Episode 480 - Meredith Mauldin - The Turning

Welcome to Voices in My Head, the official podcast of me, Rick Lee James. I'm a recording artist, a singer, a songwriter, an author, a worship leader, and an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene. The Voices in My Head podcast is where I discuss music, movies, books, pop culture, theology, and more with friends, colleagues, and sometimes just by myself. Now make sure to let me know what you think of today's episode by leaving me a review on iTunes or by tweeting at me @RickLeeJames on Twitter. And please join my mailing list at RickLeeJames.com where you can receive an email every time a new episode is released. By the way, in case you're interested in a daily dose of kindness and encouragement beyond this podcast, I also run the Twitter account @MrRogersSay where I post daily quotes from Fred Rogers, one of the voices in my head. Well, I guess that's it for the intro, so sit back, relax, and listen to the latest episode of Voices in My Head.

Welcome back to Voices in My Head. As always, I'm your host, Rick Lee James, and I'm so glad that all of all of you are here to listen to another conversation today. We're back on the topic of music again today, and my guest is Meredith Mauldin. She's a passionate worshiper and songwriter that can't help but rally others to do the same. She spent 7 years pioneering the worship and songwriting culture at the Upper Room in Dallas and was the founder of their label and publishing company. Meredith has now created a ministry called Song Lab to empower worshipers to minister to the Lord as well as write songs from their hearts and for their local churches. She has held over 30 song labs all over the country since 2019 and releases collective worship music from those events. We're going to be talking to her more about that and her new album today that she has released with Upper Room. But for right now, let's just say, Meredith Malden, welcome to Voices in My Head.

Uh, thank you so much for having me. This is a blessing.

Well, it's great to be able to speak with you today. And, uh, you know, you and I were talking beforehand, and I had been speaking, uh, with really through email, um, trying to get this set up for a while. But the summer has been so busy, I think, for both of us. And so, uh, I guess God's timing is perfect. We have this moment now where we can finally do it. Yes, yes, very good. Well, you teamed up with Upper Room to make your latest album. And the album is called The Turning. So just so everybody wants to go and click Spotify or Apple Music even while they're listening right there and add the album, they can do that. But I wonder if you could tell us a little bit about how this project first came about.

Yeah, I think it's a— it's actually been a really beautiful process. So I think I've been away from The Upper Room for about 4 years, which has always been extremely hard because they are my family and, uh, where We really grew up together in worship and pioneered together. And, you know, I say we just grew up together. So it was some of the songs that I'd been holding on to in seasons that we had at The Upper Room. And I just, in this season, I called my brother-in-law who's the MD over there. I actually got him hired and then he married my sister. So I'm like, I literally am family with all of them. And he was like, why don't we just do this together? And so we just kind of explored the whole process of some of the songs that we'd had from past seasons that we never had a chance to release, as well as, um, just kind of what the Lord's doing right now. Um, and so that's kind of how it started. And, uh, yeah, it's been really sweet.

Well, if you don't mind, just for listeners that might not be aware, tell us a little bit about Upper Room, because I know you were instrumental in, in kind of a lot of what the ministry is today, but maybe some of our listeners aren't familiar with it. So could you— would you mind telling us just a little bit about that?

Yeah, absolutely. Upper Room is mainly a prayer house. People don't always know that because they know mostly the music that's come from that place. But years ago when we started there, it was just a small little ministry of, you know, maybe 100 people, and we just did prayer sets, what we say morning, noon, and night. And so we just started with a few a week where we would just 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM, we just dedicate 2 hours just to minister to the Lord and love on Him. And through that process, we also had a Sunday night service, and we really just didn't even call it a church for a long time. It was just— we were like, oh no, we're just meeting to pray, we're meeting to worship the Lord. You know how that goes. And then of course it definitely ends up being a church. Um, but yeah, what was happening at the Upper Room was so sweet in those moments. You know, a lot of times it would just be one or two people in the room by themselves with the Lord. You know, there's no flashy. There's no big performance. There's no big stage. It's just you and the Lord. And when you have a 2-hour set, after you run through a few of the songs that you had planned, you're like, okay, Lord, what's on my heart? And that's where the gold would come in, you know. That's where those, like, moments where you had time with the Lord to just, you know, meditate on stuff. And those were those, like, little pieces of songs that started coming out. And so I was like, man, if we've got these little gems that the Lord has given us, we've got to steward this. And so I started songwriting intensives where I'd be like, okay guys, you've got to finish the songs that you wrote. We'd do like little 6-week songwriting intensives where we'd have to write a song a week and, you know, finish the songs that we had in the prayer room. And that kind of just how it started, the whole thing. We just started to steward what we had, um, been given. And then, you know, then I was like, well, then we should record the songs for our church so they can listen outside of church, you know. So it started out very small and it just That's great.

Well, I know that The Turning, the album, it is sort of a mix of live and studio music together at the same time. Were the live moments that, you know, feel very spontaneous, were those things that were captured in the Upper Room, or did you try to set up sort of a studio space where you could kind of recreate that? How does that happen? Because I think a lot of us kind of wonder, you know, when you say live, there's just different things that, you know, different locations. And so sometimes it has to be set up a little different, but I really do think that there is a feel of almost, I don't know, maybe planned spontaneity, you know, that I feel like is on there. Tell us a little bit about that.

Yeah, so we always love to leave room to breathe. So a lot of the songs were birthed out of the prayer room. I would say like You Remain, some of those songs, maybe not exactly the prayer room, but sung in the prayer room, pieces and parts of it. Um, but when we write the full song A lot of times what we like to do is we'll sing through the song and then we just, we, we say, let it breathe. Like, what is, what's the lines that's sticking out? What, what do we feel like the Lord is breathing on, you know? Or what's, what's it opening our hearts so that we give it a time within that to just express your hearts and see where it goes. Um, and so it is a little nerve-wracking, especially when you're recording, you know, or, you know, on those live nights where you're like, okay, is this me? Is this the Lord? Is this you know, where are we? But that's the beauty of spontaneous, you know, you don't, you don't always know, but it's in the faith of stepping out and, and singing those moments on your heart that sometimes create these just like, uh, I mean, beautiful moments. I don't know how else to, to say these kind of electric moments with the Lord.

Yeah, that's a great way to put it. Well, you know, let's talk about one of the songs, and, and when we finish our conversation today, I'm going to make sure and play this song actually at the end of the podcast, so gives a little little taste of what's ahead for the show. But we were talking before we started recording today about the track "You Remain," which features Elissa Smith. And I know there's a story behind that song, and I wonder if you could share that with us today.

Yeah, absolutely. It's funny, we used to call that song for the longest time the Denver song. Um, so Elissa, like, um, had— during— gosh, I guess I can't remember what year it was, but, um, The Upper Room had just gotten on the map, and one of her songs was just blowing up. And then she felt like the Lord was asking her to go to Denver where there was a little startup of Upper Room in a prayer room again, you know. So Dallas is blowing up and all this stuff is happening, and then the Lord at that moment says, but I want you to move to Denver to a little tiny unknown prayer room. And so she had started the song, came with the first verse and a little bit of the chorus, and was just sharing her heart. And so we ended up writing the rest of it and wrote that bridge that it's like, when I see your face, I'll wish I'd given more away. Don't let me waste a trial. Don't let me miss the chance to praise through this, you know, or lay it down if He's asking. And I'll never forget, we just had a moment with that as we just shared our hearts and we're talking about laying things down and always trusting that if the Lord's asking you to lay it down, you'll never regret it. You'll never regret the things that you give to God. And so we were having those moments and it was just like this really sweet time and I had no idea. That in a few months the Lord was going to ask me to lay down in the Upper Room. And so when I felt like, you know, all that was kind of transpiring, I just remember going into the prayer room again, probably 2 or 3 people in the crowd, if nobody, and I'm just singing that like over and over, just crying. Like, and even in my own time, just like, when I see your face, I wish I'd given more away. Like, I'm not gonna waste this time. Like, it turned my like feeling like I don't understand why you'd want me to leave this, this is so important to me, to being like, this is an honor to actually get to give something that means something to me to you when you're asking. So that song means a lot to me and became a real anthem for me in a really challenging season.

Well, it's a great song, and I, I appreciate knowing the story behind that. So listeners, stay tuned because at the end we're going to actually play it in its entirety today, and I want everybody to experience it. Um, but before we do that, you know, you are such a multi-talented person. And there's so many kind of not only in music, but you're also an actor, you've been a voice actor, you, you just have your hands in a lot of different things. And so I think our listeners would also love to hear a little bit about some of the other things you do. We're going to keep it with music for just a second before I go into some of the other things, but I'm intrigued by the Song Lab that you— the Song Labs that you set up, and you've done over 30 of them now. Maybe talk to us a little bit about just that, what you do in a song lab. We have a lot of songwriters who listen to this podcast, and I know that they would be fascinated to know more, maybe even would like to take part in one of these sometime.

Yeah, absolutely. Um, so, you know, at the Upper Room, pioneering the figuring out how to write— I didn't know how to teach how to write. We didn't know what we were doing. We didn't like start out as these, all of these like awesome writers co-writing, but we were like, we were just stewarding it, you know. And we were going after it, and we were exploring and experimenting and learning, and we'd go to things together. So I kind of, when the Lord had me step out, I felt like he said, Meredith, what if you packed everything into one weekend that you've learned over the, you know, last 20 years plus the 7 years of being at The Upper Room, packed it into a weekend and asked other worship leaders to come along? Because at one point I felt like the Lord was like, did you, you know, when I started these writing intensives at The Upper Room, he was like, Meredith, do you like— I felt like I I was like, man, I just want to grow in the Lord. I want to grow as a songwriter and I want to grow as a worship leader. And I just wanted somebody who would help me walk me through that process. And it was like, I felt like the Lord was like, well, what would you put yourself through if you were, if you were going to do that for somebody else? What would you put yourself through over and over to become a better worship leader, a better, you know, closer to the Lord and a better writer. And so I just kind of put this thing, loose thing together. And, and what I found in these things was just like the community, the celebration instead of competition, just came alive. Like the upper room just came alive as we began to share our songs and celebrate what was going on within us and singing each other's songs and all that. So I started doing that with Song Lab. I just kind of packed everything I learned in a weekend and just— we teach on worship and teach on why, why do we want to songwrite. You've got a testimony that I've not heard before, you know, or that I've not experienced with the Lord. And when you share that testimony in song, I get to get another glass— insight into the Lord. I get another aspect of who he is. And our testimony is powerful. And so, you know, we just— I just remind people of why they're doing what they're doing. We, we get all into it, we worship together, and then we write. Um, and then the best part about it is we share our songs, you know, at the end of it, and we just celebrate. Like, everybody writes a song, we all write together, and it's just a blast. And there's something so special when people come together and everybody has a part in it. And they share. So it's, it's pretty amazing.

Yeah, that's wonderful. And, and I do find that even, you know, as a songwriter myself for years, I, I feel like I wasted by doing things on my own. And, you know, when there's something about the beauty of community, especially when it comes to asking God to be a part, to draw us together and help us. And, and there are just— as you, I think, said it very well there's perspectives that other people will have on our songs that can help it to make it even more beautiful. And it's really kind of a testimony to the church in some ways too, that we really need this community together to open our eyes to new things. So, so thank you for sharing a bit about SongLab. I really appreciate that. I'm excited about the good work that's happening there. I also wanted to, to ask you today, because it's so rare that we get voice actors, uh, today on here, and, and, um, I'm, I'm fascinated. I that you have been a voice actor in a number of different projects over the years. I think maybe one of the best known one is the, the Dragon Ball Z series, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, tell us a little bit about that. And, and, and I come from it just from saying, hey, I've never done any work like that before, and I know most of our listeners probably are in the same place, but we just love to hear a little bit about that kind of work.

Yeah, for sure. It, you know, it's funny because it was one of those things where it was so small, it was before they went through agencies when I got in. It was like, you know, 22 years ago, right out of high school. I had a director friend was like, hey, they're auditioning. I'm like, okay, you know. And so we went in there, and little did I know that 22 years after that I'd still be doing it. And, you know, some of these— um, Dragon Ball Z is kind of the Mickey Mouse of anime, you know. It's just, uh, one of those classic shows that kind of started the whole thing off. Um, so yeah, I mean, it was crazy challenging in the very beginning. Nowadays is a lot easier than it used to be because we used to have to do it through tape, you know, and it's like you're matching your mouth to voice flaps because I'm the English dub, I'm not the original, so they're not designing the, you know, the character after how I say it. I'm having to fit the lines within the mouth flaps. So that was, uh, that was pretty crazy challenging and exciting all at the same time. I mean, you'd have to say words like like super slow, and then that's really bad. You know, do it over and over again. Um, but yeah, like, I've been playing the same character for, you know, I mean, I've played lots of characters, but this one character for Dragon Ball Z for 22 years. And funny enough, August 19th, which I guess is this Friday, a new movie is coming out called Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and I'm in that one. And so we just did a big red carpet, and well, they had orange carpet for Dragon Ball Z in, uh, LA this last weekend. So yeah, it's, uh, it's kind of crazy surreal and really had no— I mean, you know, like, I was at the Upper Room for so long, I didn't even realize how big it was. They were like, do you know how famous this is? I'm like, yeah, no, I don't.

Yeah, it's, it's a big deal. I, I take my son, sometimes we go to comic book conventions, and, you know, we always see things like that when we're there. So I especially was fascinated hear a little bit more. And my son is 9 and he doesn't know a lot about it, but he definitely knows the name. And so he was kind of like, really? You know, so he was intrigued. So thanks for sharing a little bit of that.

My sons, I have an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old, and they haven't seen it. And so I was going to take them to the movie. I'm like, I mean, it is PG-13 for a couple little reasons, but I was like, I can walk them through that.

Sure.

Yeah, not too scary or anything.

Yeah, that'll be a neat thing for you to do though with the— with your children too. I think that's neat though. They'll probably be like, that's you? That can't be you, Mom. You know, really?

I know, it's pretty funny. And it's funny too because it was two separate worlds for so long, not meaning to. I wasn't hiding it per se, but it was just two separate worlds from my worship world because I just am so passionate about worshiping Jesus. Jesus. And, and so I felt like it was like, it just felt like, you know, it just felt like two separate worlds. And it's funny because recently it's just, it's been interesting because I thought I'd be kind of a disappointment to anime fans because I'm like, well, I'm not doing a bunch of new characters all the time, it's not my main focus anymore. But I found that it just really gives permission for people who are into that really hardcore to know that they can love Jesus, you know. And so it just becomes a neat little ministry that I didn't realize I even Yeah, for sure.

I, you know, I find that when I go to fan conventions and things that there, there really is sort of a community that is unto itself, that a lot of times people who don't have community anywhere else tend to find themselves in those sort of fan communities. Um, and you know, and if we're not careful, I think sometimes our worship communities can kind of be that way too. And it's not— it's nice to, to see the way that you're able to even more as time goes on kind of make the overlap between the two together, you know, because really we are to be in the world where we are. And so you're being fully yourself but also doing, uh, work that is out in another realm but still being yourself fully, you know, in the midst of all that. So I, I'm glad.

100%.

Yeah.

Oh, thank you. It's been fun for sure.

Good. Well, thank you for taking time to share a little bit about that, and I really appreciate it. I think it's probably going to be fun for our listeners to investigate more, not only about your album, but now they're probably going to want to look up some of those shows in the new movie. And yeah, and August 19th is my wife's birthday, so I'm definitely going to remember that date. So that's good. Awesome. Well, you know what, let's, let's turn it back as we start to close our conversation, back to some of the music that you've made, because there's, there's some so many great albums— uh, sorry, great songs on the album. Getting my words twisted around today. Um, And you've already shared about "You Remain," and we're going to play it again in just a minute. But if you could think of maybe— I know it's hard to say one thing and it puts you on the spot, but if there's one thing that you hope listeners will get from listening to this album, maybe even worshiping along with it, what would you say? This is my hope for anybody who's listening.

Well, a long time ago I had a dream. That the song Adoration came from, actually. And in the dream, like, I stepped off the stage of Upper Room and I talked to my mom, and my mom was like, "Meredith, that song you sang." And I was like, "What song was it?" And I, like, remembered back to the song, and the lyrics came alive in the dream. And it was Jesus, and He was standing there and He was weeping, and He was looking at this woman who was gaunt and sickly, and she was like, looking everywhere else for someone to love her. And Jesus was like weeping with like such passion and love for this woman, like, "If she'll just turn to me, I will feed her the finest food. I'll clothe her with the best clothes." Like, it was just like this, like, "Ah." And at the same time, I'm like, I'm weeping looking at Jesus knowing he deserves perfection, yet he's after this one, this woman who's, you know, not even looking at him. And so that song "Adoration" was inspired from that. But it was such an encounter for me. That I was like, I want to write songs that turn the eyes of the bride to look at Jesus. Like, my heart is to write songs that just remind you who he is, what he's done, the kindness, you know, his character. Like, not— and, and songs about prayers and prayer songs and statements of, you know, what we want to do for Jesus, they're all amazing and they all have their place, but there's something really powerful about not focusing on what we need or what we want him to do or, you know, things about ourselves, but just for a minute, just looking about, looking looking at him, ministering to him, and just reminding ourselves who he is again. That just helps us to fall in love all over again. So that would be my prayer, is that hearing some of these songs and the— and, and hearing some of the lyrics about his character and who he is, just make you fall in love with him all over again.

Well, I'd say that's a wonderful place for us to leave the conversation today, that we would all fall more in love every day with the Divine, and that as the Lord speaks into our moments, that we would just be vessels to be used by him. So thank you for, for offering yourself and this music and all that you do up to the Lord. We really appreciate it. For everyone listening today, I just want to remind you, in case you don't catch all of the, the places where you can find Meredith, we're going to have links in the show notes. So hopefully wherever you listen to podcasts, you'll be able to click on the show notes, click onto links, and easily go find her music and other things that she has going on. The new album, once again, it's Meredith Malden and Upper Room, and the album is called The Turning. It just released on July 29th, and it is streaming everywhere right now. So we want to make sure you have a chance to go and find those. But we're going to close the podcast today by playing the song that we were speaking of a little bit earlier called You Remain. And so I know you're going to enjoy that song. But until— but just before we do that, I say this to my guests every week, and Meredith, I get to say it to you. Meredith Maldon, thank you for being one of the voices in my head this week.

Ah, thank you so much for having me.

changes course. My compass, your voice. You will not lead me somewhere you've never been, 'cause you go before me, you lead the way. If you say to Follow. I won't be afraid. Jesus, it's an honor to cast down these crowns. What a privilege to lay my life down, 'cause I know that all I have gained will fade, but you will remain. But I'm gonna sing it anyway. 'Cause Jesus, what an honor to cast down these crowns. It's a privilege to lay my life down. 'Cause I know that all I am fate, but you will remain. And these treasures that life seems to bring, they mean nothing if you're not with me, 'cause I know that all I have gained will fade, but you will remain. You will remain. You will remain. You will remain. This is where I see your face. I wish I'd given more away. So don't let me waste a trial. Don't let me miss the chance to praise. 'Cause when I see your face, I wish I'd given more away. So don't let me waste a trial. Don't let me miss the chance to praise. To praise, 'cause when I see your face, I wish I'd given more away. So don't let me waste a try, don't let me miss the chance to praise, 'cause when I see your face, I I wish I'd given more away. So don't let me waste a trial. Don't let me miss the chance to raise. Jesus, what an honor to cast down this crown. What a privilege to lay my life down, 'cause I know that all I have gained will fade, but you will remain. And these treasures that life seems to bring, they mean nothing if you're not with me, 'cause I know that all I've gained will fail. When I see your face, I wish I'd given more away. So don't let me waste a try, don't let me miss the chance to pray. Cuz when I see your face, I wish I'd giving more away. So don't let me waste a trial, don't let me miss the chance to pray. Oh!

Thank you for joining me here this week— week on Voices in My Head. I hope you'll visit me on my website at rickleejames.com, where you can find out more about me, get my music on vinyl and CD, follow my blog, and even schedule me for a concert or a speaking engagement. Better yet, even a book signing in your neighborhood. You can find all that and more at rickleejames.com. Also, it would mean a great deal to me if you could write a review of this podcast on iTunes. The more positive reviews that we receive, the more visible this podcast will be online. And now for the benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. God bless you, and thank you for listening to Voices in My Head.