DAYS 2-3 NWLC

DAY 2-3 MWLC

DAY 2 started out with Shannon Wexelberg leading a room full of worship leaders on solo piano. Takes guts to do that, and she did it like a champ. A true heart shines through when the worship leader is in it for God alone and not for personal gain.

Quinton Shultze reminded us all of the worlds oldest profession . . . stewarding. He recalled Adam’s reaction to the parade of animals God placed in front of him to name, and the delight and amazement of that moment . . . and related it to He-Man underpants. Brilliant.

“Leading others into experiential worship “ workshop was once again a reminder to me that my time at Ginghamsburg was invaluable for worship planning. Every church has a worship method and needs to discover how to dream it, refine it, evaluate it and make sure it remains fluid. There is a big world to draw from. God places ideas in front of us every moment of every day. We have to stay aware and awake and be prepared to collect those moments and draw from them when we plan worship.

I had to miss the songwriting session with Chris Tomlin . . . because Sunday is coming, and there is music to be planned. I understand that it was a good session, and that he announced his engagement. Sorry I missed that.

Louie Gigilio was up next. He’s just crazy good. As he said, this crowd of leaders was different than his usual college age crowd, but he was still at ease.

I have two great sentences from his talk.
-“we are the door holders saying, ‘there is something fantastic waiting for you, come on in’ “

-“don’t push your dead grandpa in a wheelchair through the service”.

You had to be there.

DAY 2 evening was the best night all around. Jonathan Lee . . . I am buying the cd. Awesome and strong leader. Laura Story . . . funny and courageous leader. Chris Tomlin . . . frankly I have seen him many times and thought his reception was lukewarm at first. There is a reason he so is contagious. By the end of the evening I did not want it to end. He can lead a room full of leaders into the presence of God whether ripping Sing Sing Sing or slowly building Our God. Loved it all.

DAY 3
A full day of workshops.

Top online tools . . . man I am getting old. I thought Facebook and Twitter were it. I am going to start a social networking site called fannoogledadoodle.com. I think it will catch on. It was great learning about the gazillion resources for church to announce, educate, discuss and share.

“Liturgies that breathe” may not have been the best choice after lunch . . . drowsy. But a guy with something to say about most any subject can keep you awake.

The best workshop for me was last one . . . “leading worship between the songs”. This was penance for all the ridiculous things I have personally said between songs. And if you are a worship leader and are reading this . . . you have done it too ☺.

Highlights included leading from your strengths and temperment, leading from your gifts, and “duh” . . .practice it. Silly me.

The last evening music session. . . . hard to put into words. Frankly a rough start, which was still a learning lesson for me. Programming is KEY. Know your audience and where they are emotionally, acknowledge the timeline (being aware that this was the last session), don’t let your tech team get tired on the big last night. Buzz killing, and don’t let it become your personal talent show. I know, harsh words, but I almost left during the first hour.

Calvin saved the day.

Then Starfield came on and tore it up. I am a new fan.

I love Israel, and was excited to finally see him in person., When I saw that the drumset had no cymbals, then saw the small percussion set up, I started to get disappointed. Then they started. Loved it. Reggae version of Mighty To Save. Say So. You Are Good. Just Wanna Say. FOG. Moving Forward. Yeah . . . it was killer.

I met some very cool people that I know I will keep up with forever. Had KC BBQ and sushi. Won a set of Senheiser earbuds and got a PCO t-shirt. Learned many things, felt many things and encountered God over and over. A great trip

On to the last METHODIST ROUND TABLE.

Peace

Paul