Well I’ve been quiet for a while as I’m on my long service leave (half way through) and so everything – just about – takes a break.
But something came up that took my attention and I felt I needed to “break the break”, so to speak, and write about. More about that in a moment.
Firstly… a short story.
When I first entered the realm of worship in the local body of Christ, I had no idea what it was about, I never conceived of the possibility of someone in the local church actually writing songs that others could sing. I thought all worship songs came out of a book the church purchased, and there was no interest in writing songs that reflected both the heart and the journey of the local fellowship.
It just didn’t enter my mind.
Thankfully, others were beginning to write, and today we have the benefit of writers from a variety of church cultures and flavours, writing wonderful songs of praise and worship. It appears that many of these writers come from what we understand today as “mega-churches” with an established platform from which to launch any new music birthed in these large communities. I for one, am exceedingly thankful for such writers, and the churches that have the vision and give them the freedom to write. I use these songs each week, and I will continue to do so.
But what I didn’t realise was that I too could write songs of worship that are birthed in me, and minister to the local community I was a part of, and that I knew personally. So I began. My earlier efforts were ordinary at best, and most were not used. But as I grew as a person, and as a writer, everything got better. I had no mentor, no one to coach me and no one to teach me how to write.
As a result of this experience and my own desire to see the local expression of worship come from the local body of Christ, I launched a Song Writers Retreat that nurtures and encourages, as well as teaches and mentors song writers of a variety of ages (we’ve had teenagers through to over 60s at the same retreat) – and all have been helped to step up into the ministry of worship for the body of Christ.
The reason I say all of this, is twofold.
Firstly, I read an article that sparked my interest & encouraged me to tell you of the potential of future song writing. The author believes that whilst the local church will continue to use the well produced songs of the mega-church, the use of the local church writer will increase. Something in this resonated deeply with me, and whilst I don’t know what the future holds, I do believe that the local church should invest in their creatives to explore and grow their gift of song writing for the glory of God and the building up of His people. Why? Well that’s the topic of the next blog coming soon. Right now I want to speak about that retreat.
So secondly, our September retreat (24th-28th September) is not that far away. It has begun to gather interest and momentum, with people registering already. This is a great opportunity for churches to invest in their song writers no matter what level they are at, and to have them write music for their local church. I believe it’s the next possible wave of worship that will sweep through our churches, but they need to have what I never had – teaching, nurturing, encouragement, mentoring, collaboration & much more.
If you have a song writer (or two) in your church, no matter what their level, then you need to grab one of the places (we have a limit of 12) to ensure they start that journey as soon as possible.
Don’t delay. Register today here.
Please ask any questions you like about the Song Writer’s Retreat … I’m only too happy to answer. Please pass this on to someone you know who may benefit.
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