By Austin Lindner | Echo
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a worship group in Rediger Chapel invites students and faculty to worship Jesus through music and praise. This week The Echo interviewed Taylor's chapel worship leaders to learn who these bands are and how they hope to inspire the Taylor community.
Sam Davies Band- Josh Urban, Grason Poling, Evan Miyakawa, Laura Kaufman, Macey Rasmussen, Chris Renzema
Why did you decide to form a chapel band?
Before I came to Taylor, I really felt God leading me into a place of intimacy through worship, and I was really being grown in the area of how to lead worship through music. When I was younger my youth pastor would talk about how worship is not just music. It's put under that category a lot of the time, but worship is a lifestyle.
Does your band have a favorite song to perform?
I think as a group we could say in unison that "Great Are You Lord" is a song that really defines us, talking about how he gives us life and provides the air in our lungs.
How do you hope to affect the Taylor community through worship?
I just want to invite people into a deeper relationship with God, in every way, in every facet, and let the Holy Spirit move freely on this campus. It's hard in a chapel setting where there's a time constraint on everything and everything has to be planned out, but we want as much freedom for the Lord to move in that setting where most everyone in the community is gathered together.
Chris Jordan Band- Tyler Schnute, Karen Windle, Rachel Diamond, Kevin Boyers, Caleb Upton, Grason Poling
Why did you decide to form a chapel band?
Speaking personally, it's something I love to do, and it's something I got involved with freshman year. I love to sing, I love worshipping and I love the band I get to play with. When I talked with the other guys in the band about doing it again this year, it just felt like a good way to continue our love for worship.
Do you have a favorite song to perform in chapel?
Our favorite song to play has always been "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?" That's one that a lot of people get to dance to a little bit, changing up the pace with a more traditional feel.
How do you hope to affect the Taylor community through worship?
I think what we'd like to see as a band is a kind of unity on campus, just being able to see this unity through all the chapel bands this year being one team instead of three separate teams. But really, I think our purpose, in a way, is just to facilitate worship. We're here to serve the community, so we're always looking for suggestions, what songs people liked and didn't like.
Ryan Lanier Band- Will Tice, Jack Rose, Cassie Long, Kaylie Walker, Jon Warren, Jack Davis
Why did you decide to form a chapel band?
Well, the main reason I started to do it was that I first played bass for Sam Davies's band. I just loved leading so much when I got the opportunity to a couple times, so I left (Davies's) band to basically start my own.
How do you hope to affect the Taylor community through your worship?
As a band, I guess something that I've really learned in worship a lot recently is just preparation and how God can be glorified through that. I use this analogy a lot, where the goal is to not use any music stands. It's almost like a crutch in worship. I want our band to know the songs so well that we don't have to focus on any aspect of the music part, but all we do is totally focus on God. We're not looking down to see what chord is coming up next or what part are we doing next, but there's just a natural flow of worship.
Does your band have a favorite song to perform?
I don't think we have a favorite song yet. We're super excited to lead the way that we know how to lead, but as a band, we want to grow so much in musicianship and giving people in the band opportunities, but also outside of the band, to lead and to learn.
