in with an idea but hold it loosely . A lot of it is like hunting and pecking for the treasures that are hidden . That ’ s how I look at songwriting .
I don ’ t typically do much research on an artist or their sound when I go in to write for someone . I like to go in kind of cold and go , “ Let ’ s let the Lord figure it out in the room .” A lot of time those writes become ministry . Sometimes there are issues that come up that all of a sudden , we find ourselves praying over each other or really talking through some difficult things . Then writing out of that becomes more beautiful because you ’ ve created this synergy of trust where emotional lines are released .
[ WM ] Yeah . That ’ s such a good perspective for songwriters . You now have a role in Nashville as a mentor to young worship leaders . So , what do you want to impart to the next generation of worship leaders and songwriters ? What is your goal behind this mission ?
[ Rita ] You know , I think for me , it ’ s less about finding this younger generation and giving them all this information on how this is the best way to do this . For me , it ’ s more about coming alongside them and saying , “ Hey , has anybody told you you ’ re beautiful ? Has anyone told you that what you have is stunning ? Has anybody told you that how God has gifted you is such an amazing thing ? How can I encourage you to be the best at that and just hand you this baton without dictating how you need to carry it ? How can I show you that I ’ m cheering you on in the process .”
That is a completely different mentality . I ’ ve just watched that just empower these young artists who are looking at me when I say those things like , “ Seriously ? You ’ re not going to try to tell me how to do this ?” And it ’ s like why would I try to tell you how to do something that you ’ re , you ’ re obviously beautifully gifted for ? If they have things they want to ask of me , I will tell them , but what ends up happening is all the sudden it opens them up to start saying things like , “ How do I do this with purity and integrity ?” Without me having to say , “ Okay , if you don ’ t do this with purity and integrity , you ’ re not doing it right !”
We end up working through a lot of deeper issues , like deep rooted insecurity or untrue thought patterns . I ’ m usually not going to sit there and say , “ Okay , show me your songs and tell me all you ’ re doing .” If you ’ re there just for me to give your song-writing advice , that ’ s usually not what you end up leaving with . Because in the midst of the songwriting advice , I ’ ll just go , “ Hey , can I ask you a question ? Why is it that you are always talking down about your songs ?” And it will get to the deeper issue of , “ Well , I was told everyday when I was a kid , that I would never amount to anything .” And I ’ ll say , “ Oh , okay , well do you know you are carrying that into every write you have ?” Then it leads to many other conversations . I probably should ’ ve gotten a counseling degree because a lot of therapy and life coaching happens in this mentorship program . My heart for the next generation is to really just say , “ I believe in you so much , I will be in the balcony cheering you on , and if you need me , just look up and I ’ ll wave . I ’ ll have your cue cards that say , “ Get back up , you can do this , keep running .” That has been lost because a lot of mothers and fathers have left the building .
[ WM ] Wow . That is so true . I ’ m sure that adds so much more value to people ’ s calling than just instructions . It just reminds me that Jesus leads with kindness and kindness is what makes us change . I believe , that ’ s a coaching technique that will last . How would you say you have overcome insecurities or fears in leading worship ? What has it been like for you navigating leadership as a female ?
[ Rita ] I think one of my first things was that insecurity was attached to my self-worth . And so God had to come after my self-worth in order to actually start aligning my security with my worth . That came out of conversations with the Lord like , “ Do you have any idea how much I care about you ?” And it ’ s like , “ Well , yeah , the Bible says You care about me like this .” He goes , “ I ’ m not talking about the Bible because you can read something in black and white and still never take it in . When I tell you that I care about you , that I think about you , that I love you … how come you don ’ t believe me when I say it ?” That was like an encounter where I was like , “ Oh , you ’ re actually really asking me to receive Your love .”
When I was in my early twenties , veering into a life of leading worship and singing , my pastor made this statement about love . He said God ’ s love is like a circle and half the circle gets complete when we realize God loves us . Then he asked the question , “ How do you complete the other half that ?” And the response was , “ Well , you love Him back .” And he said , “ No , you ’ ve got it wrong . You can ’ t love God back to complete the circle . You have to receive it . Once you receive it , that ’ s a complete circle .” I had been trying so hard to love God back and I couldn ’ t because of my wounding . All I had to do was know that God loves me and receive it . When I began to receive , it began to morph my insecurity into a place that was the outskirts as opposed to being on the inner parts of my being .
I remember when my son was maybe five or six and he would sit at the breakfast counter , and he would just eat his cereal . I was mesmerized by the muscle in his cheek that would go up and down as he would just chew his food . I remember thinking as a Mom , I love that muscle and when he eats , that muscle just sends me to the moon ! It was just a weird Mom thing . Then a year or so later , when I was in my journal , I asked God , “ God , why do you love me ?” And out of the blue , He said , “ Because you love the same muscle in your kid ’ s cheek that I do .” And I just would come undone because I was like , “ Oh my gosh , he doesn ’ t miss anything .” He partners with what we love , and He partners with what melts our hearts . That just changed me for Jesus .
So , I began to build this reputation with the Lord where I started to become less nervous with things because I realized , “ Oh , when I walk out on stage , it doesn ’ t really matter if anybody