Worshipping In The Wilderness

When I was at the National Worship Leader Conference this year, Paul Baloche gave a piece of advice that I will never forget. He encouraged us to structure our worship set to take the congregation on a journey. He suggested we build a flow of thought that people can follow through the songs. He gave an excellent demonstration of this on the first night of the conference as he played “You Gave Your Life Away” then praised God in prayer for His sacrifice for us. He then said his only response could be praise and transitioned into “What Can I Do” (but Praise You)… The flow of thought from song to prayer to song really carried you on a journey closer to God. It involved the congregation…I was praying as he prayed. I was singing the words to God as he sang. I was thinking, not just singing a song. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind” (emphasis added)

Last week we played a set of songs while reading Psalm 33. We started with a reading, then played part of “Unfailing Love” then read more of the psalm and played “What Can I Do” then read even more and transitioned to “Mighty to Save” then read the rest of it and finished off with the ending of “Unfailing Love”. The songs went with the words that were spoken in the Psalm. The music never stopped, but got soft as the Psalm was read then transitioned to the next song. I was amazed at how God used that time of worship. He truly showed up, and people were really worshipping Him. I am so blessed to have such a great God watching over and loving me. Yet I am humbled knowing that without Him, I could do none of this.

“Praise You God of earth and sky, how beautiful is Your Unfailing Love!”

-Chris

Last week I attended the National Worship Leader Conference here in Austin, TX. It truly was a blessing.

I started the conference on Monday feeling burned out and weary. By the closing night (Thursday) I felt so recharged and ready to lead worship on Sunday. That Sunday was by far, the most worshipful and God-encountering worship service we have had at our church so far. God truly used the conference to bring himself honor and praise.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting on many of the things I learned in an attempt to help the few of you who read this blog to help your congregations draw nearer and nearer to God.

Here are the sessions I attended:

• Creating Flow in Worship: Leading a Journey – Paul Baloche
• Theology of Expressive Worship – Ross Parsley
• Licks, Tricks & Cheats for the Acoustic Guitarist – Andy Chamberlain
• Rehearsing Your Team – Tony Guerrero
• Creating a Culture of Worship – Buddy Owens
• Building Worship Teams for Small Churches – John Chisum

The two sessions I found most useful were: Creating Flow with Paul Baloche and Creating a Culture of Worship with Buddy Owens. They really changed the way I approached leading worship and choosing songs. I am excited to share what I learned in the next few posts.

Below is a picture of the closing night with Israel Houghton.

God bless you and His church!

-Chris