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Retreat helps music ministers refocus
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
January 27, 2011
4 MIN READ TIME

Retreat helps music ministers refocus

Retreat helps music ministers refocus
Melissa Lilley, BSC Communications
January 27, 2011

Before jumping into the nuts and bolts of how to prepare for

a worship service, the reason for worship had to be explained, for this reason

helps set the course for all of life.

“We were created to worship God,” said Kenny Lamm. “When we

choose to worship something less than God we abandon our reason for living, and

suddenly we reduce our lives to less than God intended them to be.”

Lamm, Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSC)

senior consultant for worship and music, explained to those attending the Music

Minister’s Retooling Retreat Jan. 21-22 that only when they understand the

theology of worship will they will be able to truly help lead others in a

meaningful worship experience.

BSC photo

Kenny Lamm leads a Music Minister’s Retooling Retreat.

“The issue is not that the quality of worship needs to

improve — it’s that the object of our worship needs to improve,” Lamm said.

People often, whether they intend to or not, worship

something other than God, from celebrities and money to relationships and

security. Worshippers of God spend time in His presence and demonstrate a

lifestyle of worship.

“Worshippers spend the entire day with their spirits on the

Lord, conscious of giving Him praise,” Lamm said.

Worship leaders with a right understanding of personal

worship understand more fully the value of corporate worship. They recognize

that their role in corporate worship is to help lead, or prompt, others in

worship; they are not the main attraction.

A congregation is not the audience — God is the audience.

Lamm said a right model of corporate worship stresses major

participation from the audience or congregation, a “welcome corrective to the

situation in many churches in which the people take their seats, drop some

coins in the offering, sit back and expect to be entertained and edified by the

choir, the special music and the interesting sermon.”

The question of which style of worship to adopt, whether

traditional, contemporary or blended, is a question many congregations are

struggling to answer. Lamm reminded participants that these discussions often

never move beyond the issue of personal preference. “We assume people with

different preferences are wrong and we equate our preferences with God’s

preferences,” he said.

After laying the groundwork for a theology of worship Lamm

turned his attention to worship leadership. Worship leaders must see themselves

as servants who seek to bless God and who help others do the same. Worship

leaders must remember that God’s grace is the foundation of worship and His

glory is the goal of worship. A worship team must be committed to doing all

they do with excellence, and to think of themselves as “skillful artisans” who

use their creativity to help others experience God’s mercy and grace in new

ways.

Lamm explained 10 ways to improve worship leading, such as

studying under other worship leaders, understanding the importance of worship

in the Bible, working with the pastor, and learning to communicate well with

the congregation.

Lamm then spent the rest of the weekend helping music

ministers learn practical ways to retool the music and worship experience for

their church. A worship team was also present to help with demonstrations and

modeling various musical techniques. Topics covered included:

  • Songs for worship: How to properly select music for a

    congregation

  • Worship Formats: Understanding varying worship styles
  • Worship Mechanics: Linking songs, key relationships,

    thematic considerations, worship flow, making a plan, use of instrumentalists

  • Practice of Corporate Worship: Practical insights to

    help all team members, from musician to tech team

Five one-day boot camps, the first scheduled for next month,

will also address topics covered in the retreat. All worship leaders, whether

full-time, part-time, bivocational or volunteer, are invited to attend the boot

camps.

The boot camps will be held:

  • February 5: Oakmont

    Baptist Church, Greenville

  • March 26: Arran

    Lake Baptist Church, Fayeteville

  • April 9: Grove

    Park Baptist Church, Burlington

  • May 7: Front

    Street Baptist Church, Statesville

  • May 21: Fruitland

    Baptist Bible Institute, Hendersonville

For more information visit www.worshipnc.org.

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