Welcome to our new-look Engage Podcast! This is the first in a series of monthly chats between Sara & Sam. In this episode they reflect back on 2025, and think ahead to things happening in the coming months. You'll also find out what Sara's preferred mode of transport is (powered by smugness, apparently).

Sam wraps up season three. He shares about how you can delve further into The Rest Is Worship with books, songs and service plans. Plus more news about training events and new resources, and an invitation to feed back to us about this series. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest

In this episode we speak to farmer Ali Birkett and author Steve Aisthorpe. They are both involved in consulting churches for mission and development, and they are both passionate about nature. They explore a range of views around metaphors we can draw from the natural world, such as seasons, leaving the ground fallow, and re-wilding, and how these images speak to our experiences of rest in life and in the church. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest ruralministries.org.uk/ abernethy.org.uk/join-our-team-7/ eden.co.uk/creators/steve-aisthorpe/

Linda Fintling from Sweden shares her story of burnout, and how God has restored her through nature and gardening. She and Sara tall about growing up as high-achieving activists in a church culture with little room for rest. They also touch on Linda's rediscovery of things like silence, solitude and Lectio Divina as ways of knowing God's presence with her. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest pilgrimens.se

Hannah Hodges, Keiko Ying, Matt Weeks and Elise Massa talk about writing worship songs on themes of rest. They unpack the inspiration behind their songs, and deep insights emerge which will help whether or not you've ever written a song yourself. Themes include sabbath, simplicity, laying down our work and finding rest in joy and abundance. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDRjRlgErY (Hannah Hodges' Martha) https://keikoeying.wixsite.com/website (Lord of the Sabbath) https://www.mattweeksmusic.com/murmurs (O Still My Soul Within) https://www.elisemassamusic.com/music (Now I Lay at the Altar) https://youtu.be/Bm8OAXerfdg (Stuart Townend - Still My Soul Be Still)

Ruth Rice runs Renew Wellbeing, a network of quiet shared spaces where it's okay not to be okay. She tells her story of how these grew from her own burnout and learning new, gentler, deeper ways of doing discipleship and worship. She also gives very practical tips for simple, contemplative practices that can deepen your relationship with God and improve your wellbeing. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest https://www.renewwellbeing.org.uk/

Grace Sentamu Baverstock is back! The former host of this podcast talks about her own journey of rest, and what it has looked like to lead a church in Jesus' rhythms of grace. We discuss chronic fatigue, restful Sunday worship, sabbatical (AKA "the great unravelling") and much, much more! New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest https://www.stlukesleagrave.org/welcome.htm

Sara and Sam chat to four worship leaders who have experienced levels of exhaustion and have come to the point of needing to take some time out of ministry. Timo Scharnowski, Andy Clark and Rebecca Beese speak from their experiences in the UK, and then we're joined by US worship leader and pastor Peter Assad. We pray their honest sharing around burnout, sabbatical and restoration will be an encouragement to you. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest evergreenworship.org northgate.org.uk/northgatemusic rebeccabeese.co.uk poemsofgrace.com

We welcome back Rev Dr Kate Middleton: psychologist, author, curate and director of the Mind and Soul Foundation. She unpacks rest from a mental health perspective, and encourages us to let go of shame and guilt around rest. The conversation combines biblical insights, expert advice and usable ideas for exploring a more restful, healthy lifestyle. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest mindandsoulfoundation.org

Sara & Sam chat with Felicia Song, author of the excellent "Restless Devices". She is a cultural sociologist who studies the place of digital technologies in contemporary life and teaches at Westmont College, California. We wrestle with the impact of the digital world on our rest and our spiritual formation. She outlines her Freedom Project and how we can experiment with changes to our relationships with our devices. New episodes of Season 3 exploring "The Rest Is Worship" will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest https://feliciawusong.com

Sara & Sam interview Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of Sacred Rest. She unpacks her seven types of rest, and how we can address rest deficits in our lives. She also shares how this can make a difference for pastors, worship leaders and churches, and how God's invitation to rest is connecting with those who don't yet call themselves Christians. New episodes of Season 3 will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworship.org/rest drdaltonsmith.com/ www.restquiz.com/quiz/rest-quiz-test/ ichoosemybestlife.com/

Sara & Sam introduce Season 3, where we'll be digging into our new project The Rest Is Worship. They share the journey of rest God has led them on as individuals, a family and in church life. They also preview some of the interviews we'll be sharing through this season. New episodes of Season 3 will drop every Monday in the autumn term 2023, so subscribe on your favourite podcast app. engageworship.org/disrupting-worship engageworshop.org/rest

In this episode, Grace and Sam are catching up with Noel Robinson, a songwriter, worship leader and producer. Besides talking about his recent projects, Noel unpacks a phrase that he sensed as God’s word for this pandemic season: ‘Control-Alt-Delete’ - a reset for the body of Christ. Throughout the conversation, Noel’s passion for the church and his wisdom from 20+ years of worship ministry shine through. An episode not to be missed! Links and reflection questions can be found on engageworship.org/disrupting-worship.

Bethan Newman (Youth For Christ) and Lucie Shuker (Youthscape) provide the latest research as well as practical tips on how to (re)build a post-pandemic youth ministry which goes beyond just entertainment. The conversation covers Zoom fatigue, family relationships, evangelism, creativity and many other topics. Not to be missed! As ever, Links and reflection questions can be found on engageworship.org/disrupting-worship.

What does it look like to lead a church in the aftermath of lockdown where many people are dealing with cognitive fatigue, PTSD and prolonged high levels of stress caused by uncertainty and a loss of routine? In this episode, Sam and Grace talk to Kate Middleton, a psychologist, church leader and director of the Mind and Soul Foundation. Kate offers psychological backgrounds to the common experience that many of us are going through (did you know there is a ‘tip-of-the-tongue-syndrome’?) and provides simple tools of how to respond to these challenges.

What does it mean to be an analog church in a digital age? In this episode we speak to Jay Kim about the balancing act that many churches currently find themselves in: Is ‘digital church’ here to stay? And if it is, will it eventually replace the physical ‘analog church’? Should it? Jay is a pastor at Westgate Church in Silicon Valley, California and has recently released his book ‘Analog Church’. Reflection questions for each episode can be found on engageworship.org.

We’re back! In this episode, Grace, Sam and Timo are picking up the conversation about worship, the pandemic, and the future of the church. Timo tells us about his ‘Disrupting Worship Stories’ project and we get a little taster of some of the great episodes that are coming in this new season of the podcast. As in Season 1, reflection questions to each episode can be found on engageworship.org/disrupting-worship.

Rev Karen Campbell chats to Grace and Sam about God disrupting worship in the Bible, and how the disruption of today is bringing down cultural barriers in her local church's worship. She brings her experiences as an ethnomusicologist, missionary and theologian to her current role of Pastor at Church of the Servant, Grand Rapids, a multicultural city church.

In this conversation with engageworship leader Sara and writer and activist Jeremy Williams, we are exploring a different way of worshipping which ‘disrupts’ our conventions and helps us to engage with a God-filled world.

In this episode, Grace and Sam talk to songwriters and worship leaders Geraldine and Carey Luce as well as Gemma and Timo Scharnowski about the role of sung worship during the pandemic. What impact will it have on our songs? What is so special about music anyway? What on earth can we learn from ‘Og of Bashan’?

In this episode, Grace and Sam talk to Andy Flannagan (Songwriter, Worship Leader, Director at Christians in Politics) about rediscovering lament in our private lives as well as in our gathered worship.

Hannah Hodges (Nexus ICA, worship leader) and Peter Phillips (Centre for Digital Theology, Premier Digital) chat with Grace Sentamu Baverstock and Sam Hargreaves about embracing the opportunities of disruption for the future of gathered worship.

Grace and Sam have a chat about where the idea for this podcast came from, what is on their hearts for the future of worship and what you can expect from future conversations.

A short intro of what to expect from this podcast: conversations about the future of gathered worship.