This week we were blessed by learning from a local worship leader and songwriter. Audrey Felger is on staff with Pierce Church in Upland as Worship Director and came to speak to our class about the songwriting process her and her team at Pierce have established. She came to us with humility, not claiming to be a professional songwriter, but she came with a profound reverence for the beauty of creating in tandem with studying Scripture. She carried grace and years of intimacy with Jesus as she spoke with us.
What I was really interested in hearing about was writing collaboratively. I have far less experience writing with others than writing with myself. I wanted to know how she is able to be vulnerable and to let thoughts develop and how to do that with others. Her posture is that they don’t meet to write a song necessarily, they meet to study Scripture. They always start songwriting with prayer and it is always centered around a passage of Scripture. This relieves the pressure of songwriting. It is no longer about creating a song necessarily, it is about unpacking God’s Word together. They just talk about what words are highlighted, what it makes them imagine, what it shows them about God. Then, that could be translated into a song, but there’s no pressure. If something comes then and there, they chase it, if not, they allow themselves the week to sit with it. Once they find inspiration they follow after, letting it develop itself and they just are along for the ride. The beauty of writing in community is that they can encourage each other, hold each other accountable, always cover ground, and really just bring revelation to each other.
Another thing I really appreciated about what Audrey had to say was that putting limits on songwriting is actually good, helpful even. It allows you to not be overwhelmed and frozen by all the options, it creates guidance. It also lets you sit in a head space and fully explore it. It’s like putting blinders on to keep focus but also savor the specific. That is to bring simplicity to what seems abstract. I think I could see myself practicing her and her team’s routines, especially listening to Scripture and listening to the Holy Spirit of what to receive. I feel like Audrey’s down-to-earth personality made songwriting more accessible and exciting
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