THE COMPLETE WORSHIP LEADER

THE COMPLETE WORSHIP LEADER
by Kevin J. Navarro - pastor and worship leader at Bethany Evangelical Free Church in Littleton, Colorado. (c) 2001 Baker Books pp202 price 23.95 pc

The author has set out to explain just what a "complete: worship leader is. He has identified four areas in which a worship leader must be secure and qualified. A worship leader must first be a theologian with a good understanding about God and his relationship with his creation, especially man. Then he/she must be a commited disciple of Jesus. Being an atrist is essential for an effective worship leader. A worship leader must not only be able to lead people but he/she must lead in areas of technology and communication. This author sees everything that happens in a service as relating directly to worship. He gets into the kind of details that would be helpful to beginning worship leaders. He challenges worship leaders to grow spiritually and in their efectiveness as leaders. I think this book would be helpful to non worship leaders who are interested in understanding about worship and all that is involved in making it happen. The author is credible because of his training and experience.
One interesting comment Kevin makes which is a point well taken is that there really aren’t any schools that he is aware of that give adequate training for worship leaders. This is surprising since the presence of worship leaders has been around for several decades. hd.

Ø If ever given a chance like this I hope that we all would do the same!
This may give you cold chills, but puts life into perspective!

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.
After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question.

“Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay,
cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand
things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?"

The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, 'that when God brings a child like
Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents
itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child." Then, he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay
knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me
play?" Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team.
But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much needed sense of belonging.

Ø Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if
Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his
team-mates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess
he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth winning."

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs
but was still behind by three. At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put
on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he
was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now,
with two outs and bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Ø Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was
all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat
properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and
could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have
been out and that would have ended the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to
right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started
yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had
Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" By the time Shay
was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have
thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right
fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the
ball high and far over the third baseman's head.

Ø Shay ran towards second base as the runners ahead of him
deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the
opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base,
and shouted, "Run to third!"

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams were screaming,
"Shay! Run home!"
Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero,
for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his
face," the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine
Plan into this world."

And now, a footnote to the story. We all send thousands of jokes
through e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to
sending messages regarding life choices, people think twice about sharing.
The crude, vulgar, and sometimes the obscene pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of decency is too often suppressed in school and the workplace.

If you are thinking about forwarding this message, you are probably
thinking about which people on your address list aren't the
"appropriate" ones to receive this type of message.