Hello! I am so excited that you are taking time out of your busy schedule to attend the Worship Summit or the Worship Leader Boot Camp. I have looked forward to these training events for some time and have been praying that each participant will renew their personal times of worship and become equipped to renew the times of corporate worship in their local churches.
Please be aware that our participants come from very different backgrounds and from churches with varying styles of worship. Some churches represented may be very traditional, using only organ and/or piano for worship leadership, while others may use guitars and drums. Some churches are attempting to have blended or contemporary worship, yet they are not sure quite how to pull it off with biblical integrity and musical excellence. This retreat will meet all of you where you are and equip you with tools to take your church’s worship to the next level. Saturday morning, Worship Summit and Boot Camp participants will meet together. We will begin with the basics–the biblical, missional, cultural, and discipling issues of worship. We will consider personal preferences and their importance in worship as well as consider the reasons for worship wars in churches, reducing something meant to be the most unifying activity of the church-corporate worship–to an ugly, carnal fight. Participants will begin conversations to help them seek the kind of corporate worship that God intends for their churches.
Those attending the Worship Leader Boot Camp will stay for the afternoon session where we will have intense training in the more musical and leadership aspects of leading worship. We will then discuss many leadership issues to help each person grow in their leadership and understand how to be sensitive in their work. We will then look at how to select (and where to find) new songs for worship, putting them through the proper filters for text and music. We will spend quite a bit of time on the mechanics of worship—learning how to put together a set list, looking at key relationships and textual relationships. We will examine flow in worship and discuss planning a worship service with all the components involved. Participants will learn how to publish a worship plan/guide for the musicians that will aid in implementing the worship service. Finally, we will examine corporate worship in practice, looking at common pitfalls, rehearsal basics, and how to have ongoing evaluation to improve your worship team’s leadership. No worship renewal is possible apart from God’s Spirit, and our time will be filled with worship, prayer, and dependence upon God.
I have drawn from the most widely-used modern worship songs for use this weekend. I realize that some of you have not had exposure to some of these songs, while others will feel these songs may be a bit dated. My goal is to find a common ground upon which the variety of churches present can meet. To help us all get the most out of the weekend, I am giving you a homework assignment! Below, you will find a few songs that you should be familiar with before coming. We will use some of these songs in some worship times. You will get much more out of our time together if these songs are somewhat familiar to you. Each video has the audio and the lyrics. Additionally, I ask that you join me in praying for this event. I am lifting each one of you up by name and praying for your churches. Most of all, I pray that God will be glorified throughout the weekend.
Songs for Worship
The following songs will be used in the Saturday morning session (Worship Summit and Worship Leader Boot Camp)
If you do not know these songs, please take some time to get familiar with them:
Blessed Be Your Name
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Your Name
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How Great Is Our God
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10,000 Reasons
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These songs may be used in the Saturday afternoon session (Worship Leader Boot Camp only)
Forever
The Power of the Cross
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