The Next Chapter (from special guest, Dennis Cook)

I’m thankful that Rod has asked me to supply a guest blog post for the Worship Coach blog! I admire Rod and am thankful for his ministry in the local church and my life. Worship Leaders, rely on Rod’s daily post to encourage you as you follow God’s call in ministry!

My last day at Hawesville Baptist Church was Sunday, January 20. I spent over 5 ½ years there ministering through music and discipleship with some great leaders! On Sunday, February 3, I begin a new chapter in my life as Pastor of Worship and Discipleship at First Baptist Leitchfield.

Rod gave me a few ideas for this post and the one I picked is the one I am most unsure about, but I am going to give it my best shot: What am I going to do in the first 3-6 months to create a culture of worship at my new church?

While going to a church in view of a call, you never get a ton of time with those in your ministry – a couple of rehearsals and worship services at most don’t exactly give you all the tools you need to understand who you may be serving with in the future. Above all things, during that weekend, you are most concerned with worshiping God, being yourself and making sure your ears are open to see if God is truly calling you there.

So now that we begin this next chapter, what are some things I will attempt to do to establish a culture of worship?

1) Educate. Over the first 3-6 months, I will be utilizing several tools to educate the congregation on who I am, how the Bible explains true worship and how we will be worshiping as a group of believers. I will use my blog (ChurchMusicToday – shameless plug), Facebook, and the church newsletter to share some basic “talking points” on the direction we will be headed as a staff, congregation and worship team.

1 Chronicles writes about being “skilled” in leading music. That is a huge responsibility for us to make sure we are not merely going through the motions. Most importantly, I will attempt to educate them by teaching them that worship is a direct response of who we are and what Christ has done for us. Moreover, as we are to be the body of Christ, all of our words and actions (in and out of the church building) should be acts of worship – putting our preferences aside and putting His purpose first.

2) Experiment. I’d say you have a certain amount of time during the “honeymoon” phase of ministry to get a good deal of experimentation in. Ya know, the “honeymoon phase” where everyone likes you and you haven’t made anyone upset with changes yet. Some honeymoon phases are longer than others.  I’ve had a month of a honeymoon phase and I’ve also experienced a year of it. During the experimental phase of ministry at FBC, I will choose to experiment with:

a) order of worship. I will attempt to be flexible in the order, move things around a bit, all the while gauging feedback and possible issues for red flags. There is no true order of Biblical worship. We have Biblical mandates as to what to include as an acts of worship, but no true order.

b) style of music. I will experiment with different styles of music for congregation, praise team and praise band. My goal is to be very thematic in what I plan, so the door is open to using any style, as long as the lyrics are Biblical. Variety will be my goal and it will also show me the abilities of the musicians and singers. Are we able to do anything from “O God Our Help in Ages Past” to “White Flag” and anything in between?

After all, Colossians 3 calls us to use “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” correct? Let’s be sure to follow that Biblical model in all of our corporate worship.

3) Edify. One of the most unifying moments for the praise band at HBC was an idea of fellow blogger, Zach Rice. Zach suggested to me the idea of a praise band book study. I highly recommend this idea – it worked at HBC and I plan on doing it at FBC. We used the book, “Worship Matters” by Bob Kauflin. This is a great resource for you, as a leader, and for your ministry. If you’ve never read it, order it today. Another way to build up the team-like atmosphere within the worship ministry is to have a night where you gather and worship together by singing new songs to be used in worship in the future. Learn the songs together – both musically and lyrically – and spend time in worship. In this process of edification, I will also be able to gauge the abilities of the instrumentalists and singers as well as learn how we can grow in the future.

4) (and finally) Employ. I want to let the people lead the music and worship ministries at FBC. I want to be a better delegator.  I need to be a better delegator. So, with that in mind, I need to work hard on planning and promoting. The more I do in planning, the more I can promote and equip my leaders to do the jobs they are called to do. I want to be able to employ the volunteers I serve with to do the best job possible. We are many members, but one body. So, as ministers, it is our job to equip our people to give God their best.

Secondly, I hope to employ the services of the Worship Coach so that he and I can possibly work together on empowering the strengths and building up the weaker areas of the new ministry God has led me to. I can’t think of a better way to set goals for my new ministry than to have Rod’s assistance on seeing things from a perspective other than my own. Hiring him as the “secret shopper” (coming in as a guest and testing out our greeter ministry, signage, flow of worship, etc.) could be a great blessing in setting or preparing my ministry plan for the months ahead.

Thanks Rod for the opportunity to write for your blog!

“May He become greater, and I become less.” – John 3:30

Dennis Cook

Pastor of Worship and Discipleship

First Baptist Leitchfield (KY)