Redemption Boulevard A Multicultural Worship Ministry » training

Is discipleship happening at your church?

Peter Park — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:00:40 +0000

If you’re a leader in the church, everyone benefits when you grow. And everyone suffers when you don’t.
~Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters

After posting the quote above on our FaceBook page a good friend of mine posed this question: How do you encourage others to grow with you?

You obviously can’t force anyone to grow, nor can you convict someone’s heart…BUT you do have a responsibility. If you’re the main multicultural worship leader, or even if you’re working with a team of leaders, we have the wonder opportunity to disciple our worship team members.

Some people will embrace it right away and others may take much longer. But I believe that we have that responsibility to develop others.

Our worship team

From the time I started working at Aldrich Presbyterian Church I began introducing group devotionals to the team. We take about an hour or so during practice to study the Word or a book.

Right now we’re going through Wayne Grudem’s Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know. It’s been great to spark discussions about what we believe and why we should believe what we do.

I also try to meet with the individual members of the worship team. It’s not as frequent as I like it to be, but it’s essential in knowing the heart of the people on your team.

My new discipline

A few months ago my friend, Josh, gave me a great journal called The 17:18 Series. Initially, I thought it was just a plain journal, but as I looked inside the purpose of this journal was to hand-write books of the bible.

The idea is that you’ll move through the bible a little bit slower, but you’re engaging more ways of learning. I have to tell you I was very excited about developing this new DISCIPLINE along with reading the bible in a year.

Questions for you

1. Who are the people on your team desiring more leadership?

2. Do you think you can approach them with the idea of some formal discipleship?

3. What do we lose by not taking the time to disciple our team?

4. What are some ways you can keep growing?

5. Is there someone who can mentor you?

6. Is there someone from a different culture who could mentor you?

7. Pray and create a discipleship plan for you and the people you lead.

Blog post by Peter Kihyun Park

Do pastors need worship training?

Peter Park — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:00:11 +0000

I have a good friend who puts on worship seminars and conferences that I’ve gotten to know over the last few months. One of the things he talks about is pastors needing worship training. He believes that worship training needs to be part of seminary.

At first, I thought this was a good idea. But after thinking about it for awhile I have to respectfully disagree.

Being passionate?

I believe when we find our place in the Church where we can use our gifts we become very passionate about it. And that’s a good thing.

We need to develop those gifts and skills in order to build up the diverse worshiping community and to magnify the name of Jesus.

But sometimes what can happen is that we can become so passionate about our gifts that we lose focus on what our gifts are supposed to be used for. In fact, we can begin to think that everybody needs to know how much work is involved in our ministry, that our area of ministry should be part of every service/meeting/gathering, and then we get frustrated when people don’t “get it.”

Where would it end?

If pastors did receive training in worship ministry, then wouldn’t they need training in children’s ministry, youth ministry, prayer ministry, etc.? Pastors would be stuck in school forever!

What needs to happen is…

1. We need to be in communication about our ministries with other leaders, especially our pastor.

2. We need to participate in other people’s ministries in the church, like singing, but people don’t necessarily need training in our area of ministry….unless they ask, of course.

3. We need to honor and encourage people who express gifts in other parts of the body.

Homework

I want to encourage you to spend some time in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 and pray about it means to be part of the body and how we can work together. I also want you to think about what worship is and to ask God if it’s limited to the team doing music in the service?

Finally, why do we need to understand how the Body of Christ functions as we worship with communities of different cultures, ethnicities, and gender?

Blog post by Peter Kihyun Park

What is required of multicultural worship leaders? – Part 1

Peter Park — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:00:07 +0000

Biblical Competency

A good friend of mine once told me that one of the key elements of being part of and building a multicultural church is conviction. And as it relates to you, the worship leader, it is especially important.

Our understanding of the scriptures is essential as it relates to what the songs we sing on Sunday morning convey about the beliefs of the Church. Our understanding of the scriptures is essential as it relates to our understanding of who God is, therefore allowing us to have worship that is more complete. Our understanding of the scriptures is essential to understanding God’s heart for unity in His church….the multicultural church.

It’s not enough for us to merely read the bible, but we must study it and find out what God is saying. I remember I used to just read through chapters of the bible and think this was good enough. Grab a bible commentary, grab your pastor, and dig, dig, dig into the scriptures.

And this is our starting point as well as the foundation for multicultural worship…a clear understanding of God’s Word. Isn’t this why we’re pursuing multicultural worship in the first place…because it’s biblical?

Raising the standard for our team

Coming to Aldrich Presbyterian Church I felt the Lord leading me to not only raise the “standard” for myself but also for our team. What did this mean? Well…

Before we do anything musical we spend probably about 45 minutes in the scriptures. Part of that time is spent alone and part of that time is spent together as a group in discussion.

I am also encouraging the worship team to memorize scripture. Too many times people, especially me, have this vague idea of a bible reference when we’re trying to convey God’s truth. This doesn’t necessarily help convey a vision, especially a vision for a multicultural church, does it?

Lesson

I believe God is calling worship leaders to be skilled not only in global music and putting together services, but to understand His heart on a deeper level. So, we must study His Words and allow God to bring conviction on our hearts.

From this…I believe the other things we’re trying to do in the multicultural church will flow out of that.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5

Share your story and your life…

Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284