Each week we’ll be featuring a staff member or ministry at All Saints’ Church to encourage our community to stay connected and find ways to get involved. This week, we’re featuring our Worship Arts Director- David McLendon!
We asked him a few questions related to the music he leads us in each week and to get to know him better.
How did you come to All Saints’ Church?
I had just finished grad school at the University of Tennessee, and I was looking for a church with a musical inclination toward both the traditional and contemporary. When I read about All Saints’ Church, I immediately reached out, and the rest is history. I came as an interim worship leader for the Christmas season in 2013, and I officially came on staff in March of 2014. The people of ASC welcomed me with open arms, and I’ve been here ever since!
What are your top five favorite worship songs that we sing in church?
It’s hard to pick five, and my answer changes, depending on the season, but today, it’s as follows, in no particular order:
Behold Our God
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
O God Beyond All Praising
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Come Thou Fount
Bonus: I grew up in a United Methodist church in Mississippi, and I have fond memories of “hymn singin’s” on Sunday nights, where we could make song requests. My friends and I always requested “The Church in the Wildwood” because we liked the bass line of the chorus. I still love the hymn, and its meaning hold a special, somewhat ironic place in my personal hymnody.
You are a recent father- what has been the biggest adjustment and what is your favorite thing about being a dad?
Many of the cliches about parenting have been true, but experiencing it for myself has been eye-opening. I had no idea I was capable of such capacity for loving another human. It really is on a different level with my own boy. He’s wonderful! And the cutest!
What is your favorite book that you would recommend to others? What's one book that's on your list to read?
I can’t think of one absolute favorite book, but I wish everyone that I know would read these three books:
Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church
Benefit of the Doubt: Breaking the Idol of Certainty
Love Matters More: Why Fighting to Be Right Keeps Us From Loving Like Jesus
On my to-read list: Anything Pete Enns writes or has written.
Any podcasts you're currently listening to?
Heaven Bent, Season 2: Inside America’s Most Unusual Church
What do you like to do for fun outside of church?
Cooking, grilling, hiking, visiting wineries, camping, and doing all of the above with my wife, Lindsey (and now our kiddo, Vaughn!)
You can hear some of the other hymns we sing-including a few of David’s favorites in this Spotify playlist.
If you’d like to learn more about Worship Arts at All Saints’ Church or getting involved with the church choir you can contact David.
David, Lindsey, and the adorable Vaughn!
