Charis Napier, Worship Lead Pastor at Hope Church, joins Tommy to talk about what worship is and why it's so much more than the singing before the sermon. They cover how to worship when you can't carry a tune or don't feel like it, what it means to sing words you're still growing into, and the many ways people worship beyond Sunday morning. Charis also shares how worship carried her through loss, and how it can be a place of healing in the hardest seasons of life.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

• Charis's two-part view of worship: being honest before God, then acknowledging who he is.
• The John Piper definition she says she doesn't need to improve on.
• Why genuine worship is the most beautiful thing she sees from the stage, no matter how it sounds.
• The 5am morning she told God she wasn't feeling it, and the psalm that turned it around.
• How singing words you don't feel yet can be faith, not dishonesty.
• Ways to worship beyond singing, from her husband's drumming to her mother-in-law's work with the dying.
• How the Psalms give language to grief and lead back to praise.
• A simple way to start if worship has only ever meant Sunday morning.
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(0:00) Why worship, why now

(3:29) Meet Charis Napier

(4:36) Her dad's diagnosis and her mom

(6:19) Leading the youth band at 14

(10:16) How Charis defines worship

(13:18) John Piper on worship

(15:58) If you can't carry a tune

(19:12) Why we gather on Sunday

(21:37) When you don't feel like going

(24:29) The 5am "I'm not feeling it"

(26:47) Singing words you don't feel yet

(28:08) Leading "I Trust in God" after loss

(31:55) The many ways we worship

(38:21) Her mother-in-law's quiet worship

(41:06) Worship in lament

(43:22) Praise in the waiting room

(46:49) The honesty of the Psalms

(48:11) In lament, praise erupts

(51:07) Where to start

(54:01) Thank you, Charis

Learn more about Charis at Hope Church.

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Brett McCracken has written about faith and culture for 20 years. His new book, The Wisdom of Sleep, starts with a simple question: why would God design people to be unconscious for a third of their lives, especially now, when a phone makes it easy to stay on? He and Tommy talk about sleep as a gift you receive, what scrolling does instead of rest, and how a bad night shows up in the people around you.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

• Why a few minutes of scrolling feels like rest and leaves you more tired.
• Why God resting on the seventh day still matters when work can follow you home.
• How the garden, the wilderness, and heaven are all about rest, and where sleep fits.
• Why the single best thing you can do for your health is something you lie down and receive.
• What dreaming does with the conversations and inputs of the day you just lived.
• When sleeplessness is a disorder you should get help for, and when it is a choice.
• Why sleep looks like death on purpose, and why waking up points at resurrection.
• How a bad night changes how you show up for your family and your work.

(0:00) How he started writing (9:52) Parenting made sleep urgent (12:45) Technology gives you a reason not to rest (18:16) Why God made us sleep (24:14) Rest was the point, then we lost it (31:36) The best thing for your health is received (38:25) What your brain does while you dream (47:28) When poor sleep is a choice (53:50) Sleep looks like death on purpose (1:01:06) How your sleep lands on other people (1:06:52) The last 30 minutes, and the gaps in the day

The Wisdom of Sleep is available in print and as an audiobook Brett narrated. More of his writing is at The Gospel Coalition, and his other books are at brettmccracken.com.

Braxton Byerson grew up in a military family, played with both brothers at Virginia Union, then took the game to Uruguay and China before the ball stopped bouncing for him. Now he coaches, speaks, and writes about confidence, choices, and character, including the hard question he puts to young men: who are you when you do not get applause? Tommy talks with Braxton about getting cut, starting over with middle school girls basketball, life after a divorce, and why the words young people need most are I'm with you.

What You'll Hear in This Episode

• Braxton grows up in Chester, VA, rooted in faith and humility by parents who cared more about character than applause.
• All three Byerson brothers play together at Virginia Union, a first in CIAA history.
• Pro ball in Uruguay and China puts him outside his language and comfort zone, and teaches him to sit back and listen.
• Confidence, choices, and character become his trifecta for student athletes.
• Getting cut in sixth grade, then again overseas, and choosing to show up anyway.
• Coaching a middle school girls team that had won three games in eight years into the playoffs four years running.
• Writing Stay on the Tracks, getting certified as a life coach, and taking the leap when fear and trust in God cannot share the same seat.
• Why youth open up when an adult says I'm with you, and Galatians 6:9 as the line he leaves people with.

(0:00) Intro

(3:50) Military kid to Chester, Virginia

(7:45) Three brothers at Virginia Union

(9:15) Pro ball in Uruguay and China

(15:15) Confidence, choices, and character

(19:25) Who are you without applause

(20:45) The ring of existence

(27:10) Bigger than basketball

(27:35) Cut in sixth grade, then overseas

(33:15) Coaching middle school girls

(38:15) Writing and life coaching

(48:30) I'm with you

(57:05) Galatians 6:9

(58:27) How to connect with Braxton

Stay on the Tracks, A Journey of Patience and Perseverance You've Got This, The Student Trifecta for Academic Achievement https://braxtonbyersonent.carrd.co https://www.instagram.com/braxb_7/ https://vuusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/braxton-byerson/966 Instagram and TikTok: braxb_7 Facebook and LinkedIn: Braxton Byerson

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