they're always the ones where I'm talking about the heartbreak of trials and God's goodness in the midst of it.
Starting point is 00:35:14 The number of people who have said, Hey, Tripp, I have a chronic illness, and just this song helped me to know that they're still hoping in Jesus in the midst of it. Or I was going to take my life, man, seeing that there's victory in Jesus, changed my life. My mom was dying of cancer.
Starting point is 00:35:28 This is the song she listened to every single day in the hospital. Those are the songs that have done that. And so it even felt like as I'm writing these worship, songs. I definitely don't want to push that out because we don't want to think of that if it's not compatible with worshiping God with other people. Yeah, that's good.
Starting point is 00:35:45 I think what I've found is that I guess the things that God puts us through, the ways he disciplines us, the ways he trains us and prunes us, it makes our worship that much
Starting point is 00:36:02 more authentic. You know what I'm saying? Because it becomes more than just a word. It becomes colored by experience. So if I'm, if I'm saying that God is, is good, I'm like really saying that from my heart. Amen. And so I do think, and I think that's all up in God's plan is like in my life, he wants my confession to be authentic. And even in my worship, he wants it to be authentic and sincere and just real. Even for the joy that I experience in that whole dynamic of singing a song that is actually true for me and not just words. And you have seasons where it is just words. That's right. Where it's like, let's talk about that. You know,
Starting point is 00:36:45 the Psalm where he says like, my mind is getting mixed up with gospel. Because I remember when I first started going to this church at St. Louis when I was a new believer. And you know how like, you got that one person, they're like the worship leader. They don't sing. They're just exhorting y'all to get prepared. And she would get on the mic. And she was like, and I command. my soul and I would be like, why? I ain't went through nothing yet. And so I didn't understand why she was so adamant about having to talk to herself before she worship.
Starting point is 00:37:16 Talk about that. Well, I think it feels like another honest, the way that the psalmist are processing the world, honestly. For him to say, bless the Lord, oh, my soul, telling himself to bless the Lord, even in the midst of all the hard stuff, it just feels like the Psalms being honest. And to me, that's very helpful when I'm struggling
Starting point is 00:37:35 and I open up God's book and it understands where I'm at. Wow. That's Psalms. That's Psalms 1-103-1. Yeah. By the way. It says,
Starting point is 00:37:44 Bless the Lord, oh, my soul. And all that it's in me, bless his holy name. You talk about that one? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then he says, My Soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits.
Starting point is 00:37:54 And then he starts to run through it. He forgives your iniquities. He heals you your diseases. He redeems you from the pit. It's like, I don't know. I don't know, like, sometimes this isn't what your soul is going to feel like. and that doesn't mean to withdraw and pull away.
Starting point is 00:38:08 That means lean in. Remind yourself of his goodness. Remind yourself of his forgiveness. Spend time with people who see it. I'm singing about his goodness. I don't know if y'all ever, like, have not really believed something when you started singing a song
Starting point is 00:38:20 and by the end of it you did. That's what I love about some of the songs that have more, more, like, more depth in the amount of work, like dense, that's where I'm looking for. More dense lyrically. You know, like, it is well or something. Those songs that like take you on this journey and remind you of things within it.
Starting point is 00:38:39 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the commentary from Psalms 103 is dope to me. It says commanding your soul refers to actively instructing your inner being, emotions, mind, and will to praise God. That is what Psalms 103 is pointing us to. That's good. That's dope.
Starting point is 00:38:55 That's good. That's tough. That's hard to do. There's a joint, you were talking about like our trial is giving us more, I don't know, it being real or to it. There's a song on the album called Fortress with Naomi Rain. She can sing. Oh, my goodness.
Starting point is 00:39:13 No, she's just saying, same, same. Her voice is so pretty. It's pretty, pretty, it's magical. We was writing, she was like, because everything we were writing that sounded amazing, she was like, yeah, people are telling me don't sing it because it's going to trick us. You know, it sounds better than it is right now. But we wrote this song, Fortress, based on, you know, 2nd Corinthians, 12,
Starting point is 00:39:34 When I'm weak, I'm strong, which was a passage for me specifically that meant more to me while going through trials where I feel like I cannot depend on the strength of my body at all. And so when Paul's like, I boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, it's not like an intellectual question I'm asking to be like, why is he boasting in weakness? It's a, no, I need to know what's happening in your heart. I need that because this feels like it's ruining everything. I need to know how this is something you boast in. But anyway, that song, Fortress starts, you know.
Starting point is 00:40:07 I'm weakest when I'm strongest in my eyes. I'm hopeless when I rejoice in my highs. Lord, keep me low until I recognize. I'm feeble till my fortress arise. And I just like, I want to put that kind of honest about weakness, rejoicing in God's truth in God's people's minds and hearts. I had two questions, but I'll do the short one now. I think about your condition.
Starting point is 00:40:31 And I think about your gift. this when it comes to rap. And I can imagine how being a hip hop artist can be very hard with that type of condition. You know, throw your hands up! Don your hands up! With chronic, you know what I'm saying? And so I guess, you know, when I'm thinking about what you're doing now, it seems... Why you're laughing? If he performed like me, he wouldn't have to wear it back. No, because I've been to your concerts and they're live. And I've always saw you because we cross paths through the years a lot, you know, right? And I'm... always thought about your condition and like how hype your crowds be and how taxing them
Starting point is 00:41:09 may be on your body. And now I think about what you're doing now. It's just, to me, it's beautiful that you can still do music and don't have to jump around the stage. And so is this a beautiful, is this a more, is this a better season for you, even physically, mentally, spiritually, still been able to do music and not have to be so taxing on your body. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:41:32 That's interesting. Honestly, I hadn't thought of it that way. There are some things about making these songs that is harder than... In what way? It's a completely different way to write songs, for one. So I feel like I had to learn how to write songs over again in a new way. Rep, as y'all know, we get lots of words. You can, like, meander your way to a point, too.
Starting point is 00:41:52 Yeah. For the art of it, you can't meander your way. There's so much space. Yeah, and, you know, like, I had a song Supernatural where I say, I wish to... And I'm just talking about we need God's supernatural grace. But I'm like listening to a bunch of stuff I wish was different in the world. I wish the forbidden fruit was bitter. I wish we always get banned from Twitter.
Starting point is 00:42:11 I wish hip hop didn't root for killers. I wish that I could. Dance like thriller. I wish everybody knew my God the hill of the cancer killer. Wish I could switch the pepper for liquor, protect some levels. I'm just going through all this stuff. Some of it's serious. Some of it light.
Starting point is 00:42:25 But the point at the end is, you know, we need God's supernatural grace. We can't fix all this by ourselves. I can't put that in the worship song. I can't ask your mom to say. to sing that on Sunday morning. So I had to figure out, okay, how can I say these things in universal ways, but not take the beauty or interesting character out of it.
Starting point is 00:42:47 I'd just say that to say. There's also, if I know that some vocals need to be done for my album, I just go record those vocals. Y'all know, the hardest part, what's the hardest part of an album when you're finishing up? What's the thing that's like, I don't know, when Ace is like, oh, Jaggie, we almost, It's usually features.
Starting point is 00:43:04 I feel like I'm going to be wrong. Okay, yeah. Like, you're like, yeah, yeah, that's what I don't know. Now, features is like,
Starting point is 00:43:10 because you're not just working with your schedule, you're working on other people, other people got to get stuff in, and the reason you want other people on your stuff is because they're good at it and they're doing lots of stuff. And they usually lack urgency.
Starting point is 00:43:21 Yeah, yeah. And this is like all of the songs are features. All of the content I have to have other people a part of. This is not 100, you know, it's a, so there's lots of extra elements. They make this harder.
Starting point is 00:43:34 So there are times during the making of it it feels like it's taking more of my energy. But I wonder when it's finished how relieving it would be. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:43:42 You ain't got to go on the road and perform at all. I actually haven't thought about it like that yet. But that's interesting. You know, I'm about to go on tour with KB and Taryn
Starting point is 00:43:49 and I'm just the first time on a tour where I'm going some of these songs live and yeah, so it'll be interesting. That's dope. It'll be interesting.
Starting point is 00:43:57 But, yeah, I mean, I was, I'm naturally laid back too. So I, I mean, I had to make myself be more energy. You know, like, Cray is all the energy in the world. They love to jump.
Starting point is 00:44:09 Yeah, and I'm like 16. I'm like 15 with these dudes. You are the more calm. You're the comments. Yeah. Yeah. I wanted to shift gears, but if you wanted to kind of stand. No, because you said you had two questions.
Starting point is 00:44:21 Well, my next question is kind of shifting gears. That's fine. Okay, so a couple of the years ago, Trip, I was invited to this, like, this private influencer meeting or whatever. And I was like, I didn't know why I was there. I was just fly on the wall. Yeah. And an interesting conversation kind of broke out between like the older generation from like historical
Starting point is 00:44:43 black churches and a lot of the Christian hip-hop artists that were in the room. And I didn't even know a lot of this conflict because I didn't grow up in a church. So I was just ignorant to a lot of these things. And one of the things that, you know, some of the older black influential pastors said how they felt like, you know, back at the day they felt like slighted by a C.H. artists because they went into white evangelical spaces and kind of just lived in those spaces more than, you know, the African American church, right? Because back in the day, especially when we was doing Lexi conference every year, it was predominantly like white reform type spaces inviting Christian rappers, even poets. And then some of the rapists
Starting point is 00:45:26 pushed back and was like, y'all all called our music demonic. Y'all said, y'all can't worship. And I think both can kind of be true at the same time. And so I think I will want you to speak to both. Speak to the person who says, because it's even, Jackie was saying, like, it's even like this kind of this ideology emerging. It's a resurgence of criticism around Christian hip-hop. That it's unredeemable, that you can't worship through it.
Starting point is 00:45:55 And for me, that's, you know, like, the first time I heard about Christian hedonism was a Christian hip-hop song. Yeah. The first time I heard sin broken down is when Flame was like, the Bible calls it sin. You see, that's odd nature. It's like a pig in the pen. They'll pass a stake up just to eat slop. You know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 00:46:13 Who is that? Flame. Oh, okay. Flame, you know what I'm saying? It's all everybody by theology. Oh, my goodness. Back in the day, y'all's songs was so theological. Like, 2020 was such a theological, like, and I'm not even trying to gas you.
Starting point is 00:46:26 It was like a theological, like, piece of art work, right? And so speak to the people who say Christian rap is not. redeemable. We can't worship God through it. Yeah. Yeah, I think we, I think we take our cultural preferences and then we just baptize them and we look for passages to make them true. I remember one time I was talking to this, I was in some conference I had spoken at, and there was a dude who had not been around hip hop before really, and he was very skeptical to me. And then he heard me teach and he was like, oh, this was good. And he was so confusing to him. And what I realized as we talked, he was like, you know, because what about it?
Starting point is 00:47:06 It makes you want to dance and blah, blah, blah. And there's how can that have serious themes in it? And I'm like, you know there's like slow rap songs too. Like, you know there's a lot of different. I think the more foreign it feels to people culturally, the more they just read in their biases and what they just hear when they hear it. And I think I would want people to, one, allow space that for cultures that aren't yours, there's a lot you don't understand. There are things that mean something to you that that's not what they mean to other people.
Starting point is 00:47:35 Things that sound aggressive or ungodly to you that are not. And we have to be curious enough to actually learn and care for each other. Even in thinking about worship music, it sounds different everywhere. Everywhere sounds so different. And other ages in the church,
Starting point is 00:47:51 it's like, do we think that like these light airy pads is just what Christians have been doing the whole time? Like, that's not, no, that's not. They turn their pads on. Y'all think the Holy Spirit walked in. Right. That's right. And it works.
Starting point is 00:48:07 Yeah. And it gives people that space, but that's not what God's presence sounds like. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I mean, one of the things that was helpful for me early on is cross movement. They were really, at the time when I was first getting a Christian pop, they were really doing a great job helping people understand that God redeeming. all peoples from all cultures and the parts of a culture that don't look like God, that's the parts you got to get rid of.
Starting point is 00:48:33 But everybody's not trying to turn into one kind of culture. That's not helpful. Do you know I put on my IG the other day, God didn't send me from my culture, but God sent me for my culture to reach my culture. And on Facebook right now, I was reading comments this morning. It's like 300 comments of people saying that it's sinful, that God does not, God wants to boot culture out of the window.
Starting point is 00:48:56 It's not about culture. kind of just dissing culture as if culture is wrong. And somebody in the comments ironically brought up Christian hip hop. They was like, but y'all listen to Christian hip hop. And I'm like, because I think people can sometimes be so heavenly-minded where they're no earthly good. And when you look at Christian hip-hop, that's all it is. It is God redeeming a people that come from a particular culture.
Starting point is 00:49:22 And so we can engage in this artwork that started on the streets of the Bronx. Yeah. It did not start in the church, right? But because all music comes from God, it is redeemable. And so for people who think that hip-hop can't be redeemable, it's like you were born in sin and shaped iniqui. He redeemed you why he can't redeem. And you assume that your culture is neutral.
Starting point is 00:49:44 You assume that you don't live in a culture that's different than other people cultures. Absolutely. There's stuff about your culture that looks ungodly to people. It's like you're not the standard. And I think there's just a lack of curiosity and a cultural arrogance. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:49:58 that I think, yeah, keeps us from thinking wisely about it. So I encourage people before that like, ugh, I don't understand that to just ask questions, say, tell me more. Help me understand. Yeah. It's all really fascinating, especially since I re-entered into the Christian rap space and my sound is a particular sound. Yeah. And I think some of it, and I say this gently, I do think some of it is ignorant in the sense of when you listen to even CCM,
Starting point is 00:50:30 they are pulling from a lot of secular artists and secular sounds, but because you're not familiar with cold play, you don't know that that's the reference. That's right. But because you're familiar with 3-6 or whatever, your ear is attuned to what the influence might be, so it's quicker or easier, I think, to say,
Starting point is 00:50:49 that's wrong because it reminds me of this, not knowing that we need to apply that to everything. Absolutely. Also, I wonder if, It's much like, you know, when you come out of the world, you do want to naturally reject everything that reminds you of that space. And so I think some of that is legitimate where it's like, I don't want to be reminded of when I was in the club.
Starting point is 00:51:14 I don't want to be reminded of when my daddy listened to KRS won, if that was a thing. I don't want to be reminded of da-da-da-da-da. And I think that's where we have to really do some work in understanding what convictions are. You understand what I'm saying? If it is sin for you, it is in fact that. And that's the reason why, you know, I've been, I've been patient for the most part
Starting point is 00:51:35 with the people on my IG and Facebook or whatever because I think, I think it is an attempt to be holy, right? Yeah. And I told this girl the other day and this guy the other day, I think the problem is when we come out of the world, I think we give the world too much credit for the church handling their things. It's like, I think we have to understand. understand that the world doesn't create, it pervert.
Starting point is 00:52:00 And so all things come from God, right? And so we look at something and be like, that's the world. It's like, no, that's not the world. You're looking at the way the world abuse things. And you're saying that the church shouldn't use it because of the abuse, not because they have it in their hands. Yeah, that's good. Right?
Starting point is 00:52:15 And I think that if we understood that, it's like, no. Like, no, the world abuses wine. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not, the wine doesn't belong to the world. Amen. They abuse it. music doesn't belong to the world.
Starting point is 00:52:28 They abuse it, right? And so when God redeems it and restores it, Christians then bring it out to the world and represent it. Because drums are not inherently sinful. High hats are not inherently sinful. Harps are not inherently holy. You understand what I'm saying? Amen. And I think when we really distill it down to instrumentation and the way we are gathering these instruments,
Starting point is 00:52:56 to curate a certain particular sound. I think we need to get real specific. That's all I'm saying. Because I remember when I started to really pray and when I felt like the Lord was drawing me back into music, I was at reach. And I distinctly heard, I'm not saying the Lord spoke to me audibly, but there was this strong burden of I am giving you,
Starting point is 00:53:17 I am sending you into different territory where there are people that will not listen to your podcast, will not read your books, will not listen to your sermons, but they will listen to your sermons in a song. And so I think when you do, I think we have to trust that God is using Christian rap music to draw people to himself.
Starting point is 00:53:38 Because at the end of the day, like you said earlier in the conversation, people listen to music more than they listen to their audio Bible. People listen to music more than they fellowship. People listen to music more than they're in the text. And that thing is ministering to me. This is the Lord. This is the Lord.
Starting point is 00:53:53 Because as soon as you said, That was very declarative. As soon as you said that, I thought about, this had to be like 2014. No, it had to be before then. I think it was doing grip season. Me and Jackie was part of this non-for-profit organization that mentored like in the city youth from the projects in Chicago called grip. And it was this 14-year-old boy who came to faith through one of your songs.
Starting point is 00:54:15 Oh, wow. I would never forget that. And we brought him to a Lexi Conference. I think he met you. He was supposed to meet you. But it was that song, how does it go? I thought he was doing church class.
Starting point is 00:54:31 Yeah, how does it go? I know. It was a song you had, The Good News, We was born in sin. Yeah. The good news, we can be born again. Yeah. The good news.
Starting point is 00:54:41 And then you just really just broke down sin and, you know, worldiness and God's righteousness or whatever. And he came to face through that song. That's incredible. And so like, but here's what I'm saying, this is a project. He lived in the, in the Stateway Gardens in Chicago. And he probably wouldn't have came to faith on some CCM and Maverick City. We love Maverick City.
Starting point is 00:55:08 We love CCHM. I'm saying God has, God has a diversity of people to reach different, you know, demographics. And I think that we just undermine the sovereignty and the all-knowiness of God when we try to put God in our own boxes. You know, I just think it's sad. And the number of people that I, this is one thing about having done this for too long is people make you feel old. But the number of people that I talked to who said, hey, I never knew anything about any theology. Your music made me read and study these things. I had a song called Beautiful Life where I was talking about the sanctity of human life, even in the womb.
Starting point is 00:55:51 Someone said, I heard this song. and decided not to abort my child. Wow. The number of people who said, me and my wife came to a Christian hip hop concert, we would both gravitate toward it, and that's how we met, and that's how we got married.
Starting point is 00:56:04 The number of lives changed, scriptures read, people who've met Jesus through Christian hip hop. That, to me, I want to give people pause and how quickly that they discount things. Because like you're saying, the Lord is at work. That's so dope.
Starting point is 00:56:16 Amen. That's so dope. I still want to lean back into real quick, because I think that's meaningful. the embarrassment and the insecurity of worshipping in the public gathering. Yeah. I think that's a thing. And so...
Starting point is 00:56:30 You're saying I should sing. You do sing to yourself. I'm saying in church in front of people. You think I should do that with Tripp said. You do do it? I don't do that. You don't sing? No.
Starting point is 00:56:42 Like real low. We need to explore this. You know, I guess I thought you sing. Have you ever heard me sing in church? Yeah, a couple times. Probably because you're sitting right next to me. Right, I thought it was a thing. I'm not having to sing how my cousin would be singing.
Starting point is 00:56:58 Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. I don't want my concealment to get messed up. Why don't you do it? That's a song. Shabababh. Hallelujah.
Starting point is 00:57:08 Shababh. Praise of all shababh. Hallelujah. Da-da. Lift up your hands. I had a Jewish roommate one time. I was playing that song. She was so offended.
Starting point is 00:57:20 She was like, it's not Shabab. Like she said Like real Hebrew I'm like I didn't I didn't know I just I just like And Kelly Yeah I was like Barack She just was so offended
Starting point is 00:57:32 And we took the words We need to talk about this though Like what what's happening internally That is preventing people From worshiping in the gathering And how do we exhort And encourage them to do that Yeah
Starting point is 00:57:46 For me I don't even think it's I don't know how we got back here I don't even think it's I don't even think it's like an insecurity. I think when I hear you rap, when I hear you rap, I'm like, man, they're gifted for this. When I hear Naomi Rain and CC Wine and sings, like, they're gifted for this. I think when people hear me write a poem, it's like,
Starting point is 00:58:07 I know I've been gifted to write poetry, right? And when I see people that don't, it's like, no, that's not a poem. You just wrote down your thoughts and said it out loud. It's not a poem. And so for me, it isn't like... So you think people will judge you? I don't think people would judge me. I just don't think it'll bless nobody.
Starting point is 00:58:24 It's just like, what am I doing this publicly if it's not going to bless anybody in the public square? And I think it will. You think it will? Yes. I think it will because it's a thing we're doing all together. So there's one thing... So my cousin not blessing me was my heart.
Starting point is 00:58:41 Well, he may need to turn the volume down a little bit. You know what I mean? Maybe he needs to sit in the back. But, no, there is a like... There's a collective thing that we're doing. There's like a unifying thing. It's different than the other ways we encourage each other. Like the sermon, someone talks and we listen.
Starting point is 00:58:58 Maybe we talk back a little bit. Or when someone's praying, one person is praying, the rest of us are praying along saying amen. Or if we're all praying at the same time, we can't hear each other. There's this unique part where we are all singing the exact same words, the exact same truths about God, the same celebrations all together with one voice is just really unique.
Starting point is 00:59:18 And I think us hearing each other, I just think the value of like her rap and you doing poetry is like that's performance or you being gifted at it. That is what the blessing is. When we're singing all together, us being gifted at is and now what the blessing is. Maybe it's singing to God. Now, of course, we don't want your cousin leading for you. You pray. I think we, I think everybody could join in that.
Starting point is 00:59:41 I love you. You have no problem singing on this podcast. I'm not seeing why we came to talk together. I'm not singing. That song, you know how they hit no notes. You kind of stay there. but it's like certain C.C.'s wine of songs. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:59:53 But I think that's why a lot of worship music is very singable with simple melodies so that everybody can sing alone. That's true. Sing alone. I'm going to sing more in church. I'm convicted. I think the encouragement is, one, you can be moderate. You know what I'm saying?
Starting point is 01:00:08 So it's not like you have to sing out loud. You can mumble to the Lord. Yeah, I be mumbling. I'll be saying to the Lord. I just think also in the public gathering, not only are we being encouraged communally, because we're hearing the words being sung to us. But I think there is a special experience in us saying things back to him.
Starting point is 01:00:28 You know what I'm saying? And so I just wonder how he could minister to you. This podcast was some me. And I don't think it's good to be vulnerable like that. Yeah, you're very right there. Sometimes I can hear myself not singing that good. And I'm like, and that's okay. That's what we're doing.
Starting point is 01:00:44 That's what we're doing right now. Now, my wife sings beautifully. And so I'm like, I am extra blessed when I hear her singing good. So, but, and I'm trying to make my son say, I'd be sitting there trying to, I get distracted, because I'm listening to the band and the bass, and I'm like, and if I hear one flat note, I'm just, I'm like, so anything, sometimes I have to divest myself from the creative joy of it
Starting point is 01:01:06 to just worship. That's interesting. Yeah. Y'all got me thinking. So for all the people. Can't wait to Sunday. All the people who, who share that same, those thoughts about, you know, can I sing, should I sing, don't want to sing.
Starting point is 01:01:23 I don't think you have to pressure yourself into being something you're not or sounding in a way that you're not gifted for. Just see it as an opportunity to commune with God. And people will see you and be encouraged by you. And so, and it's discipleship even for your children. And so. What we're not saying is join a worship team. Oh, no.
Starting point is 01:01:45 Sing at your seat. It's some people, I'm like, yeah, they Mike ain't even. on. They just told y'all, yeah, because you was willing. But that mic is off. I know it is. I don't hear anything. I don't want nobody to be like, oh, I'm joining the worship team tomorrow. Tripp said, everybody can say. And that is destructive. Now, sometimes we got what we got, but there have been times I'm like, Lord, help me focus. Please. Yeah, it's a fight. Well, thank you, Mr. Tripley for inviting us to worship. We will have your album in the show notes. Y'all listen to that. y'all sing it out loud as long as you want to in the car.
Starting point is 01:02:22 Before you go, just, you know, tell them the name of the worship. Yeah, so Bragg worship and the name of the album is for your glory. And it's, you know, there's Naomi Rain and Doe and Madison Ryan Ward and Leah Smith and Jonathan Trailer. That'll feature the artists on this one. Yeah. Then there's more to come. Dope lineup. Well, man, thank you for your service for the kingdom, even, you know, serving the Lord
Starting point is 01:02:46 with your condition. I appreciate it. That's admirable, bro. Love you, peace. Autoimmune unite. I'm kidding. Wow. Bye, y'all.
Starting point is 01:02:56 With the Perrys is produced by the Perrys with support from Amanda Reed and Channing McBride. Video recording and audio production by Matthew Baxter and Xavier Fairley. Edited by the team at Tread Lively. Artwork by Hobb. Thank you for listening.
Starting point is 01:03:10 Now go with God.

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