Sunday, July 13, 2008

What should the worship ministry be about?

Over the weekend, CA and I attended a worship conference/workshop in church.

The purpose was to talk about how best to engage current and interested musos (musicians) and support crew, to find out what's working well in the worship service and what isn't, what sorts of roles people are prepared to take on, what are the things that frustrate people, and what can be done about them.

It was good just to be there to hear the wide spectrum of views presented.

Should we have more teams? 2? 3?

Who should the team leaders be and what is their role?

Should we have a mentoring system to help aspiring musos get the training they need to play confidently in a team setting?
Who can be that mentor?

Should there be a stage manager to coordinate all administrative functions related to the running of Sunday services so that the pastor is freed to focus on his pastoral duties?

Should band practice be a time of worship also, or is it just a Christian jam session?

Should we have a "no practice, no play" policy?

Should there be a time of silence before and after service so that people can ease themselves into the right frame of mind to meditate and pray?
How do we effectively enforce this policy?

Should someone be the default go-to person just because he has been doing the job for the past 10 years?
If this person wants to step back and focus on something else, who should take his place?

What support systems are there for ministry leaders when they need godly counsel?
Who can a leader go to if he needs encouragement?

One of the themes that kept coming up was how to appropriately engage our youth, many of whom are keen musos and eager to get involved in Sunday worship.

Given that youths grapple with being "adult hormones trapped in a child's body", how should people in charge communicate so that youths are inspired to be self-directed and to take on leadership roles, instead of reacting to adults "telling" them what to do?
To what extent should our youths be expected to conform to adult expectations of appropriate behaviour?
For example, should they be expected to turn up to band practices and Sunday service on time, even if they were up late partying the night before?

I well remember my adolescent years, when life was mostly me-centred and angst-filled.
What did my peers think of me?
Was my dressing, image, the way I presented myself, in harmony with current trends?
(Sadly, no. I was a complete nerd.)
Everything was so black/white and issues always seemed so life-and-death, if you know what I mean.
Like, if a friendship didn't work out or if my grades were less than satisfactory, it could trigger overwhelming self-doubt.

It took years for me to achieve some semblance of a healthy perspective, to realize that it wasn't all about me, that there were so many more pressing local and global issues, and that there were people who were having a much harder time than I could ever imagine.

So I'm keen to learn from the past and to use those lessons to engage our youths in a manner that is positive, respectful and non-judgmental, and to do so in a way that encourages healthy debate and exchange of ideas and experiences.

My prayer is inspired by St. Francis of Assisi: "Make me a channel of your peace."

No comments: