Today was full and I had the distinct opportunity to participate in the following:
General Session
We were led in worship at the morning general session by
Ashmont Hill
"A breath of fresh air. That's how to describe Ashmont Hill. The foursome have a purity of lyricism and a worship-driven sound that will capture the hearts of fans everywhere."The Thompson family has been making beautiful, spiritual music for years as worship leaders at their home church where their father is pastor in the idyllic community of Boston's Ashmont Hill. Philip Thompson, April Joy Thompson, Deborah Bullock and Wil Bullock (Phil, April and Deborah are siblings, Wil is Deborah's husband), also known as the group Ashmont Hill, wanted to take their music to a larger community, and have set out to "...praise God's name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving."
The group's signature sound...tight sibling harmonies and soaring grooves combined with modern worship-driven songs... create a powerful worship experience. Their music showcases the depth of maturity and understanding the group has for the power of song to usher the listener into the presence of God and awaken the soul to celebrate the masterpiece of the life God's given. His masterpiece to you. Your Masterpiece for Him.
The Morning speaker was....
Dr. Leonard Sweet
Currently occupying the E. Stanley Jones Chair of Evangelism, Len served from 1995 to 2001 as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Theological School at Drew University, Madison, New Jersey. He is also a Visiting Distinguished Professor at George Fox University in Portland, Oregon, and President Emeritus of United Theological Seminary. He is a weekly contributor to the online preaching resource, sermons.com.Author of more than two hundred articles, 1200 published sermons and almost forty books, Leonard is currently working on two textbooks: one on preaching and one on evangelism. His most recent book is So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church. The last two years Len has been voted by his peers as "One of the 50 Most Influential Christians in America" as polled by ChurchReportmagazine. His free weekly podcast is called "Napkin Scribbles."
Couple of things he said........ I will reflect on more after the conference is over in another blog post.
"We live in a T.G.I.F. world...... Twitter, Google, Iphone, Facebook world. This is not a word and verse world anymore. It is a story and image world." Dr. Leonard Sweet
We are still trying to give everyone word and verse..... we need to give them story and image. Jesus was the greatest story teller ever. What are we doing to emulate that?
"Everyone has to be moderate..... I am tired of 1 calorie Christianity and Diet Disipleship we should be on fire!" Dr. Leonard Sweet
Ouch that sounded as harsh in real life as it does reading it..... he wasn't fooling around either he meant it and followed it up with a whole lot of meat, than was specific and direct to lifting up Jesus and stop trying to make it our own way. Apparently the church has no shortage of those that are moving forward under their own power and not looking to the power of God. Bottom line he said we should be lifting up the flag of Jesus and stop making our own strategy.
I then participated in the following educational tracks.
The Singing Church: Get Your Congregation to Sing!
Worship Leadership Track
Stan Endicott
Is your church a “singing church”? Are congregations supposed
to sing? What does the Bible say about it? What are the obstacles
to be removed? How do you inspire the congregation? Worship
leaders can engage their congregations in singing as a part of
worship. In this class, you will gain practical help in getting your
congregation to “Sing!”
LCBC the How’s & Why’s
Worship Leadership Track
Andrew Martin
This session will be a review of the core values and principles
that have shaped LCBC’s weekend gatherings from its inception.
Topics will include scalibility, volunteer structure, service
planning, staff, and creative elements.
Team Auditions: Removing the Dread
Worship Leadership Track
Curt Coffield
Do you dread auditions? Do you see them as a necessary evil?
Gain an understanding on the value of an audition and some
practical ideas on how to make it a great experience. Don’t
miss this workshop with Curt Coffield, who brings nearly 20
years of experience in local church worship ministry as he
discusses “The Audition.” Hear stories of auditions gone bad,
and get inspired by accounts of auditions that went surprisingly
well, as Curt addresses: the purpose and biblical precedent
for doing auditions; ideas on assimilation; casting vision and
philosophy; who should be at the audition; how to set standards,
prepare a potential team member for an audition, and put those
auditioning at ease; measuring teachability, reading skills, and
improvisational skills; critiquing without being Simon; ending
well; following-up or “the call back.”
Lots and lots of really great useful information that I will continue to glean through for a long time to come.
We then had dinner and had closing worship at 7pm led by
Ken Reynolds
Ken Reynolds has become one of the newest rising worship leaders of our day. He currently serves as Worship Pastor at Resurrection Life Church in Grandville, MI. He is a 3-time SongSeeker Winner at the Saddleback Worship Conference. Ken's songs have also been featured on Worship Leader Magazine's Song DISCovery. He has also served on the song selection panel for Worship Leader Magazine. Integrity Music signed his release "For You I Live" with Resurrection Life Church, which was also nominated for ‘Worship Project of the Year' by Christianity Today. Ken signed with Integrity Music as an artist and songwriter and his songs are already being sung all over the world, including England, Korea, Trinidad, Switzerland, and Africa. "Great Things" is Ken's first solo release under the Integrity/Columbia label. Ken's second solo release "One World | One God" has received rave reviews and was nominated for ‘Gospel Worship Project of the Year' and named ‘Best of the Best' by Worship Leader Magazine. Ken's passion is to see the body of Christ unified; to use music inspired by God to break down denominational and cultural barriers; to train, inspire, and teach worship leaders and teams all over the world to reach their potential and divine calling. Ken is married to Andrea and has two children, Kenton and Alyssa.And by
Travis Cottrell
A classically trained vocalist turned much in-demand studio singer, Cottrell planned to sing opera, but his journey took an unexpected turn toward ministry. Cottrell worked as an editor at a music publishing house when he was asked to lead worship for the first time.From there, it was only a matter of time before Cottrell's warm, engaging spirit landed him a worship leading role with best-selling author and teacher Beth Moore. Since 1998, Cottrell has led thousands of men and women in worship all over the U.S. alongside Moore. As a singer and songwriter his worship releases, "Unashamed Love" and "Alive! Forever", have garnered critical acclaim as "blended worship done right." Travis is well know, throughout the church as well for his award winning choral arrangement for Lifeway and Brentwood Benson.
Currently signed to Indelible Creative Group, Travis has released his best selling record to date "Found," and the Christmas project "Ring the Bells." On June 16, 2009 Travis will release a live worship record and DVD with special appearances from Beth Moore, Max Lucado, and Cindy Morgan. Visit TravisCottrell.com for more info.
Again tonight was a wonderful time of worship. It is so refreshing to be in the presence of the Lord and to worship him with out restraint. This again was a wonderful night.... looking forward to a full and promising day tomorrow.
I have met many wonderful Christian brothers and sisters each with a passion to serve Christ in what ever capacity that he has prepared for them. Several interesting discussions and time of fellowship with others while hear. I hope to keep in contact with several of them in the future.
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