Worship for the Rest of Us Conference exceeds my expectations.
About 12 months ago the pastoral team at Inglewood Community Church were chatting about the struggles a medium to smaller church has in resourcing and encouraging vibrant worship.
At times it seems like some well resourced churches have an entirely different set of expectations, expectations which are unrealistic to the average church.
They felt like some encouragement, exhortation and upskilling was needed for those who needed a more realistic set of values.
In partnership with Vose Leadership we organised a conference and were hoping for 30-40 delegates. Attendance well exceeded those expectations with 80 people in attendance. They came to Inglewood Community Church from all over the state including some from Wagin Baptist and Bunbury Salvation Army.
Pastor Jess led the congregation in some simple but enthusiastic worship. Having 80 worship leaders in the one place means their was a passion for worship.
I led a session on cultural change. I talked from Isaiah 29 and encouraged the leaders that God has given them responsibility to lead the whole church in worship. This involved using what God has given them in terms of musicians and singers, to mould them as a potter moulds the clay.
Professor Michael O’Neil gave a rich session on the theology of worship. Giving a deep analysis of the place of worship within the local church and an encouragement to lead from a place of understanding who God is. Our worship can be anaemic if our vision of God is anaemic.
Monical O’Neil from Vose Leadership gave a practical session on stage presence, using the natural adrenaline that kicks in when on a platform. This session was relevant to anyone who finds themselves doing public speaking.
Pastor Jess Magowan from Inglewood Church spoke on ‘leading from the middle’. Her session was well received as she spoke on needing to lead from a place of influence, not position. Worship Leaders often find themselves needing to be aware of the different expectations of the congregation, church leadership and visitors. It is not a easy role, but is a rewarding and important one.
Pastor Andrew Binns lead a technical session which was well attended as various sound engineers from different churches dealt with issues of eliminating awkward gaps, excellence in sound and serving the overall vision of the church.
The morning finished with a interactive session where no question was out of bounds.
Finally Pastor Josh Thomas led the group in a prayer and ministry time. “It was so great to see whole teams come forward for prayer and encouragement. It was obvious that although we face unique challenges, the time offered hope and encouragement to those in sometimes challenging and difficult circumstances.
All the sessions are available for free in audio format from our churches sermon page. http://inglewoodchurch.org.au/church-life/sermons-online/
