Meet Jonathan Lee McElhenny

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jonathan Lee McElhenny. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jonathan Lee below.

Hi Jonathan Lee, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

My family and I just took a huge risk—a step of faith, really. I’m in a band called *The Band Table*, but I’ve also been pastoring at a church for the past eight years. Pastoring has been my primary source of income.

In March of 2022, I went to a songwriter’s retreat in La Porte, Indiana. To give context, I used to be a full-time professional songwriter in Nashville. I wrote for the Christian music industry. But my wife and I decided to make a change and followed a calling into pastoral ministry. That eventually led us to leave Nashville and move to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I tried to keep the door open to songwriting while pastoring, but it was hard being away from Nashville. Then COVID happened—and even though that opened doors for online writing, I dove deeply into my work at the church. COVID was a really hard time for churches, so I kind of let songwriting go—along with the dreams that usually come with it.

Fast forward to March 2022. I was invited to this songwriter’s retreat, and I hadn’t written any songs in almost two years. Honestly, I was nervous that I would embarrass myself. While I wasn’t the best, I did have a good career as a songwriter in Nashville—and with that comes expectations. I was worried I wouldn’t live up to them.

But thankfully, that didn’t happen. I ended up writing some of the best songs I’d ever written. I also met some incredible people who were in similar walks of life. These new songs I wrote with them—who can really sing, by the way—felt special. In fact, when we all sang together, something beautiful happened.

This is where the step of faith comes in.

We were approached by the person who had invited us to the retreat with a simple question: *What if you guys were a band?*

After much prayer and discussion with our families, we took the leap. *The Band Table* was formed.

But I still had my job at the church. My pastor and church received the news of my new venture wonderfully. They came alongside us and dreamed with us. The band and I released our first record in February 2023, and we started touring.

Everything was working well. I was able to continue working at the church while taking time to tour and explore a dream.

All was well until we were offered a three-month intensive tour called *Winter Jam*. We were finishing up a fall 2023 tour when we got the news. I knew a big decision was coming. I sat down with my pastor, and while the conversation was great, there still had to be a decision. We both knew this was a crossroads moment. If I took this chance, the church would need to make a change. Of course they would.

But the news wasn’t easy to hear. It felt like a punch in the gut.

I have a wife and four children. And oh yeah—I’m in my 40s. Is this really the time to take a huge risk?

So my wife and I took time to pray and seek God for wisdom and direction. The answer to that prayer came a lot sooner than we thought. Someone offered to give us financial support so we could take three months to chase our dreams.

But the question loomed: *What would we do after those three months?*

Well, here I am, living in that moment right now.

We took that leap of faith—and now the dream is over, and reality has set in. But somehow, we have more money in our bank account than we did when I was working at the church, and our family is stronger than ever.

Risks are exactly that—they’re risks. It’s not easy. I think the way to develop anything is to step into the thing you want, be okay with failing, and keep learning until you get it right. We knew this would be hard. In fact, it’s harder than we thought.

Who knows? The end of this rainbow might lead us back to where we started. But what if there’s more?

We wanted to take that step of faith and see where God might be leading us. For us, we pray and seek the Lord diligently, and we follow the wisdom He has given us through the Bible. Here are a couple of verses we hold onto:

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” —Ephesians 3:20

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” —Hebrews 11:6

Knowing there is a greater purpose and mission in life drives us to take these steps of faith. I think the best way to take a leap… is to take the leap—and watch what happens.

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Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Hi, my name is Jonathan Lee McElhenny. I am a husband, father, music artist, songwriter, pastor, and soon-to-be author. I’ve been married for 15 years to my beautiful wife, Laura, and we have four kids: Emma, Samuel, Rivers, and Joel.

I grew up in Laurel, Mississippi—one of two boys—where my parents still pastor Grace Covenant Church. At 21, I moved to Nashville, TN to chase the dream of becoming a professional musician and singer. I already had a mentor, and I was sure it wouldn’t take long.

Or so I thought.

I learned the hard way that dreams don’t just come true. You have to put in the work, pay your dues—and even then, nothing is guaranteed. I spent eight years in Nashville before the needle finally moved. It didn’t move much, but give me an inch and boy, I was ready to take that mile.

I had been writing songs with my mentor, Jeff Deyo, and those songs were being released on his albums. I also released an indie project with an independent record label. Both of these opportunities started opening other doors. Eventually, I was offered my first songwriting publishing deal with Brentwood Benson (now known as Capitol Music). That’s where my songwriting career began.

I started finding more success as a writer than I was as an artist. Later, I would be nominated for four Dove Awards—including Song of the Year for “Proof of Your Love” by for KING & COUNTRY. I also had multiple songs in the top 10 of Christian radio, including a No. 1 single: “When the Stars Burn Down” by Phillips, Craig & Dean. Alongside those, I had songs recorded by many other Christian artists. My career was heading in a good direction. It was a fast change—from not much happening to whoa, what is happening?

But in the middle of that, my wife and I felt a strong push toward ministry. I became a worship pastor and led worship at a church for five and a half years—until we felt God calling us in a new direction. At that point, I was a part-time pastor and part-time songwriter, but we believed it was time to step fully into pastoral ministry. That was a hard change.

My dream had always been the music industry, but I willingly gave it up to follow a calling.

This led us to Radiant Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where we’ve been pastoring for the past eight years. But recently, we took a step of faith—and it’s been incredible to see how God is opening new doors.

Alongside pastoring, I’m now part of a band called The Band Table. We just released our first full-length album and have been touring across the nation. We recently completed a three-month tour with Winter Jam, performing alongside artists like Skillet, Anne Wilson, Colton Dixon, KB, NewSong, SEU Worship, and We Are Vessel.

I’m also back to writing songs—except now, I get the chance to sing those songs with our band. That has been so refreshing. We’re currently working on our next album and will be touring different cities this fall.

But I’m also excited to announce something new: I’m writing a book.

This has been a long time coming. I’m in the beginning stages—we don’t even have a title yet—but the heart of the book is about truly discovering Jesus and who He really is. If you find Him—and I mean the real Jesus—He will change your life. The Bible describes Him as a treasure hidden in a field, and this treasure is so great that nothing else compares. If you truly find Him, you’d be willing to give up everything to gain Him—even your very life.

I’m so excited to write and share this. Jesus has completely changed my life. He’s helped me take huge steps of faith and witness incredible things—because I’m no longer living for myself. I’m not living for a single mission or vision, but for something much bigger.

Isn’t that what we’re all longing for? A chance to truly impact this world?

I’m excited to release this.

This is me: a pastor, songwriter, music artist, and author.
And I do all of this to support the people I love most—my wonderful family.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Faith – You have to be anchored to something more than yourself. Jesus has given me a vision, a mission, and a purpose for my life. It’s so much more than just advancing in life. I will fade away—and so will my success. Even if I become wealthy and pass that money down through generations, it will eventually fade. Fame is also fleeting. You can be someone today and no one tomorrow. Your fan base will age, and a new generation will come that doesn’t know who you are—or maybe they do, but you won’t be relevant to them.

So, living for yourself is temporary. But living with faith and purpose? That’s eternal. I have a greater mission of hope and peace than I ever could have on my own.

Hard Work – Listen, nothing is free. We live in a world that tries to hide expensive things in a free package—but nothing is free. If you truly want something, you have to work for it. I think that truth has been lost on some people in this modern age. We want things quickly and we want them now. We live in an on-demand culture, and patience is hard to come by. But good things come to those who wait.

When I was a kid, I had dreams of playing in stadiums—music with purpose, changing lives. It was a beautiful dream, and I believed it would happen one day. But then my 20s came, then my 30s. I got married and had kids. I worked jobs. That dream started to feel like something that might never happen.

But I kept working hard and made the most of every opportunity. And slowly, I began to see some of those dreams become a reality.

This past January, my wife and kids took me to the airport, and I got to look at them and say: When I was your age, I dreamed of playing music in stadiums—and it never happened. But now, at 42 years old, I’m about to board a plane to play in my first stadium.

It was a surreal moment—sharing a dream coming true with the very people who’ve dreamed, cried, and worked hard alongside me.

So keep working. Keep fighting. And never give up.

Perseverance – Good things come to those who wait. If you work hard and never give up, you can see real breakthrough in your life. Hold onto faith. Trust God with your life.

My journey has taken me through a lot of twists and turns—and honestly, sometimes in the opposite direction of what I expected. But I’ve trusted, I’ve worked hard, and I’ve never given up.

There were times I cried myself to sleep, believing for something more—only to not see it happen. But I kept dreaming. And my family kept dreaming with me.

Perseverance is a powerful quality. Most success stories can be traced to people who simply refused to take no for an answer—and who refused to give up.

You can almost trace these three things back to Scripture when it says: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Faith speaks for itself. But you need hope and love in order to work hard and persevere.

So in a way:
Faith, Hope, and Love—and the greatest of these is love.

How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I mean, who says we even have a decade? It could all end today—or tomorrow. I want my life to have meaning and purpose.

That’s why I pastor, write music, sing, and why I’m writing a book.

I see so much turmoil, hate, anger, and division in our world, and I truly believe the answer is Jesus. I want to spread that message as far and wide as I can over the next decade—and hopefully even longer.

I want to live like I’m dying and make the most of every encounter. I want to love deeper and hold on tightly to what matters most.

As we get older, we tend to look back on our past mistakes. We reflect. Sometimes we regret. And I think there will be many regrets when we look back on this generation—on this season of life. So much division. So much anger. It breaks my heart.

But I’m also filled with hope, because this is also a chance—
A chance to stand up.
A chance to fight for change.
A chance to make a difference in the world around us.

I want to bring a message of hope and life.

There is a treasure—and His name is Jesus.
We need to find Him now more than ever.

That’s what moves me.
That’s what drives me.
That’s what gives me a reason to wake up every morning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebandtable.com
• Instagram: @jonathanleemcelhenny & @thebandtableoffical
• Facebook: Jonathan Lee McElhenny https://www.facebook.com/jleeworship The Band Table https://www.facebook.com/thebandtable
• Youtube: The Band Table https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJXkzkQH9IfGz67Bc4oASdA

Image Credits

William Reed