Sunday 20 September 2009

Swamped with worship leaders!


According to Wlison Carlile College, Sheffield. Last year they had the following training for ministry:


1 Evangelist

3 Pastoral Workers

6 Lay Readers

16 Worship Leaders


What does this tell you about our society? In our celebrity saturated world, everyone wants to be a singer. We certainly have more role models of singers than evangelists. I'm sure most people would rather be Matt Redman than Billy Graham!


What I'd like to see is some activists or prophets on the list. Any better suggestions anyone?


I certainly don't think this is morally neutral. There are consequences for the church in co-opting the values of pop culture.

2 comments:

DS said...

Yikes - good point - love the idea of prophets and activists.

People do now do activist / peace training but only on fringe why not in centre - taking Mclaren's lead re everything must change - what are the key challenges facing our world, and whats our response. We should be training people to tackle and help us tackle these. I am guessing that if I did a poll on the high street this lunchtme then very few members of the public would be bemoaning the lack of contemporary worhsip leading skills. That valuable role of worship leader is important - but only in the light of the above not in isolation. Why not change the worship leading course into an 'envisioning and equiping the people of God to be prophets and activists in the way of Jesus'!

mark said...

In the light of our conversation yesterday - the role of worship leader is important, but not as we are accustomed to think of it. Not someone called to lead people to "encounter God", but to express the counter-story of the gospel.