A CONVERSATION WITH BRENNA BULLOCK OF BRISTOL HOUSE MUSIC

I had the honor and joy of interviewing a dear friend, mentor, and sister in Christ a few weeks ago. We honed in on her incredible story of becoming a worship leader and what that looks like for her today. Brenna oversees a beautiful ministry called Bristol House music and it is a blessing to witness how her deep abiding in Christ overflows into the people she leads and serves.

The Story of Brenna becoming a Worship Leader

Brenna was raised in a musical home. She shared, “I grew up, I would say, around music, but more importantly, around worship.” Brenna’s mom lived in continual worship, beyond Sunday mornings. It was her lifestyle and it was demonstrated to her children. Brenna had natural musical abilities as a child, however, she had no grid or aspiration to be a worship leader until she had a life-changing encounter with the Lord. Brenna shared, “I had a radical encounter with the Lord when I was about 14. I’d been really sick and encountered the Lord in such a real way that I had never experienced before. Out of that season came songs and came this desire to lead worship.” Brenna shared that this gift of leading others in worship was made possible because it was a gift that God gave her, and he put people in her life to help nurture, steward, and cultivate it.

How Suffering Shapes the way Brenna Worships

Brenna shared, “I believe that there is an invitation for us as believers to worship and bring a worthy offering no matter the circumstances in front of us.” Even in pain, Jesus is still good, and because of His goodness, we can stand in pain and still sing, “Jesus, we love you.”Brenna continued, “When we choose to confess with our mouth the truth about who he is, something changes in us, and there’s a renewing of the mind. We see that in scripture that it comes through the washing of the water of the word. It comes through face to face encounters with him. It comes through the Holy Spirit pursuing us. It comes through one another in community, shaping and sharpening each other, and it comes in worship.” This life changing work that the Lord does, this renewing of the mind (Romans 12), is done through a multitude of experiences followers of Jesus have, and as Brenna shares from her experience, worship is no exception. It creates a Holy Space to meet with the Lord.

​How Brenna’s Hidden Relationship with the Lord Influences what She Creates and What Enters the Public

Brenna talked about how she believes that God wants access to our creativity: He wants to be invited into it and touch it, because whatever He touches becomes truly beautiful. She shared, “I’ve seen him weave songs together that are healing me.” I asked Brenna, “Are there songs that you have written that may never enter the public? She answered, “absolutely.” Brenna then shared about how these often are the very songs that heal her, and that she presses into the Holy Spirit, and leans into the counsel of co-writers, to discern whether or not the song should be made public.

Where Brenna Sees Art and Theology Meet

​Brenna shared, “I believe that art shapes culture.” She used the example of how we
associate each decade with its art, music, fashion, and colors to explain how powerful and impactful art really is, especially when we invite the Lord into it. She shared profoundly, “It gives language to things that don’t have language.” It can attempt to communicate the awe-inspiring things of God that cannot be held by words.

Thank you, Brenna!