Interview with Royce Morris – Part 1
Photo courtesty of Katie Holley of quiet + world + creative
1. Tell me a little about yourself Royce?
(Where did you grow up? What do you do? Etc.)
I was born in New Jersey, but after a few years my mom, brother, and I moved to Sarasota, FL where I grew up. It was a beach/tourist community and so naturally I adopted many beach activities.
I surfed and skimmed as often as I had the chance. I started getting into music in middle school where I played various wind instruments and started the acoustic guitar and bass.
I am mixed, African-American and Anglo-American, but due mainly to the town I grew up in. And my parents are divorced, but I indentify most with Anglo-American culture.
2. How did you get involved with Proskuneo Ministries?
The Josh, president and founder of Proskuneo, was actually my youth pastor in sixth grade. We began a mentoring relationship shortly after that, which eventually led to a couple internships with Proskuneo. Then, they were gracious enough to offer me a staff position.
3.What’s kept you going with multicultural worship?
Good question. One of the main things, for me in continuing with multicultural worship, was realizing the unique way that I believe God has gifted me. He has given me a love for other cultures and the ability to learn new things quickly.
Experiencing and leading multicultural worship touches a place in me that nothing else does. I’m not sure why, but it brings me joy to see people worshiping the way they were made to worship. There’s always something new to learn, and it’s so enriching to be surrounded by other believers who think differently than the way I do.
4.What are some of your strengths when it comes to multicultural worship? (Are you good with styles, languages, songwriting, thinking outside the box, etc.?)
I feel like the ability to learn languages is definitely one of my strengths. I guess you could call me a mockingbird because I can mimic many different styles and languages fairly well.
5.What have you come to learn leading worship internationally?
Be flexible. I think that is one of the main keys for leading worship outside the U.S., especially in a culture with which you are not familiar. Even if you plan for every contingency something will probably still go differently from the way you planned.
For example, we were in a rural town in the Dominican Republic and had spent a while getting things set-up only to have the power go out like 20 minutes before the service. We ended up playing “unplugged.” I could go on and on but flexibility sticks out in my mind the most.
Related Blog Post:
Interview with Royce Morris – Part 2
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