abandoned: worship as life seminar…the day after

September 30, 2007

I was too exhausted to post anything last night about the Abandoned: Worship as Life seminar we had here at Missouri Baptist University, but today…okay I’m still spent but what can I say….it was amazing.

We had well over 70 folks for the first seminar of this kind at MoBap. Some came from as far north as Paris [Missouri, that is] and Hannibal, as far as east as Granite City and Greenville, IL, as far west as O’Fallon, and as far south as Farmington.

Here is a microview of the day:

To start off the morning, I led worship with my good friend, B.J. Mumford. Nothing like a room of worship leaders and team members singing “Be Thou My Vision” and ” Nothing But the Blood” loud and proud. B.J. also thankfully assumed the role of A/V guru for the day. Thanks bro!

Joel Lindsey, worship pastor at The Journey, kicked things off with a talk entitled, “Bootlegs and B-Sides: The Call for Missional Pastors.”

I followed with a talk on “Keeping the Sacred Space Sacred: Unlearning False Dangers/Learning Real Dangers to True Worship.”

Then we had some BBQ from Bandana’s.

Following lunch, we heard Part 1 of Sally Morgenthaler’s presentation on “Out of the Subculture: Worship When the Church Puts Mission First.”

Then we heard a lively talk from Shaun Groves on the theology of worship called “After the Music Fades.”

We closed the seminar in a more casual and interactive fashion - sitting around tables - while Sally facilitated Part 2 of her “Out of the Subculture” talk. In this session, we discussed the practical side of flattened worship leadership and planning.

Later that evening, I had a chance to catch up with Shaun. We talked marriage, kids, jobs, etc. Good to connect with my old friend from Nashville.

Then at 7:00 p.m., Shaun shared with an intimate crowd of about 60 some of his music and told us about his work with Compassion International. And maybe the best part of the whole day: we saved the lives of 9 kids. Amen! Worship in action…

If you want a blow-by-blow of what went down in some of the sessions, check out some live-blogging done on Joel’s blog here and here and B.J.’s blog here and here.

Hopefully within the week, we will have podcast of Joel’s session, my session, Sally’s first session, and Shaun’s session up on iTunes, the Worship Arts website, and this blog. I also am hoping to put up a podcast at the aforementioned spots of an interview I did with Joel recently about his ministry at The Journey.

Here’s a note I got from Sally this morning in regards to the seminar:

I can’t thank you enough for the honor of being with you and your students/colleagues. Marvelous in every way. I pray that what you’re doing will have huge ripples in your denomination and beyond.

You are a courageous soul. I love that!

I want to publicly thank those who supported this seminar and its vision from the very beginning. Keith Ross, Rob Cornwell, Terry Dale Cruse, Brian Turnbull, Lisa Hessell, and Bryce Chapman. I’m indebted to their courage in me to pull this off!

Until next year…

Posted in abandoned, seminar, worship