Week 5 – A Brief Theology of Worship Leadership

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This week we’ve taken a look at the sum of our theological discussions and have begun the beautiful – but not easy – process of trying to synthesize this information into some practical theologies and applications of worship leadership.

Our study of these ideas has been very enriching.  The fleshing out of the ideas into practical realities has also been invigorating.  

But rather than rehashing these ideas again, I’m going to look at this from a different angle in hopes to see something upon which I have not yet had the chance to gaze.  And even more so, I’m thinking that this different angle will continue a process of seeing vistas that have previously not been accessible.

I’m convinced that Dan Wilt is correct when he talks about the goal is not necessarily coming up with the best answers, but rather learning to ask more beautiful questions.  (But I’m still not 100% convinced, however, that “salvific” is actually a real word…)

When I really think about all the different subjects that we’ve studied, it’s more so the questions that have stirred my passions.  And with each answer, or theory, or even hypothesis that I/we arrive upon, it leads to more questions and different thoughts surrounding those questions which cause us to either look deeper or maybe cause us to pause and step back for a moment.

As we look at synthesizing all that we have learned, these moments of questioning and the very processes of questioning are key to this synthesis and I believe that they are essential to our growth.  

For example, exploring the nature of God leads us to a number of questions about who He is and what He’s like.  But even beyond those questions and answers, we find ourselves looking at all the gems we’ve mined and coming to the place where we the initial questions turn and shift to questions like – if this is what God is like, what does that mean about me?  Or – if God really works that way, how do I appropriately respond to that aspect?  And – how does my response to that aspect interact with other ideas like the Kingdom or ideas of being a living narrative of the salvation story?

The point that I’m dancing around is that I believe that our process of forming an orthodoxy and orthopraxis is more about the questions than the answers.  The answers, in a certain sense are stagnant.  They are what they are.  They’re like a road – foundations to walk or run upon, but unless you provide the motion, they won’t take you anywhere.  The questions, however, take us on a journey.  By their nature they demand motion.

As worship / creative leaders who are a part of this living story which is not yet completely written (while we know the beginning and the very end, we’re writting the middle as we journey out the Kingdom story with God)[1], our journey must have motion.  You’re not journeying if there’s no motion, and that motion is produced in part by the beautiful questions that we continue to ask.

Even our creative expressions thrive on this motion.  We can make beautiful declarations, but those declarations came from a time of seeking.  And even reflecting on things that we seek can birth amazing points of creativity which aid the seeking process.

So as we look even beyond the synthesis and to the formation of a worship / creative leader and the ministry of such a person, the beautiful question remains an integral part.  Without them, we stagnate and I believe that we lose the necessary motion to move forward in the process of writing new pages of that Kingdom story.

“Seek and you shall find.”  - Jesus Christ, Luke 11:9

1  An idea lifted from some of the general thoughts from N T Wrights book, The Last Word