This past weekend I attended the worship summit by satellite @ the Central Assembly Church in Great Falls, MT. I wanted to first say that it was awesome! I usually lead worship for youth ministry meetings and the time spent was fabulous and really encouraged me. I’m going to share with you the 5 sessions that we had together. It was a one day conference so they packed a lot in. I also should say that I was taking note of each section so some of the stuff may be exactly what the worship artists said and some is just me putting into words what they said so please be aware of that.

Also this was the largest ever worship conference because it was done by satellite! So literally all across the country and even in some other parts of the world so it had a cool feeling to it.

The first session was: What is Worship? Brian Doerksen, Paul Baloche, and Kathryn Scott gave their thoughts:

Brian Doerksen – what is worship

It’s easy for worship to become our performance and how we are doing. Our performance versus God’s provision. My handicap son is sharing in my work. He is teaching me about unconditional love. In that I’m learning more about trusting God more. Let’s dial down our anxiety about getting everything perfect. We wouldn’t have signed up for this. But through those things God shapes us into being worshipers. Trust his provision. It can’t be about performance.

What is real worship?

Receiving the provision of God. How can I know God? How can I please God? How can I serve God?

I feel like I’m in kindergarten when it comes to worship. Phillipians 3:10 (I want to know Christ…). Paul says I haven’t arrived, I haven’t figured it out. Paul has a personal encounter with the Lord and he still wants to obtain a closer relationship. Resurrection power and sharing in suffering. We as worshipers want to skip the agony and go straight to the ecstasy. If Christ went through both so do we.

Psalm 101: david was called a man after god’s own heart. The word after strikes me. This was a man in persuit. This is a man who hasn’t arrived. This is a man who is following. He’s chasing after. Forgetting about what is behind.

I’m Mentoring 6-7 people and we spend more time in the scripture then music rehearsal.

Psalm 101:

Why did david sing? Why do the people of God sing? Throughout the world, throughout history. The underground church in China – you should see what happens when they sing.

If our lives don’t match our songs God isn’t that interested in our songs. Real worship is living a life of love and integrity and we sing. It makes us uniquely different. We are made and created and designed to sing a melody and makes us unique in creation.

We can get so focused on trying to stay hip and current that we can lose what our calling is. We pay millions of dollars to have people sing for us. Worship is not a concert.

David declares – I will sing. He chose in advance what he was going to do. This is who I am. I Will … I will sing of your love and justice. Who God is and His acts. To YOU O lord. David doesn’t sing his songs to the world. Not to the congregation, but rather to GOD! We get way to focus on pleasing people. Our audience is God. What we do in our private homes is utmost important. It reveals who we really are. Be the same person in front as well as in your homes.

Verse 2: The hunger for the presence of God is what drives David. I’m going to hang on to YOUR actions. David had reached a place of privilage and power. Sadly when people usually reach this they think they can be different and use their power to tell others what to do.

The cultural context. People were into idolatry. People would set up idols in strategic places. David says I will set before my eyes. The eyes are a key entry point into ourselves. Think about the word entertainment. We are allowing something to gain entrance into us. What is Davids entertainment I will set before my eyes no vial thing. What people set before their eyes in America today in the privacy of their homes is crazy. Part of saying yes to god is saying no to things that pull him away.

How do we set before our eyes God? Who is invisible. Does David give us any clues? Turn psalm 27: 4 David set god before his eyes by going to the house of the lord. Believers where 2 or 3 gather. David sought the beauty of God in his house and by going for a walk. We are surrounded to much by manmade things and we need to get out and see the beauty of God.

David psalm 19 – spend time outside. Don’t just go to another meeting and another meeting. Set your recreation (re-create) nobody has to talk to you about it.

Back to psalm 101:6 – He sees God in his faithful friends around him. He lets in the faithful to minister. His faithful friends are his entertainment. They were the ones who gained entrance into his life and it lifted His spirit.

Song – public and private – we need to be the same person in public and private.

Paul Baloche:

How do you discern? Learning to spend time in the presence of the Lord – you begin to hear the voice of the Lord. Being rooted in the word of God. Out of that comes songs, hymns and spiritual songs. Our role is spending time with Him. Make time for it. Cultivate that in your life. Learning to sing to the Lord and speak to the Lord. Read through 1^st and 2^nd cronicles – day and night they would go into the temple and never ceased to give thanks to God. Taking some faithful friends and minister to the Lord. Start with a scripture and read and sing it out. We were created for this. God is looking for who will worship Him. Encourage people to join you what you just learned privately. Pass on and mentor others. Before we get up on the stage there is so much prep before you get going. It’s not about just getting through your song list with out a train wreck. There is the priestly aspect and pastoral aspect. One of the privilages we have is to serve the church and lead. Forces us to deal with our stuff in life. There is the temptation to withdraw get a little synical. Why don’t they clap when I want them to clap?

Take the private experience and do that publicly inviting others to join us.

There is a tendancy to feel threatened as some young and talented coming up. Make it apart of your assignment to be a Paul to a Timothy. Bring up people in your church that has potential.

I felt unqualified that everyone could sing better than me. It was people that made a ramp for me that helped me along. They gave me the opportunity to fail. The pastor would look for the good and it encouraged me.

Our times of worship should feel like a conversion and community. Try to build a community and not a flawless performance. Try to keep it real. Start off with a medium tempo song and move into an upper tempo song. We don’t need tricks.

Love God and Love His people that’s what we are called to do.

Kathern Scott

Love in our families. There is nothing more important then looking after your family. I want to stand before the Lord and say here are my children and husband.

Saying No – There are times that you need to say no to the options on the table even the good stuff. What is God saying to you. Might be some amazing things that you say no to.

The only way you get to go forward you got to give it away. You don’t have to be stingy. You are never to old to start.

Brian D-

Our role moves into blessing others and mentoring others and build them up and find those things that are good in your young worship leaders. Let go don’t try and micro manage others.

It’s simple and yet it takes everything in us to walk the path of worship. All the other stuff is about us (if we could just… get this part together, if we had better sound equipment). Life complicates – my calling is to come back to the core. I do worship because of God not the music.

Psalm 122: I was glad when they said to me lets go to the house of the Lord.

The entertainment houses of man that leave your spirit empty.

As you can see there were some powerful thoughts about worship and how we need to be about BEING with God so that we can then help students in youth ministry to worship God. What do you think of session 1? There were a lot of thougths in there that left me pondering – but I couldn’t agree more with what they were saying.

What do you think about worship leading in Youth Ministry?