Interview with Patrick Anderson, Guitarist Extraordinaire

20130801_7218Patrick Anderson will be teaching guitar workshops at both WorshipGod West (June 27-29) and WorshipGod East (July 31-Aug. 3).

I’ve known Patrick for a number of years now and have always been encouraged by his humble heart, love for the church, and superb musical skills, all stemming from his love for the Savior. He played on The Gathering and was a member of Enfield until he moved away from California.

He shares a little about his life and the workshops he’ll be teaching below.

1. Briefly share your testimony of conversion with us.
I came from a loving, though broken, home. Church involvement was minimal in an ELCA Lutheran church and I was convinced that being a pastor or involved in the church had to be the most boring occupation possible.

Eventually, in high school, I met a strong Christian family. Through their witness and friendship I became curious about why they were so different, had such a particular joy, and what it really meant to be a Christian. For a year I tried to mimic their example, switching churches, getting involved in a youth group, faithfully reading the Bible, and, with much failure, trying to act like a Christian. I remember one day in my reading, I ended up in Romans 6 where Paul wrote about being a slave to Christ and no longer a slave to sin. I could plainly see as I tried to act like a Christian in my own strength that I was shackled to my sin and an utter slave to it. Soon after, again through the faithful example and encouragement of a wonderful Christian leader in our youth group, I yielded to God through Christ, by grace alone, for salvation.

2. Why do you think what you’re teaching on is an important topic?
The guitar is a popular part of modern church music ministry and society in general. Many guitarists have a passion for the instrument but not much training, or are always hungry for more. I am an avid learner myself and love to equip guitarists and musicians to greater excellence for the glory of God in service to the church and in our culture. As Christians, we should strive for the utmost level of excellence that we are capable of in a grace motivated desire to serve and magnify our God and Savior.

3. What do you hope will be filling people’s minds and hearts as they walk away from your message?
I want people to walk away equipped with practical, useful and challenging tools for becoming better, deeper musicians, and in service to the church, more ready and humble servants. I want leave them with the confidence and necessary tools to do this.

4. Is there any passage of Scripture that sums up what you’ll be sharing?
Prov. 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
I Cor 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

5. Can you expound on one point that you’ll be making in your message?
Diving more deeply into music with theory, chord voicings, scales, etc. can seem daunting or even boring. However, so much of this stuff is so accessible and possible for you if explained effectively. And, beyond just becoming better guitarists, we have the opportunity to become more humble, effective servants as we strive to become better musicians. As we more deeply understand the guitar and are better players, we can make room for others, prefer one another, respond more creatively and make more selective, musical, even humble choices in our playing. We even gain a greater ability to train others by doing so. It’s so necessary, and this stuff is all explainable, doable, and enjoyable. You don’t have to be a shredder but we do have the responsibility to be as excellent as we can be.

6. How has what you’re going to speak on affected your own life?
Everything I’m talking about comes from my experience, training, and things that I’ve found invaluable in my growth as a musician.

7. Can you recommend any books, articles, websites, or materials on this topic?
So many! I’ll include more in the session, but a few:

  • truefire.com (lots of lesson resources. Some of their guitar gym stuff are good workouts. Can be a little more advanced though)
  • proguitarshop.com (great demos of lots of gear)
  • patrickandersonguitar.com (My site – soon to launch! This will have much of the content I develop and use)
  • guitarforworship.com (An interesting blog of a worship leader who has a creative interest in gear and ambient, textural guitar playing.  He also seems to have played through every piece of guitar equipment imaginable)

8. What would you say to someone who is trying to decide whether or not to come to WorshipGod2013?
Sign up! It is such a wonderful, encouraging time! The two I’ve been to have had a profound impact on me as a musician and a worship leader. Besides that I’ve met so many great people involved in worship/music ministry whom I’ve been able to keep in contact with and learn from. I was just talking about the conference with a friend and he described it well, “What I appreciate the most is that it is driven by the rich content…not the flashy show. It actually feels like a conference for the church.”

At WorshipGod East Patrick will be teaching a pre-conference intensive called “Essential Skills for Guitarists” on Wednesday, July 31. You can check out the details here.

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3 Responses to Interview with Patrick Anderson, Guitarist Extraordinaire

  1. Larry Kirk May 9, 2013 at 10:18 PM #

    Great interview! Sounds like a very helpful conference and workshop.

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