Teaching Worship Leadership: Content and Context
Leading worship requires attending to the specifics of a worshiping congregation, and yet many classrooms tend toward the general. This workshop looked at a new multi-media resource documenting the life of one Chicago congregation and designed to be a kind of “flight simulator” for worship leaders. It explored teaching worship leadership with a dual emphasis on theological content and congregational context.
Getting Past the Fish: The Book of Jonah for Christian Worship
The book of Jonah is replete with themes near to the heart of Christian life, worship, and witness.
Training and Engaging Lay Leaders of All Ages in Planning and Leading Worship
This panel of Worship Renewal Grant recipients reflected on their experiences with worship renewal and offered practical ideas to help congregations engage all worshipers from youth to the elderly Panelists were from Bridge Street AME, Brooklyn, N.Y.; South Grandville Christian Reformed Church, Grandville, Mich.; St. Luke AME Zion, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Granite Springs Church, Lincoln, Calif.
Preaching to Expose the Principalities and Powers
Church leaders and other saints in our congregations frequently find themselves struggling with money, technology, politics, the institutional church, etc. - what the Bible calls "principalities and powers."
Postmodernism, Worship, and Evangelism
While we often associate "postmodernism" with the explosion of communications technology or the outlandish claims of "deconstruction," this workshop suggested that postmodernism might also mean a return to symbols, icons, and ritual. With this in mind, this workshop explored the shape of worship as evangelism in postmodernity.
Mentoring Musicians and Worship Artists
How can we change our leadership paradigm from directing people to helping them grow?
Why Read Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) on Worship?
Abraham Kuyper's accomplishments were many and he had a stellar career. He served as pastor, theologian, founder of the Free University in Amsterdam, chief organizer of a Calvinist political party, prime minister of the Netherlands. He is, however, less well-known for another major contribution-his writings on worship and liturgy which are still relevant for the church today and now appear in an English translation as Our Worship.
Teens and Worship: Encouraging Creative and Meaningful Worship with Teenagers
Practical suggestions, strategies, and resources to encourage vibrant, meaningful worship with teens were presented in this session.
Cultivating a Deep Love for Scripture
To help form a biblical worldview, we saturated our congregation with a rhythm of scripture memorization that has become a key component of spiritual formation. This workshop showed how this practice has transformed us and our worship.
Too Deep for Words? Preaching in the Language of the Spirit
This session explored the possibility of discerning the presence of the Holy Spirit in preaching and then discussed some manifestations of the Spirit in sermons, particularly focusing on the expressions of lament and celebration.
Better Together: The Call for People with and without Disabilities to Worship, Serve, Learn, and Live Alongside Each Other
This presentation addressed practical ways congregations can have a real impact on the lives of people with disabilities and their families living in their community and to make worship more accessible to everyone.
Symposium 2009 - Worship and the Word
Many churches need to use the Scriptures more in their worship. This seminar explored why and how the Bible should inform, infuse, and enrich our worship planning and leading. It also looked at practical ways to bring the Word in all its richness into our worship services.