The Role of the Pastor with the Worship Leader – WRSP 645

Course Description

This is a study of the relationship between the pastor and worship leader in a local church. Emphasis is given to leadership models for team building and staff management, leadership responsibilities towards the gospel ministry, and the biblical role of the pastor as the worship leader of the congregation.

Rationale

Worship is at the heart of everything we are and do as Christians. Even though the minister of music/worship pastor is charged with the responsibility of executing and facilitating worship in the church service, the senior pastor is actually the chief worship leader in a local church. The people’s response to, appreciation of, and participation in worship will be in direct proportion to the senior pastor’s commitment to worship. This principle is the driving force behind any successful church known for its worship ministry.

Historically, the relationship between the pastor and minister of music/worship leader has been mixed with success and failure. There needs to be an understanding of the unique role pastors have with their worship leaders. This is key to building strong, biblically based worship ministries. The pastor and worship leader need times of training, teaching, encouraging, and edifying each other in their gifts and individual tasks, together. Thus, they can learn the basics of building relationships on each other’s giftedness, cast vision and communicate strategy for ministry together, and build an organizational structure to achieve those goals.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to provide a thread in response to the provided prompt. Each thread must be 600 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be 300 words. Each thread and each reply must contain at least 1 scholarly citation and 1 Biblical citation.

Working with Me Paper Assignment

The student will write a 1,500–2,000-word paper that focuses on the student’s personality and can guide colleagues to working with the student. The paper must outline strengths and weaknesses. The paper is to follow current Turabian format for any outside sources the student may choose to incorporate.

4-MAT Book Review Assignments (3)

The student will write a research-based paper in 1,300–1,800 words in current Turabian format that succinctly summarizes and applies the information covered in 3 of the 4 resources to the role of the worship leader. The paper must include at least 2 footnotes and applications from the Bible.

Interview Project Assignment

The student will write 2 interview papers in current Turabian format that focus on the interview of two pastors/ministers of music teams outside of the student’s own church/church staff. Each interview paper is to be 750–1,250 words; therefore, the project will be 1,500–2,500 words. A template interview form of questions is provided for the student, but is not included in the 1,500-2,000 word count.

Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The student will write an annotated bibliography in current Turabian format that focuses on one of the provided topics. The paper will include 10 total sources of which at least 5 must be peer-reviewed journal articles. All journal articles used, regardless of whether they are peer-reviewed, must have been published within the last 10 years. The course resources may be used, but do not count toward the 10 total sources. Textbooks not included in the course may be used as sources and may have been published at any time. Each annotation must be 50–200 words.

Capstone Project Assignment

The capstone project will be split into three portions: a paper, an audio/visual presentation using Kaltura or YouTube, and an executive summary.

Paper

The student will write a research-based paper in current Turabian format that focuses on the same chosen topic from the annotated bibliography. The paper must be 3,750-4,500 words in length and include at least 10 references. The course resources may be used, but do not count toward the total number of references.

Audio/Visual Presentation

The student will create an audio/visual presentation that is 4–5 minutes in duration and encapsulates the paper into a succinct overview. The student may choose from a list of Liberty University-approved media in the assignment instructions to submit the presentation.

Executive Summary

The student will submit a 100–250-word executive summary that presents the topic of the paper, captures the main themes of the paper, and highlights the practical application of the research paper.