A Life of Worship

Trying to capture the essence of what makes someone like Stephanie Seefeldt so special is like trying to capture sunlight with your hands. She leads worship at her church in Baraboo, Wisconsin, where her husband serves as rector. She is mom to four children ranging in age from preschool to middle school. She performs at an upscale supper club in the Wisconsin Dells. She partners with Anne Graham Lotz and Jill Briscoe in Just Give Me Jesus. She writes and records her own music and has been the worship leader in several large evangelical churches. 

She is also funny, and clever. Humble. Gracious. Stephanie loves the Lord and shares that love – and her gift of music – with those around her. From childhood, love and music were common themes that would develop and shape her into the woman she is today.

Stephanie grew up in a family that occasionally attended church, “Chreasters,” as she describes them, people who attended services Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday. 

She was raised within a home that was loving and very God-aware.

“I knew I was loved by my parents, of course, but I also was raised knowing that there was a Creator God in Heaven who loved me, too,” she said.

It was in high school that Stephanie began attending a local church and quickly became involved in its youth group and music program.

“I remember carrying a Bible around my high school and feeling like I had “arrived.” There was a sense of belonging that was hugely important to me that came with being connected to a church.”

But it wasn’t until college and her involvement in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, she notes, that she learned the language to explain what she knew she already believed.

“I learned to make an investment in my faith, so to speak, by spending time in God’s Word, and I learned the importance of Christian community.”

An investment that aids her as she leads worship and helps others grow and explore their faith.

Stephanie took some time to share with Just Between Us (JBU) about her heart for worship. 

JBU:

You started playing piano and singing as a child, at what age and how did that come into play on leading you to where you are now as a worship leader?

Stephanie: I clearly remember asking for a piano for my sixth birthday – out of the blue. My parents wisely rented one from the local music store. I took to it immediately. In fact, my parents had to remove me from the bench in order to force my brother to practice for his obligatory half-hour. Some of my dearest memories are from my childhood home in Green Bay, when, after supper, I’d play piano while Mom cleaned the kitchen. 

My parents found me great teachers, too – one of whom recognized that I had a decent ear, so she had me playing in rhythm sections with 25-year-olds when I was 8-and 9-years-old. She sent me home with Supertramp songs on tape to learn by ear while I was also drilling scales and classical pieces for district competitions. I was also playing honky-tonk for a local pizza joint by the time I was 10. 

In hindsight, I can clearly see how the Lord designed my particular musical upbringing to be used in the context of corporate worship. Because of my exposure to a wide variance of styles, I can be (mostly) musically comfortable in every context.

Plus, I’m able to watch the clock, lead the other musicians, and the congregation while keeping an eye on the pastor. Ability to multitask is key for a worship leader.

JBU:

What in your personal life journey gave you a passion for worship?

Stephanie: As a college student, when I started attending InterVarsity meetings, I paid very close attention to the way the regular members of the group treated one another. I remember sitting in the back of the room during the “worship” time and being totally blown away by the authenticity of that experience – the fullness of their musical response to God, but also their love for one another that was totally evident. 

Within a few weeks, I was leading worship for that same meeting, even though I wasn’t entirely sure what worship leading actually was.

JBU:

When did you know that God was calling you to be a worship leader?

Stephanie: God has rarely spoken to me in grand epiphanies. Most often, He’s led me through the theology of “do the next thing” – also referred to as “You can’t steer a car if it’s not moving.” 

In college, I began leading worship for our weekly fellowship meetings and came on staff with our church. As I finished my course work, an opportunity came my way to continue working at a church as a worship leader/director, and it simply seemed like the most obvious, logical “next thing.” I knew that I would work in the music field somehow, and vocational ministry was becoming more and more important to me. I was able to work at a church while also coming on staff part-time with InterVarsity to train college students in the area of worship leadership and to continue to lead for conferences and training events. It all made perfect sense.

I led worship whenever I was asked to do so, gaining valuable experience in the process. A year later, I played for a wedding at Elmbrook Church in the Milwaukee area, and was asked shortly thereafter to consider coming on staff as a pianist. I did, and the rest is history.

JBU:

What other people have shaped and influenced your faith and why?

Stephanie: So many! My earliest spiritual influences can only be seen in hindsight – a praying grandmother, Sunday school teachers at my childhood church – nameless to me now, but part of my story. In high school, it was Pastor Bob, Pastor Earl, and Pastor Keith – each one playing a significant role in my life in very different ways. Most profound was the influence of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship when I was attending the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

In our InterVarsity chapter, I saw for the first time what genuine Christian fellowship looked like, and how Christians were called to live and to worship. I began “leading worship” long before I truly understood what it meant to live a life of worship. 

Thankfully, I was mentored by students, faculty and InterVarsity staff that modeled holiness for me in a way that spurred me on, and some of the IVCF staff members who were huge in my life during those years are our closest friends even today. I came on staff at Elmbrook Church one year after I graduated from college, and heard Stuart and Jill Briscoe for the first time.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that sitting under Stuart’s teaching on a consistent basis has been one of the most formative experiences of my life. In hindsight, I can see that I was surrounded by people, including authors and teachers, who shared several similarities: A very high view of Scripture, a warmly intellectual approach to faith and study, a thoughtful and heartfelt participation in musical worship, and a devoted prayer life. I aspire to all of those things even still.

JBU:

How has music enhanced your relationship with God?

Stephanie: Immeasurably! I believe that all music is part of God’s common grace gift to humanity – life and breath, and joy, and relationships, and even entertainment – good gifts from a good God. 

Some of the most sacred music I have heard and performed has not been overtly “Christian” in nature, but has been brought to my attention in a time of personal challenge or grief, or has contained the import of a season change or family struggle in its text or music. It seems to me that the line between sacred and secular, if it exists at all, is very small. And in all of it, I am learning to see the Lord Jesus more clearly. 

I know that the mirror today is dim; but when I see Him face-to-face, I will also hear Him face-to-face, if you’ll forgive an imperfect metaphor; the best and most important music of my life doesn’t come close to touching the best and fullest music of eternity. I can’t wait to hear those songs.

JBU:

Tell us about the transition of leading worship in an evangelical setting in InterVarsity and churches to a liturgical setting in the Episcopal Church where your husband now serves.

Stephanie: All churches have liturgies; some of them just don’t call it that. If you gather and sing for 20 minutes, then have some testimonies/offering/announcements, one more hymn, and then a sermon, that’s your liturgy as much as the Book of Common Prayer is ours. 

The most significant difference is that churches that are historically liturgical are anchored in the Scriptures through the words of those who have come before us that wrote what we say and pray week in and week out; the Gloria in Excelsis, the Sanctus, the Creeds, even the ‘Collect’ [prayer] of the day – all have been found throughout history to be orthodox and Christ-centered. 

Far from being rote exercises, the rhythm of life as a historically liturgical worshiper has saved me from weekly having to recreate the wheel, as it were. The order of service is set; the movement of the service points towards the table for Holy Communion, as opposed to pointing solely towards the sermon. In these simple differences, profound freedom is extended to the worship planner. The readings are set, and the church calendar is specific. 

I find these “helps” to be wonderful when it comes to planning the music. And our church is not limited to only singing historic music. I like to think that we focus our attention on the best of the old as well as the best of the new. There are clunkers in the hymnal just as surely as there are clunkers on the radio.

JBU:

What can we learn about worship from liturgical worship?

Stephanie: I think the biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that there really is nothing new under the sun. Walking into our church on a Sunday morning – which is a very churchy looking church – it is impossible to ignore the sense of transcendence in a beautiful space with devout people. Anchoring in the “ancient” while looking ahead to the forever future in the Lord’s presence has been a profound experience for me. 

I think, too, that when I was in more contemporary evangelical contexts more regularly, I tended to think that mainline churches were a certain thing or a certain way. But what I’m learning over time is that people live out their piety in different ways; it doesn’t make one less pious than another. And “worship” for one is very different than “worship” for another. Our rector [my husband] is a fabulous preacher, so our Sundays are deeply Christ-centered and worshipful. It is a privilege to sing in this place.

JBU:

How difficult has it been to move into a liturgical mainline church setting?

Stephanie: In the beginning, when my husband was in seminary, it was more like learning a new language. The difficulty for me came because starting seminary coincided with being a stay-at-home mom to our three kids for the first time.

That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it made the mainline transition seem like a piece of cake. 

JBU:

What is God doing in your church now?

Stephanie: So much. I’m leading a Bible study for a group of women. They were brace and came to my kitchen table when I invited them the first fall we were here. We do mostly manuscript study, so it’s lots of paper and colored pencils.

Around the table are women in their 70’s and women in their 20’s and everyone in-between. It was the highest compliment when one of the regular attendees called my kitchen table her “sacred space.” The Lord is knitting our hearts together; in fact, we’re doing our first ever in-house women’s retreat this fall, because there’s a growing desire within our congregation for authentic community to continue to grow cross-generationally. Our church is small, but in the last several months we’ve seen the Lord generously answer our prayers for more young families – they are coming and they are staying. 

And those who have been church attenders for years are deepening their relationship with the Lord in immeasurable ways. In June, we installed our new organ console and speakers, bringing the music of our church up to par with the beauty of the building. The place has been transformed.   

JBU:

You’ve been all over the world leading worship, what have you learned from that experience?

Stephanie: People are people, and at the end of the day, what we’re longing for is belonging. It doesn’t matter where. People want to belong – to be welcomed when they’re present and missed when they’re gone. One of the chief ways to gather is to connect a group of people pointed toward the same goal. This is the glorious mystery of the church.

JBU:

How are you teaching your kids the importance of worship in their lives?

Stephanie: Jill Briscoe often uses the phrase “Jesus lovers and glory givers” and it is one that has stuck with me as a parent. I try to live in such a way that they will learn by example – but of course, I feel as though I fail miserably most of the time. My oldest son, who is in middle school, has had several camp and youth group experiences where he has seen and felt what it’s like to worship with a roomful of like-minded people, and that has made a profound impact on him, much as it did for me when I was in my early years of growing as a believer.

But as a family, we spend the most time challenging our kids – and, frankly, one another – about what it means to ‘worship’ when we’re not singing – how our schoolwork, laundry, dishes and dog duty can all be done as an act of worship. We aren’t there yet. But we’re learning.

JBU:

How do we grow in personal worship?

Stephanie: I think Romans 12:1 sums it up most helpfully, that offering all that we are – body, mind, soul, spirit – is our truest worship. We grow, then, in discipleship, by following the simple words in John’s gospel – more of You, less of me.

This is worship, this is the glory of God made manifest in me, when I am less concerned about me and more concerned about His name, His reputation, His people, and ultimately, His glory.

~ By Heather Mooney