volunteers , and I feel so blessed to not consider it a job , but a calling that I daily get to outwork with a family that I love .
Normally I ’ d be responsible for the health and wellness of that community and then everything else that church life entails from weekend services , midweek events , conferences , special moments etc . Little spoiler alert is , I couldn ’ t do any of this without the gifts and talents of the many . I ’ m doing my job well when I ’ m not doing everything , but instead , making a way for people to step into their calling and outwork their gifts , whether it be in the church or making the gospel known outside the four walls of the church .
[ WM ] Creatives are most prolific and thrive when they operate attached to a long leash , and yet with the financial and trusted support of their superiors . Would you agree ?
[ Alex ] I think I agree . ( laughing ) But I would add , some of the greatest art , at least some that I ’ ve been a part of , has been created with a shorter leash and very little budget . The key thing in either avenue is like you said , trust . Whether you ’ ve got a long leash and a huge budget or a short leash and “ mates-rates ” ( laughs ), if you ’ ve been trusted with it , honor that trust to the best of your ability . The work you do on either side of that spectrum will be remembered and people will either want to work with you again and again or they ’ ll find someone they can trust better on the next one . Be trustworthy and more trust and opportunity will come .
[ WM ] Young & Free ’ s new EP , Out Here on a Friday When It All Began , has just released . What can you tell us about the overall recording , from song selection to the recordings themselves ?
[ Alex ] The thing that stands out the most about that night is that we hadn ’ t been in a room full like that in over 15 months ! It was a humbling experience to once again be in a room packed with people so excited to praise God . I ’ ll never forget the atmosphere of the room that night , and I hope that some of that energy and expectation was captured and tangible for people watching / listening now .
These songs were chosen how we always choose them , by the youth and for the youth . And as always , the moment of when the church makes these songs their own is when they become more than just songs , they become highways to the presence of God . Whether that highway is smooth sailing or forging its way through troubled waters , it ’ s by the grace of the Holy Spirit that the unity in corporate worship allows the impossible to take place .
[ WM ] There are so many great songs on this . At first sight I thought the song , “
Phenomena ( DA DA )”, was a reference to the “ Dada ” European art movement of the early 20
th century . I was wrong . This is a big song . What