“For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt”
Dan Wilt from ‘The Institute’ presents the case for us to aspire to be ‘Worship Artisans.’ My initial thoughts were not exactly positive or supportive of this ideal … why?
Well I think it comes from experience in living with one … my father! To call my Dad a craftsman is just the beginning of understanding the skill, knowledge, detail and quest for perfection that has been his life’s work. My father works with wood, he builds period furniture and restores antique furniture. His hands ‘feel’ the wood, he understands how it moves and groans. He understands how glue, ancient and modern will react to wood of different species. He understands proportional dimensions, how to finish and pull out the inherent beauty of the grain … and that is just the beginning.
So my struggle in applying this to my craft of worship leading comes in the form of many challenges. Am I really good enough? Am I really committed to putting all my time and energy into this craft?
For my Dad it wasn’t just about the wood … the material. It is about understanding his tools, what they do, why they do what they do. For example: You cannot do great work with a blunt chisel! I watched my father sharpen chisels with great care and attention, indeed I watched him sharpen his chisels with love.
Therefore my reticence in using this word to describe worship leaders comes from my own frailty and limitations and my great expectation on what true ‘artisanship’ embodies.
So in short I would have to say that true artisans within a worship genre will be few and far between – BUT – Does that mean there is no hope, or no ambition? Of course not! Dan Wilt provides us with three areas of intentional development that we have an opportunity to commit too in our quest for ‘artisanship.’
- Investment in theological and worldview studies and reflection.
- Investment in history, what has gone before us … our past can illuminate our future!
- Effective worship leading
Personally, what is so refreshing about these three items is that on the one hand they all relate to the ‘message of the song’; yet on the other-hand they move us outside the realm of the song and into a much broader context. If we choose this path our horizons will be much broader, richer and deeper than when we first started. Whether or not we reach the status of ‘artisan’ is truly immaterial in my mind … what matters most is that we be continually formed in the likeness of Christ.
What differentiates worship artisans I think is best described in the words of my father when I told him I was going to make my own acoustic guitar. His comment was this … “That’s great son, go ahead and make your first one … your next test it to learn how to make the wood sing.”
Thanks Jonty! This was really helpful when we thinking about worship leading as a craft, to think about someone we know who actually is/was a crafts-person. There is something very slow and purposeful about their process of crafting, their care for the tools, the love and time and effort goes into the finished product. I knew a potter like this. It does make us consider how much time and effort we put into worship leading. And I think you’re right, when we think about worship leading with this visual of your father as a craftsman, we know that constant honing and shaping has to happen as well as constantly drawing from our God and creator, the master craftsman.
Comment by Dawn — January 16, 2009 @ 21:05 |
Cheers Dawn … thanks for the feedback
Comment by jontyspeak — January 16, 2009 @ 21:14 |