Worship Leaders Conferences
January 3, 2009 2 Comments
- Worship Together.com “LIVE” (One day event) $55.00
- National worship Leader Conference 2009 (3 day event) $400.00 (on avg.)
- Worship Summit (1 day event) ?
- Enter 09 Worship Conference (3 day event) $85.00
- Hillsong United Encounter 09 (2day event) $139.00 (at door)
- Integrity Music Seminar 4 Worship (2 day Event) $300.00 (At door)
So I received my latest issue of Worship Leader Magazine today. I was just flippin’ through and there’s alot of good stuff. I really like the magazine. But something I just couldn’t wrap my mind around. Do we need all these worship conferences? Just curious. And the biggest thing is they all tend to happen in the same areas of the world. None of them seem to be coming to my neck of the woods. Even if they did, I couldn’t afford it.
I guess it kinda irks me cause mostly those who will be attending these events are “full time” worship leaders. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, “LUCKY!” I wished I could do worship full time. But I don’t reckon that’s gonna happen anytime soon. But I digress.
I would tend to think full time worship leaders don’t need conferences telling them how to lead worship. Hello! They are full time. Meaning their churches are already packing the tithing pockets of the church. So that means that if there are enough people in the church to pay a full time worship leader, then the ones that hired the worship leader thought they were competent enough to do the job. They don’t need the conference.
I do! Ha ha ha. I would like to know more. Because I would say I am bi-vocational. But I’m not getting paid at all for leading worship. So I have to prepare for it in my spare time. So basically what I’m trying to shout out is, if there is going to be this many conferences in America, then spread them out and give the poor man a chance by lowering the prices and do them on the stinkin weekend, so we don’t have to take off of work, please!
About Kevin Riner
My only tick with all the worship conferences is the hierarchy put in place. We are all men, and all human. No human is “closer” to God or closer to the truth. We put way too much power in names, like Billy Graham, and other leaders. We should be saying that they are intelligent, interesting, but in no way do they hold more of God’s word or something. I’m 100% sure that even great writers and leaders in church have secrets or done unspeakable things as we all have sinned too.
These events, and other leadership events, are supposed to be a brotherhood. A place where people as partners and brothers try to rise up together. Not a place where somehow a leader has a leader. We’re not catholic, we do not have a pope. Higher positions only means that they have more responsibilities, not that they are closer to God. I know we call them pastors, but really God is our pastor. Way too many pastors think they can look down on whoever is “below” them.
I remember a gathering of churches I went once, and it was so disheartening when my pastor who I look up to be talked to by some of the “bigger” pastors like he was the sheep.
Even a child can sometimes understand something better than a “big leader”, as Jesus said children are what we should be like.
We kinda take learning from others too far. It;’s like why can’t we share the knowledge rather than make money off of what God has taught us. I guess that’s what you get with a capitalist nation.