Reggie Coates - A Special Report on Music & Worship

This book is the result of a year of interviews with 23 worship leaders from various churches throughout the Santa Clara County. It is a helpful resource for all worship leaders and pastors. It reveals in microcosm what is happening in church Music & Worship throughout the United States. Worship leaders and pastors will get a lot out of this report. The Contents and Introduction are included here to explain what this book is about. Contents Forward by Michael Ainslie Introduction Chapter 1: The Start Part (Pilgrimage & Particulars) Chapter 2: The Heart Part (Passion & Priorities) Chapter 3: The Art Part (Process & Programming) Chapter 4: The Hard Part (People & Politics) Appendix A: The Questions & Raw Data Appendix B: Why Santa Clara County? Appendix C: A Pastoral Perspective Appendix D: A Missional Perspective Appendix E: Advice to Music & Worship Leaders Introduction The goals of this report are: • To highlight what is going on in the area of Music & Worship in churches today, pulling back the curtain to see the unfiltered and unedited version. • To reveal how leaders feel about their role, their work, their needs, their specific ministry, and the state of Music & Worship from their perspective. • To broaden understanding, motivate, and inspire transformation in worship leaders, their ministry staff, and those they minister to. Music can be a huge gateway into current cultures. Music is the currency of communication in churches. Because music is such a prominent way to worship and such an effective way to influence society, we are choosing to focus on it in this report more than the other art forms. A simple, but poignant definition of worship is “worth-ship” or “giving great worth to something.” We were created to worship and everyone worships something. I mean, everyone values something more than anything else. However, God wants to be valued the most. In fact, He’s designed life to work best with Him in the center. Life doesn’t work as intended until God is given the greatest worth in your heart. Can you imagine what it would be like if a large number of people realize they are giving more value to useless dead gods and decide to value the only true God more than anything else? It is my hope that this report will help all of us move from idolatry to worshiping the only true God. The field work of interviewing worship leaders and pastors was not designed to produce a statistically reliable result as you would find with a political poll. The field work was designed to garner impressions and insights that will be reliable, informative, and practical. As I put together the questions to ask each worship leader or pastor, I realized I couldn’t ask all of the questions I desired, so I had to narrow them down. There are basically four sections which focus on important and relevant areas for all involved in Music & Worship ministry. Each section has a specific purpose in the greater scheme of this report. The purpose of “The Start Part” section is to look at the pilgrimage and particulars in the cross-section of churches interviewed. The purpose of “The Heart Part” section is to look at the passion and priorities of Music & Worship ministries. The purpose of “The Art Part” section is to look at the process and programming of worship and music in ministry. The purpose of “The Hard Part” section is to look at the people and politics within Music & Worship ministries. Each section contains summaries of the answers to the questions I asked each church leader. There are also Key Insights that stand out (though God’s Spirit may highlight other information to be key for you and your ministry). Because the answers of a few large churches skewed some of the averages, I’ve listed the median for you to note in comparison. The Appendix sections contain further helpful insight, teaching, and encouragement. You’ll find all the raw data there, why we picked The Santa Clara County, a pastoral message, a missional message, and poignant advice for Music & Worship leaders. May the thoughts shared in this report resonate in your heart and revitalize your ministry. May this report give you fresh perspectives, creative ideas, and motivate you toward action. God is raising up leaders who are catalysts for change using music and worship to draw people to God. These leaders are like missionaries and strategic coordinators, mobilizing a people group for Christ. I want to thank the leaders I interviewed. They took hours to meet with me and share insights into their own ministry and personal lives. Everyone showed genuine care for what they are doing, for the people of God, and for pleasing the Lord. They were authentic, transparent, and open to being honest about each question. I thank God for these men and women who lead music and worship throughout the Santa Clara Valley. I see a spark in them and believe we are on the cusp of a revival. ________________________________________ A Special Report on Music & Worship with Churches throughout the Santa Clara County By Reggie Coates ISBN # 0-9707452-2-2 Copyright 2009 Reggie Coates (Admin. By Heartfelt Music Ministry, PO Box 3, Mount Hermon, CA 95041) ARR, ICS, UBP http://heartfeltmusic.org [45 pages total]