The Effective Praise and Worship Leader

Dr. Ron Kenoly is a confident, fun man. In less than 5 minutes he had the entire room uncomfortable. He directly asked people questions, and when they answered incorrectly, he would simply say, “No. Who has the right answer?” When frustrated by the third incorrect definition of the word “praise,” he said, “Come on people, you are supposed to be worship leaders. You should know this stuff.” He was very firm, and very intimidating. I enjoyed watching him make people squirm. And while his talk was right out of his book (that I have not read), I found it very insightful, and from my limited experience, spot on.

Breakout Session:
The Effective Praise and Worship Leader with Dr. Ron Kenoly

I have authority and I use it. I’m not being mean.

Praise – declaring the acts/works/deeds/promises/attributes of God

Worship – ascribing the value of God

Ps. 150 – let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

God is at one with His word. He is whomever He says He is.

Ps. 22:3

When you declare Him as healer, He must heal you.

Rom. 10:9-10 confess and believe. Declare Jesus as Savior.

Worship is intimacy with God.

John 4. Worship in spirit and truth. God is looking for worshippers.

The purpose for praise and worship is to create an environment for God
to manifest His presence.

“usher in the presence” – not the presence, but the manifestation.

“Let me introduce Chip and he is going to tell us who he is.” Then
Dr. Kenoly hands the mic to Chip. Chip has been here all along, but now
we hear from him.

God does not impose Himself. He has to be invited.

God expects to be honored. To be given gifts.

We facilitate the activities of the Lord, not ushering His presence.

What are pastors looking for? (sometimes can’t get all in one
person)

CHIEF MUSICIAN

• communicate the language of music with group/team
• able to assign vocal/musical parts to team
• establish a level of quality in the music

ADMINISTRATOR

• plan and coordinate schedules
• execute the vision of the pastoral leadership
• attend to the details that accompany leadership roles
  • keeping records
  • acquiring necessary tools and materials
  • assign and delegate responsibilities
  • execute disciplinary actions (all of Christianity is about authority
    and submission)
  • manage finances
  • represent department in staff meetings

PASTORAL

• minor counseling
• leading prayer
• visitations
• correspondance
• Bible teaching
• Demonstrate spiritual leadership

VOCAL LEADER

• able to sing on pitch
• establish the melodies of songs
• charismatic – encourage people to sing
• make a first impression (often first on Sunday)

Keys to being an effective praise and worship leader:

1. LEADERSHIP
   1. be a good Christian in good standing
   2. be able to teach and train others
   3. have common sense and wisdom
   4. have fundamental knowledge of music
   5. demonstrate leadership skills
   6. have good manners and social graces
   7. be committed to your pastor’s vision
2. KNOWLEDGE
   1. Have a good knowledge of the Bible
   2. Know what your denomination/movement believes
   3. Know that the pastor is ultimately the worship leader. (what pastors
      do in moderation, the congregation will do excessively)
3. TESTIMONY
   1. Have a living testimony
   2. Minister with conviction and boldness
   3. Sing with passion and spirit
4. PRAYER
   1. Have a disciplined prayer life
   2. Pray about song selection
   3. Position yourself to receive anointing
   4. Be willing to lead others in prayer
   5. Encourage others in the Lord and Word of God
5. BOLDNESS
   1. Be bold in worship leading
   2. Be punctual
   3. Establish and maintain order
   4. Know your limitations
   5. Use your authority wisely
   6. Demonstrate love and respect
   7. Make eye contact with people
   8. Be sensitive to your congregation
   9. Avoid tongue lashing (“come on, if you really love God, you can
      do better than that…”)
   10. Lead those who will follow
   11. Teach people whenever possible
6. SKILL
   1. Learn the language of music
   2. Take private lessons if necessary
   3. Memorize the music
7. SENSITIVITY
   1. Be sensitive to God and the people
   2. Sing songs that are written in everyone’s range
   3. Provide arrangements that everyone can follow
   4. Choose the right genre for congregation
   5. Match the volume with mood of song
   6. Know when to release the congregation to pray/sing in the Spirit
8. ORGANIZATION
   1. Give guidelines, rules or policies
   2. Honor the God of order
   3. Prepare an operations manual
9. OBEDIENCE

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Dr. Ron Kenoly

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Birfday

So it’s my birthday today. Yes, i was born on the same day as Leonard Cohen, Bill Murray and Stephen King. I’ll take that company…

My wife took me to Turkey Run State Park this weekend and we went hiking, relaxed, read books, etc. It was a good time.

We also saw Traitor with Don Cheadle. The movie was very well done in my opinion, and revealed a lot of insights from opposing views of war and terrorism. I recommend it.

I was reflecting on my last birthday, and remembering that many of my friends contributed to International Justice Mission on behalf of my birthday, and we were able to raise about $1,200! That was exciting, and I look forward to raising way more than that this year. More on that to come later…

But while i’m mentioning IJM, i should also mention that i’m reading Gary Haugen‘s latest book, Just Courage. I recommend it, and will write in more detail about it soon. Two chapters left…

Christin and i saw a pumpkin and squash stand on Saturday. The gourds are coming…

pics from Turkey Run:

General Session with Gordon MacDonald

You may not want to read this one. It was very impactful for me, but also disturbing. Particularly when he walks through the issues of each generation, and you can see the life issues that will lie in your future. It was a powerful reminder of the importance of knowing our people and making the most of every opportunity to lead them.

As worship leaders, we are pastors.
Acts 20. Take heed and care for the flock.
Ps. 93.
Our call is to bring people into the presence of God.
What do you know about your people? You need to have a listening ear.
Our people want to hear of grace, hope, and feeling that they can be a new person.
No one should ever leave a sanctuary without hope.
In order to lead this way, you have to know the people.

We need to know what issues are on the minds of all generations in my church:

20s
Who am I and how am I different form my family members?
How will I spend my life?
Am I really capable of loving anyone all my life?
What will guide my life?

30s
How do I cope with all the demands on my life?
Why is there such a gap between my intentions and what I do?
Why do I feel like I can never please anyone?
What’s happened to all my friends?
Is a spiritual life really possible?
Why do I feel so impatient?

40s
What happened as a child that formed me? Why the sadness, anger?
Why are a lot of people I grew up with doing better than me?
Why am I so disappointed in me?
Why are there so many uncertainties in life when I used to be so certain?

50s
Why is time moving so fast?
Why is my body so unreliable?
How do I deal with the accumulation of failures?
Why do many young people feel that I am obsolete?
Why can’t I stop being stubborn and not open minded?

60s
When can I stop doing the things that defined me?
Why do I feel separated from the rest of the population?
Do I have a spiritual legacy?
Is there anything left for me to accomplish?
How will I die and how soon?

70s and 80s
Does anyone know who I once was?
Why this nagging irritability?
When I die will people miss me?
Is God really there for me?

These are the questions people are asking when they come on Sunday. How will it affect the way I lead? How will we pastor people?

The night before Bonhoeffer and his cell mates died, he led them in worship. They sang a few German hymns, and he gave a message of hope out of Isaiah.

If I had one more Sunday before I died, how would I lead?

Wonder and Work

Breakout Session: Songwriting with Chris Tomlin

Songwriting is a craft. You can get better at it.
Worship is our response to God for Who He is and what He has done.
Songs have to be written as that response.
What makes a great worship song?

• Theology. We are teaching people what they know of God. Col. 3:16. Run your lyrics by pastors and theologians to test accuracy.
• Melody. Singability.
• Clarity. Try not to put every single thing you know about God into each song. Can you easily summarize the song? Does each part of the song point to the same thing?
• Stirring of the soul. Music is emotional.

Worship songs cannot be manufactured. It has to come out of a deep relationship and response to God.
Be a lighthouse vs. a flashlight. Try to draw everyone in.
What are your songs doing?
“How do I get my songs heard?” – Not the right question. Songs don’t come from a business plan.
Secret weapon: cowriting. Be vulnerable and humble.
worshipfrequency.com

Tomlin

Caring for Volunteers

This session was very laid back. Laura and Eric are both on staff together at Perimeter Church in Atlanta, and i think Jason was the worship pastor there before them, and has since relocated.

Caring for Volunteers with Laura Story, Jason Sears, and Eric Gilbert

(Laura works every other week, which allows her to still play out.)

As worship leaders, we can tend to see our volunteers as a resource, not as souls we are responsible to nurture.

Why do we invest in volunteers?
God calls us to. “Shepherd my sheep.”
I am to take the lowest place. To serve my volunteers.

Eph. 4:11
Matt. 28:20

How do we invest in our volunteers?

1. Spiritually.

• We can have monthly teams meet weekly as a house church. Could have a “pastor” or “shepherd” in each team. Meet individually with each member on the team at least once every 6 months. The more teams connect spiritually, the more sweeter the worship time is.

2. Relationally.

• Spider webs instead of wagon wheels (with worship pastor as hub). Build community within the team. Have events where entire families can interact. Be intentional. Everyone eats lunch… Put team members birthdays on my calendar.

3. Musically.

• Suggest CDs to people. Suggest concerts. Invite guest artists in. speak the truth in love. Have auditions. Encourage experienced musicians to mentor less experienced ones. Be very prepared with your music before rehearsal. Learn to speak drums, guitar, etc. Start and stop rehearsal on time. Meet with musicians before they audition.

Zech. 4:6 by the SPIRIT.

After hearing from all these voices at this conference, ask God what HE wants me to do.

Maybe before rehearsal, lead a worship devotional, teach about worship, etc.
Have a worship team covenant that everyone signs.

The Power of Images

Dr. Detweiler has a masters in both Film and Theology, and thus has an interesting perspective when it comes to engaging culture. I found the tables with three columns most interesting…

General Session: The Power of Images with Dr. Craig Detweiler

Ex. 20:4-5a
The battle over images is internal.
Ex. 35:5-19 God likes nice stuff. He wants the best.
We’re known for what we’re against, not who we are for.
Movie – Purple State of Mind
Truly Moving Worship – how do we think like a filmmaker?
Conversantlife.com
Reel Spirituality – book
Making Movies Work – book
What do filmmakers know that we need to understand?

Movies work on viewers in 3 ways:

1. Voyeuristic – we peer in on another place, time, person

• Recreates time and place
• Appeals to the mind’s eye
• Attention to detail
• Rooted in extensive detail

2. Vicarious

• emotional truth
• rooted in believable performance
• appeals to the heart
• do we relate to the characters?
• Do we root for them?

3. Visceral

• thrills, spills, chills
• appeals to the gut
• grabs you and hold on tight
• barrage of images and sound

Your theology is reflected in your taste in movies.

What happens when you put all 3 elements together? (Oscar winners…)

• Wizard of Oz
• Ben Hur
• Star Wars
• Lord of the Rings
• Crash
• Moulin Rouge
• Gladiator

Why do movies move us?

What is biblical about this?

What does this have to do with God?

The best films are Trinitarian.

How does this apply to our worship?

The best is all 3. And we all need each other.

Timeless Trinitarian worship.

Truly Moving Worship:

• words and image
• attention to detail
• identifying with, suffering with community

Faces of Jesus in art.

The Bishop Joseph Garlington

Hey all, sorry it’s taken me a while to finish posting my notes from the worship conference i attended in Austin. I’ve typed them all up and will be posting the remaining notes all this week.

This particular session featured a very interesting gentleman and his church keyboard player. The Bishop is an elderly fellow, but the brother can SANG. His keyboard player would play underneath him as he shared endearing stories with moral and applicable themes, and occasionally the Bishop would break into song, making up lyrics as he went along. Sometimes the cheddar from the background music would be a bit over the top, and the Bishop would laugh and glance over at the keyboardist. You could tell that they were good friends and had done this many, many times. And yet the musician laughed at every one of the Bishop’s jokes, and some that weren’t. Needless to say, it was hard to take notes, but here are a few things i gleaned from the conversation:

Nothing happens in the Kingdom of God without words.
Words change worlds.
Heroes are not born, they are cornered.
Luke 1:26-40
Nothing is impossible with God. We just have to say yes.
When you experience a wonderful thing in your life, don’t talk to people who don’t know wonderful things. (don’t let pessimists drag you down)
Every truth in Scripture is tried.
When God shuts a door, He opens a window. But the hallway is hell.
The water to wine story… God always saves the best for now.
What did Jesus have in mind when he made 180 gallons of wine?
Ain’t no party like a Holy Ghost party…
What do we need to ask Jesus to do so the Father will act?
Mary is persistant.
We need to step on the accelerator of faith.

The Bishop