Note: Casey Johnson is an M.Div. student at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando. He is at the GCA Conference this week and is going through the “Essentials” course. He shared his thoughts with us on the Worship module, which was taught by Jason Sears. In very brief, bullet-point form, here’s what Casey learned.
Last night’s worship session was very enlightening. Here’s some of the highlights I took from it:
1. Don’t let others determine your vision. What he meant by this was not that you shouldn’t figure out what style of worship would hit your target group, rather, once you have a vision in place, don’t let the people who don’t agree with the vision determine your vision. (In my words, “the vision’s not for sale”).
2. When planting a church, don’t look for the rock star to be your worship leader. Too often new churches look for the rock star in skinny jeans, white belt, hair product, etc. to fit the look and sound they desire, but they don’t really hire a worship leader. Look for someone who has vision for this ministry and a heart for the church. Here are five things to look for in a worship pastor.
i. Ability to play and sing.
ii. Relational/Pastoral
iii. Teammate with you. Someone you could go to the movies with. You must have his back.
iv. Musician. Find someone who is passionate about music. Don’t look for someone who learned the beginning of a couple Coldplay songs, look for someone who loves music.
v. A Learner. Someone who is constantly reading magazines, books, listening to new music, going to hear other musicians. Always wants to get better themselves.
3. Without giving the whole talk away, here’s one last thing: The Four Stages of Presbyterian Hand Raising. You’ll have to ask Jason about this yourself. Go hear him next time he teaches.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Casey!
Tags: Church Planter Training, Church Planting, Conferences, GCA, Global Church Advancement, Jason Sears, Planters, Planting Conference, Planting Seminar