“One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.”
Psalm 145:4
Last month, I was blessed to able to attend The East Coast Worship Summit, which was held June 9th – 13th at The Church of the Savior in Wayne, Pennsylvania just outside of Philadelphia. It is an understatement to tell you that the week was filled with tremendous preaching and teaching, glorious music, and fresh, new ways to bring honor to our Lord Jesus Christ through visual imagery and new technology. Very rarely do I write such an extended article, but I ask you to bear with me as I share my thoughts with you this month, letting you know some of what I experienced and learned in four short days.
Preaching during the general sessions was provided by Cliff Barrows (85-year old member of the Billy Graham Team…via video); Rick Marshall (member of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Team for over 23 years); Ross Parsely (leader and teacher of worship for over 20 years and founder and president of New Life School of Worship); Bishop Joseph Garelington (part actor, part choir director, part storyteller, and senior pastor of Covenant Church of Pittsburgh); to name but a few. Their messages were timely, encouraging and challenging to us as 21st century worship leaders. We were reminded to always be well-prepared, always center our lives on God’s Word, and to guard against spiritual dryness and self-adulation, and of “the importance of having a secret place where just God and you commune with one another. From the time spent with God in your secret, hidden place, you will find strength and courage to move into your leadership role with strength, power, and conviction; leading worship under the shadow of the Almighty God.” (Ross Parsely)
Times of worship and praise throughout the week were offered in a variety of ways. There were seasons of worship where a 60-voice choir, worship, leader, organ, and orchestra, along with visually enhanced imagery led the entire congregation in singing an extended medley of majestic hymns. Hymns then blended into beautiful praise choruses led by a five-member praise team (vocals, guitars, drums, and keys), which then seamlessly moved back into more hymns. There were periods of worship led by Christian Rock bands, as well, as solo artists playing only guitar or piano. There was always an over-arching sense of freedom of worship. Praise Team members interacted with Worship Choir members, worship leaders gently and lovingly engaged the congregation, encouraging them to honor the Lord Jesus through praise because of all He has done for us! Hands were uplifted in gratitude and love as one worship session led into another. It was as if the entire body of believers there were indeed children of the Heavenly Father, reaching out to Him from the crib of this world, asking Him to lift us up into a better place filled with His presence.
The workshops I attended included: “Inspiring Your Choir/Worship Team to Lead in Worship”, “Leading Worship that Connects”, “The Philosophy of Multigenerational Worship”, “The Power of the Visual”; “God’s Word in Worship”, “Releasing Your Congregation to Worship”, “Integrating Technology in the Sanctuary”, and “Leader Worship In a Post Modern World”. I learned so much. When I returned to my hotel room each night, I attempted to sit at my computer and re-shape what I had gleaned into that which would be appropriate and relevant to Stuarts Draft Baptist Church. Some things were very simple like realizing that the name for our Sunday morning choir should be more about our function rather than the place where we sing each week. Thus, perhaps you have noticed that our name is now “Worship Choir” instead of “Sanctuary Choir”. Other things were more difficult for me to access, things such as how to help our church family understand more about multigenerational worship. Can the various generations within Stuarts Draft Baptist Church enjoy worshiping together? Is there room for both the contemporary praise music and the traditional hymns of the church? As I listened to the various “experts” share what they sense is happening in the life of the church today, I came to the conclusion that the generations not only CAN worship together, they MUST worship together! The idea of “family” is being lost in the church of today. We are “placing everyone in a niche”, compartmentalizing, if you will. Those who like praise music…worship at this time, those who like hymns…worship at that time, those who like strawberry ice cream… worship at this time…you get the point! And as we “niche” the church, we destroy the idea of family. Niche-ing is not Biblical. Family is! There needs to be a marriage between the wisdom, experience, resources, and the hymns of the older generations with the innovation, energy, and enthusiasm and praise music of the younger generations. The generations must “lean toward one another in love”, seeking to enrich and edify one another. We need to embrace the idea and reality of a Family Worship Dynamic. There must be room for everyone so that we can learn and grow on both ends of the spectrum. “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)
All in all, Worship Summit 2008 was a great experience for me and I thank the church family for allowing me to attend. My horizons were expanded, my eyes and ears were opened to new, fresh ideas, and my heart was touched as I realized more fully the privilege, and the honor I have of serving God with the members of our church family. I look forward to continuing to grow together especially in the areas of worship and music. The race we are in is not a sprint, it is a marathon. My prayer is that we can run together, spurring each other on till we attain the prize. It is exciting!
By the way…finally 50!
Sue
