.

We are thrilled (Dunn & Wilt) to be leading worship and teaching in the best worship conference for SMALL TO MID-SIZE churches of which I know – The Forge Conference – in Ocean Grove, New Jersey this Sept. 29 – Oct. 1, 2011.

The theme is the ancient-future church, and this intimate conference works overtime to make sure that small to mid-size churches get amazing attention, equipping, ideas and practical tools for effectively creating environments of worship that work with their unique set of weekly dynamics.

I’ve been to many worship events that celebrate “big,” and quite honestly, those events model ways of thinking about worship environments that involve big dollars and big staff systems. The Forge is different. It was started by small/mid-size churches to serve small/mid-size churches. We couldn’t be happier to be there, and leading in our instrumental, dulcimer/keyboard driven, ancient-future way.

My favorite part, besides the people, and the real, down to earth equipping that occurs, is that it’s held on the historic Ocean Grove Camp Meeting where Fanny Crosby wrote her hymns (the Pilgrim Pathway in her songs is the actual street the buildings are on), Thomas Chisolm wrote “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” and Billy Sunday and Methodist camp meeting leaders did their deal.

It has one of the 25 largest pipe organs in the world, too. I’d love to get the Jack Rabbit’s hands on that puppy. There is also significant one-on-five time, i.e. the leaders that are there are accessible and the teacher-student ratio is low and beautiful. You’ll get your questions personally answered, that’s for sure.

We’ll also be doing many workshops, and Jack (that’s Jeremy, for those corn-fused by my terminology) will be talking about making one keyboard fill the space normally afforded to the orchestra. I.e. It’ll be sweet.

We’d love to have you and your worship team join us at The Forge in Ocean Grove, New Jersey this Sept. 29-Oct.1. Click here to find out more.

Some pics of the grounds past. It’s like stepping back into the late 1800’s. My workshops last year were in the chapel where Thomas Chisolm would have first led Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Crazy. More Wikipedia info about the place is here.

All images courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Great Auditorium

The first tabernacle in 1876– Harper’s Monthly

Postcard of Ocean Grove Railroad Station, dated 1908

The “North End Hotel” had 255 rooms and a saltwater pool

Norm is a great friend who has spent many years honing his own craft as a songwriter, artist and worship leader.

He continues to serve alongside friends like artist Andrew Smith, spiritual leader and visionary Todd Rutkowski – and many others I both admire and appreciate.

I’ll be teaching on Stumbling Into Mystery: Toward A Worship Theology with their international crop of students.

I would appreciate your prayers for our time together, and for divine moments to transcend my best teaching and usher us into unique worlds.

We just finished an amazing event with the Vineyard communities in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador.

I’m quite tired at the finish, but it was a privilege to be with such fantastic friends here. Abbi (my daughter) had a great time working her linguistic gifts in Spanish. The Southern Cone is filled with welcoming, hospitable friends.

The sessions were rich with worship, ministry and encouragement for all the churches there, and a killer media company, visuals, etc. made the time a great success.

I’m reminded of why I will keep doing what I do; hope runs strong when God is the Subject of the life, acting out the verbs toward the objects of His affection – us.

Thank you all for praying for us. Other details will be up in a few days. Maybe some clips of me working my Spanish chops will make their way to a vid.

* To subscribe to our free e-newsletter with worship and arts resources and more, Click here.

My daughter Abbi and I have arrived in Santiago, Chile, and are enjoying the beauty of the people and the place.

We are here for the Vineyard National Worship Conference hosted by the Chilean Vineyards for the Southern Cone Vineyard Churches in South America (Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil).

After some wonderful hospitality (our hostess Ximena is a an amazing artist and decorator, and is taking wonderful care of us) and an extended nap (with sunlight pouring into a quiet room – a favorite napping experience), we’re looking forward to an amazing week together.

I’ll be teaching a fair amount on spiritual formation, leadership values, effective worship leadership and moving teams into the world of tribes.

If you’d be willing to pray for us as you read this post, we’d be so grateful.

Thursday PM – Speaking to Chilean, Bolivian, Peruvian, Brazilian) Vineyard pastors

Friday, Saturday AM and PM – Speaking to Southern Cone attendees (worship leaders, teams, pastors, worshippers of the conference).

Sunday AM – Speaking to the Santiago Vineyard Community

Monday all day – Seeing the sites and returning home.

I’ll be doing some in Spanish, and most by translator. Abbi will take in much of the event, and spend time with some great friends who are showing her the “town.” Her Spanish is already coming close to being as good as mine.

I’ll do some updates along the way.

GREAT WORSHIP LEADERS: ATTITUDES, VALUES AND SKILLS
A Free Webinar for any and all worship leaders
With Dan Wilt, M.Min.
Wed., April 22nd
12:00 – 1:30 pm EST

This free webinar with Dan Wilt, M.Min. explores the attitudes, skills and values that mark great, effective worship leaders of our day. Gain practical tools for leading, pastoring, mentoring, growing and guiding a community in worship.

You can download the .mp3 later, but only if you register now. Space is limited to the first 1000 who register.

The most exciting part to me is the “over the top” nature of it – so many valuable treasures are packed into a tiny price per person. That feels good to me – like we’re giving in the process, and receiving the joy of the community we’re building together.

Check out the YouTube vid of it, and the link, and let us know what you think.

ESSENTIALS TEAM: We Help Train Your Worship Team

We’ll be taking in the LOVE CAME DOWN Christmas tour with Leeland, Jars Of Clay, Sixpence None The Richer, Sara Groves and others. Then we’ll also be taking in a RENAISSANCE VOICES Christmas concert at the Cathedral Church Of St. Luke.

I’ll do a few posts in the next few days on the following 4 questions related to each event:

What gift does the unique genre of music being played give to the 21st century Christmas/Advent worship experience?

What values drive the making of that kind of worship/artistic music?

What are the stories being told, both in the theological/worldview content of the event, and in the manner in which the material is presented?

What contribution might this form of worship expression give to current and emerging culture, both inside and outside of the Church proper? and

What role do aesthetics, art and creativity play in the creation of liminal (threshold) spaces of worship encounter for those attending?

Hope you can follow along the next few days. I promise the worst of journalism, the best of storytelling, and the most verbose commentary possible.

Off with you now – have you nothing better to do?

From the content of our interactions over the past weeks, these should be real keepers for today’s church.

We tried to engage the Indescribable. See how we did, and take the time to check them out below.

It’s a big shift, and I wanted my blog readers to know about it, as the RED module is just about here. If you want to dive in, go to the LEARN MORE, and then when you want to apply, ask us about the WorshipMusic.com discount. Here it is. Starting at $99, Essentials RED. See below…

THE ESSENTIALS COURSE is a unique, 15 week online learning experience. Study the arts of worship theology, history, creativity, spiritual formation and leadership with internationally respected worship leader Dan Wilt, M.Min., with media from N.T. Wright, Robert Webber, Matt Redman, Brian Doerksen and others. LEARN MORE or CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

ESSENTIALS RED is a 5 week module that makes up 1/3 of The FULL ESSENTIALS COURSE (Blue, Red and Green). RED is the study of foundational worship values, leadership and spiritual formation.

HOW WILL RED BENEFIT ME?

• ADD ancient worship ideas to your worship leading tool box.
• GAIN fresh, timeless approaches to holiday worship expressions, communion and more.
• SERVE your local church with creative riches inspired by history.

WHEN
Nov. 3 – Dec. 5, 2008 (5 weeks)
Register by Oct. 25th
Note: Register by Oct. 25th and get a free Dan Wilt and N. T. Wright Reclaiming Worship CD!

WHO
Worship Pastors, worship leaders, worship musicians, pastors, artists and worshippers

HOW MUCH TIME IT WILL TAKE
Approx. 1 hr./day (Approx. 6 hrs. or less per wk.!), for 5 weeks

TUITION (with WM.com code)
Non-university credit
Essentials Red (5 week module only): $99 USD
FULL ESSENTIALS SEMINAR (15 weeks, Blue/Red/Green): only $149 USD

For university credit
Essentials Red (5 week module for university credit): $249 USD
FULL ESSENTIALS COURSE (15 weeks, Blue/Red/Green for univ. credit): only $599 USD

HOW DO I REGISTER?
Click below, fill in the form, and then pay via PayPal. It’s that simple.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

In ESSENTIALS RED, Everything has a story – Worship has a powerful one.Consider the influence of just one worship song – Amazing Grace – in reshaping history. Consider how communion, a symbolic action in worship, has shaped lives for 2000 years! Consider how the art and music has led people of all ethnic groups in worship – across centuries. Our worship history has much to teach us for today.

ESSENTIALS RED is a life-changing, online, 5 week module course for contemporary and emerging worship leaders with Dan Wilt, M.Min., studying essential values in worship and the spiritual formation of leaders. Packed with media from N. T. Wright and others via iTunes U, Facebook, Blogs, readings and more, the course only takes 6-8 hours a week, connecting with an international class of peers. RED is the study of worship through the ages, giving tools for today.

WHAT FRIENDS ARE SAYING:

“I love Dan’s passion for worship and enthusiasm to train and equip others. He is a gifted communicator and has inspired many worship leaders over the years. Here is a man who is living to make God’s praise glorious.” Tim Hughes (Here I Am To Worship)

“Dan Wilt has a clear vision of what the church needs to recapture and deepen in worship. He is a gifted communicator and leader. I have known Dan for over ten years and I heartily recommend Dan and his Worship Institute to you!” Brian Doerksen (Come, Now Is The Time)

“It should be illegal to be a worship leader without doing this course! I wish I could have had this exposure 20 years ago!” Jamie Appleton (Essentials Blue, WL, Texas, USA)

COURSE OUTLINE

WEEK 1
Essential Worship History: The Language Of Time And Space

How have Christians used the language of time (daily, weekly, yearly and lifetime) to order their worship around Jesus over the millenia? What roles have holidays such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter played in the worship life of the Church? How have life journeys and passages such as birth, death, marriage, adolescence and other common human experiences played in the historic worship of the Church? What roles have landscapes, architecture, atmosphere and each age’s cultural experience played in cultivating a living worship expression in each age?

WEEK 2
Essential Worship History: The Language Of Prayer And Scripture

From the early Church through to the 21st century, the importance of God’s people praying together, and hearing the Scriptures read aloud have played a vital role in engaging the Church in her mission with God in the world. What creative approaches to these forms of worship could strengthen us today?

WEEK 3
Essential Worship History: The Language Of Baptism And The Eucharist

The language of sacraments and symbols may be unusual for many contemporary Christians growing up outside of liturgical churches. What are the real meanings, biblically and historically, behind the worship acts of Baptism and the Eucharist (communion)? In what ways could we reclaim their vitality in our worship expression today?

WEEK 4
Essential Worship History: The Language Of Art And Music

The role of the creative leader expressing worship through the media of art and music has been diverse across the history of the Church – from early church symbols, to Michelangelo’s Pieta, to Isaac Watt’s hymns, to Newton’s stunning Amazing Grace. Snapshots of worship history give us insight into how the Church has utilized art to further the missional worship story of every generation.

Week 5
Essential Worship History: Creative Projects

Our final week of the course will involve the creative distilling of our historical learning into a final project that will serve one’s local worshipping community. This is a favorite part of the course for all!

Join us for a season of transformation, either in RED or the FULL ESSENTIALS COURSE.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

I’ll be over in California this Fall leading a retreat for worship leaders in that region. I’ve been longing to get back to the area to connect with these friends, so the opportunity is a gift to me. I’d appreciate your prayers for this time, and for all those gathering.

Inspire.Create.Respond. Event

(subscribe to DanWilt.com)