The Pivot

Christine Dente is best known as one half of the duo Out of the Grey, but of course, she’s much more than that, particularly to their three kids and now two grandkids. I don’t know her terribly well, but I saw she had just written her first novel and that fascinated me, so I was thrilled when she was into coming over and chatting about it. I won’t lie, I jumped in way too deep too fast for any trained interviewer. But I’m not a trained interviewer, and Christine was right there with me, and it was SO GOOD. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, and you’ll hear us even talk about it in a bit, but the biggest thing I can tell when I do these interviews is who has done the work and who hasn’t. Christine Dente has done the work. And it shows. And I am thankful for what she is putting out into the world because we all get to learn from that work. It’s inspiring. Also, a fun little detail, Out of the Grey made most of their records here in this studio, too, back when it was Charlie Peacock’s place, so it was especially fun to get to invite her back here to talk about that time but also what she’s doing now. You can find Christine and her writing at ChristineDenteOutOfTheGrey.com And you can order her novel, The Woman In The Willow here. Sign up today for the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB with Food for the Hungry! Click Here to hear my music. Thanks for listening! And now, go do something awesome!

Chris Llewellyn was excited to come over and NOT talk about music. I met him years ago when I worked closely for a season with his band, Rend Collective. That crew is easily the hardest working bunch of musicians I’ve ever met, and quarantine, while not great for business, has given Chris some time to breathe deep and take a little break for a bit. It was fun to catch up and talk about Chris’s journey from the coast of Northern Ireland to a vagabond life across America to being (somewhat) settled here in Nashville with his wife and young son. He’s also in super freaking good shape and we got to talk about how that happens, which seems to remain a mystery to me. Chris is both a deep well and a hilarious dude and it was wonderful to have this chat. Rend Collective’s new EP “Socially Distant Worship Club Pt 1” is out now. Click here for Chris’s instagram page. Sign up today for the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB with Food for the Hungry! Click Here to hear my music. Thanks for listening! And now, go do something awesome!

I’m a big fan of Savannah Locke. She is an incredibly gifted writer and communicator, and as always, my conversation with her went places I did not expect. We talk about hiring your replacement, starting a business, John Mayer’s middle name… We call a number of grown men “angel babies”. Most powerfully for me, we got to unpack the season of life where we met: When she was trying to see if the musician career path was for her, and I was a really green record label guy who wished he could be a better guide for her than he was. This one was so fun, so challenging, and so wide-ranging. You’ll just have to listen for yourself. You can find Savannah and her writing at SavannahLocke.com Sign up today for the CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB with Food for the Hungry! Click Here to hear my music. Thanks for listening! And now, go do something awesome!

You might know Janice Gaines as an award-winning Gospel singer, which she is. But there are so many other incredible things about Janice you have to know: She is brilliant. She got her Masters of Divinity because learning Greek and Hebrew sounded FUN. She’s a mother of two young boys, a wife, a nationally recognized speaker, and she’s on staff at her local predominately white church, as directory of diversity. In 2020. She’s got a lot going on. She also teaches an online course on diversity, racial reconciliation, and the Gospel. It starts next week, Aug 4, and it’s called Braving the Deep and you need to sign up for it. You can go to janicegaines.com to sign up. I loved talking with Janice. It is always a gift to spend time with people who radiate kindness and wisdom and joy, so you won’t want to miss this one! CLICK HERE for Janice’s music or HERE to sign up for Braving the Deep! CLICK HERE to join the Chicken of the Month Club with Food for the Hungry! CLICK HERE for my music. Now go do something awesome.

Pete Marra is a serial entrepreneur with a deep love of Scripture. Already he’s been a tech CEO, a church planter, an underground missionary, and a self-made millionaire who lost everything overnight. He’s a devoted husband and father and he has led his family on a life of wild adventures. Our paths crossed about a year ago and we became fast friends. He has challenged me in a great way and encouraged me even more. Pete is a big part of some new podcast things you’ll see rolling out in the coming months, and I’m really thankful. I always walk away from time with Pete feeling a little less afraid of trying something new, and with a little more clarity of where I actually want to go. He was in town and dropped by the studio a few weeks ago and I thought you guys would love spending a bit of time with him. I always do. CLICK HERE to join the Chicken of the Month Club with Food for the Hungry! CLICK HERE for my music. Now go do something awesome.

Nancy is an author, a teacher, a mother and a wife. She sadly has a unique story with grief, but one that has allowed her to serve thousands and thousands of people over the last number of years. I’ve heard Nancy‘s name a lot over the years, but getting to know her over this conversation was delightfully surprising. She is full of energy and deep knowledge and wisdom. This was a fun and life-giving interview and I know you’re going to love it. She has a new book coming out this Fall called “God does his best work with empty” and after hearing her talk about what led to this book, I’ll be first in line to get it when it comes out. For more about Nancy, please visit NancyGuthrie.com JOIN the Food for the Hungry "Chicken Of The Month Club" at FH.org/pivot Now, go do something awesome!

It was so fun to talk with Jillian Edwards. We got to talk about new motherhood and how it is both shaping her songs, and a metaphor for the songs themselves. She is clearly driven by music, and this drive has led her down some interesting and unique paths. She has a new record out called “Meadow”. It is beautiful, warm and inviting, and you need to listen to it. CLICK HERE for more info about Jillian. And CLICK HERE for her instagram. And please join me for the Chicken of the Month Club with Food For The Hungry at fh.org/pivot For me info about me or my music, please visit: andrewosenga.com everybodypivots.com Now go do something awesome.

Michael Blanton was the manager and A&R guy who discovered and developed Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Rich Mullins, among many others. He and his circle of friends were at the heart of the birth of Christian music, and his career boasts over 70 million albums sold. He’s also a father and a husband of over 40 years. We became friends almost randomly about a year and a half ago and I found him to be one of the kindest and most encouraging people. He’s got some AMAZING stories, particularly about taking Christian music to the mainstream and “Baby, Baby” to the Christians. 😘 The music that Michael was a part of literally changed my life and it was a huge honor to have him drop by the studio and get to hear his incredible story. Click here to learn more about Songwriting U. JOIN THE FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB HERE! For more about me or my music, you can go to: Andrewosenga.com EverybodyPivots.com Now go do something awesome.

Alvin Love is a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, a co-founder and pastor of Nashville Life Church, and an all around pretty incredible guy. This was honestly one of the most fun and exciting conversations I’ve had in a long time. I first really heard of Alvin because of a record that he wrote and produced for his mother, legendary gospel artist CeCe Winans. The album is called “Let Them Fall In Love” and it’s easily my favorite record of the last five years. We started working together a few years ago when his church’s worship band, Nashville Life Music, signed to Integrity Music. Once I got to know Alvin and his church community I learned that what I love in all that music is simply a natural outpouring of what has been going on at the church. And as you’ll hear, ALL of that began with this incredible story of Alvin’s. This is one of my favorite episodes ever. Click here to learn more about Nashville Life Church. Nashville Life Music’s “Here For Jesus” releases July 17. You can stream them on Spotify or Apple Music. To hear Alvin’s sermon on racial reconciliation, click here. JOIN THE FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY CHICKEN OF THE MONTH CLUB HERE! For more about me or my music, you can go to: Andrewosenga.com EverybodyPivots.com Now go do something awesome.

Gabe Scott was ten days away from opening Ladybird Taco, his first restaurant, when America shut down for the quarantine. We sat down, socially distant, together in their almost-finished dining room and talked about his journey from musician to restauranteur. I first met Gabe as a musician twenty years ago. Over the years he’s been a huge part of the music of Andrew Peterson, Crowder, Bebo Norman, and All Sons & Daughters, and played on albums for virtually every major artist in Christian music. He is a well-known and well-loved figure in our industry. Gabe, and his wife Keely, have risked a lot for this new adventure, and who could have imagined it would have included a chapter like this one? But to talk to Gabe, in what could seem like a crushing circumstance, is to be challenged with resilience, hope and faith. I’m so glad Gabe and I got to grab this time, and after talking about this interview for a year, that we got to do it right now. Please visit LadyBirdTaco.com to check out the food and the armadillo hats! And please join me for the Chicken of the Month Club with Food For The Hungry at fh.org/pivot For me info about me or my music, please visit: andrewosenga.com everybodypivots.com Now go do something awesome.