Vernon loves his family, coffee, music and church.  Since 1990 he has been a pastor at Northland Church in Orlando, FL serving in the areas of Worship and Service.  Vernon serves as the liturgist for Northland and also leads a missions program that links with 35 ministries around the world. Twenty years ago Vernon created the True North Foundation, which emphasizes the return of the church to be the primary patron of the arts.  Vernon holds a Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Social Work, as well as a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies.  He and Connie have been married 39 years and love their growing family.

Vernon serves an incredible church. Through multi-campus worship, house churches and a thriving online worship community, Northland welcomes more than 12,000 worshippers each week. We are thrilled to welcome Vernon as a Featured Speaker at this year’s Engage Conference.

I recently had the chance to ask Vernon some questions about ministry….

Q: At what age did you get involved in music/ministry?

A: I can honestly say that I was 6 years old.  I asked our music minister at my church if I could lead in a hymn – and he agreed.  That song was “Onward Christian Soldiers”.  There were gaps from that point forward in the ministry part of music, but I engaged it as part of my life when I was around 30 – that was 29 years ago.

Q: When did you realize it was going to be more than a hobby for you?

A: I pursued music in a serious way from the time I was 14. I played in bands professionally (got my first pay check for music at 15) until I was 19 (when I became a soldier) and then resumed it 3 years later in a national radio program and touring.  I was 29 when I led worship for the first time.

Q: How would you describe the team that you serve with at Northland?

A: Everyone on our team is a better musician than I am – which causes me to work really hard.  But our team’s greatest asset is that we see Jesus as our audience and the congregation as our focus.

Q: We are thrilled that you will be speaking at Engage this year. What do you hope to impart to the conference attendees?

A: I am honored to be a guest with other great worship leaders.  I expect to learn more than I teach.  But to the question, I hope to encourage confidence and calling to every participant.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing worship leaders and volunteers in the Church today?

A: Forgetting our goal and comparing oneself to other leaders.

Q: If you could say 1 thing to every person involved in worship ministry on a staff or volunteer level, what would it be?

A: I love this statement: Romano Guardini, a twentieth-century German theologian, once observed, worship “has one thing in common with the play of the child and the life of art – it has no purpose, but it is full of profound meaning. It is not work, but play…. From this is derived its sublime mingling of profound earnestness and divine joyfulness.” Serving as a congregation’s worship leader and planner is like entering a playground. There are all sorts of joyful discoveries awaiting you.

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For a detailed list of Engage sessions, or for registration info, visit us on the web: www.EngageConf.com 

Let’s connect on Twitter: @BrianLTabor   @EngageConf   @MpccWorship

My friend and one of my mentors, Dr. Fred Meadows has devoted a great deal of time and study to this very subject. Fred is a dear brother and will be leading a breakout session at Engage: The Worship Experience on the Spiritual Health of the Worship Leader. This will be an important session for every person who leads worship either as a staff member or volunteer on your team. Fred’s new book, “Reforming The Broken Heart Of Leadership” will be releasing in July, 2013.

I had the chance to talk with Fred recently about life, ministry and his session at Engage, and wanted to pass on some of that content. Fred is the Pastor of Worship Arts and Spiritual Formation at College Church of the Nazarene and Adjunct Religion Professor at Olivet Nazarene University. He is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, earning the Doctor of Ministry degree, and specializing in the area of spiritual formation and spiritual direction as it pertains to Christian leaders. He previously completed his graduate work at Regent University with a master’s degree in Practical Theology and Worship Renewal. He has previously been an instructor for Integrity Worship Institute and Marantha! Music. Fred is certified in the field of Formative Spirituality with the Epiphany Association of Pittsburgh. He has served the Lord in ministry to the church for 30 years. He has recently authored the book, “Restoring the Heart of Broken Leadership” which tells his own personal story and offers sound wisdom on the spiritual formation practices of those in leadership. He is married to his high-school sweetheart, Pamali, and together they are parents of two grown children, Chad and Chelsea. For fun, Fred enjoys a good golf course, a good filet mignon, soaking up the sun at the beach, watching auto racing, and cheering on his Indianapolis Colts.

Q: When did you start in ministry?

A: I started ministry in the church in 1983 as an assistant to the Rev. Phil M. Fair as a student intern (did more than your average intern) leading Sunday night worship services, the college chorale of 50 students, and serving on staff as “staff accompanist” for worship, etc at North Anderson Church of God. My full-time ministry began a few months later in 1984. I’ve pastored, to this point in four congregations.

Q: What are your greatest ministry passions?

A: Helping people connect to the very real presence of Christ in their lives. People’s lives seem to be so fragmented; my passion is to help people find wholeness in Christ. I love it when “the lights come on” in a person’s life that lets others know that there is Someone living inside. I have been able to see this happen through corporate worship; now I am focusing more on the dynamic of small groups and individuals.

Q: You will be leading a session at Engage this year on Spiritual Health Of The Worship Leader. What do you hope to impart to the leaders that attend your session?

A: I hope to impart that the greatest evidence of worship taking place in our congregations is a transformed life, and that begins with us, nurturing our inner world so that what overflows our hearts are things that are pure, noble, humble, holy, praiseworthy, and excellent. We as worship leaders need to create the Big Flip in our lives to where our inner life and soul informs what we do, rather than hoping what we do will invigorate or somehow inspiring our inner lives. It’s amazing to me how many leaders in the church depend on their jobs to sustain their spiritual lives and relationships with God.  I’ll be using some biblical examples of people who succeeded and failed at leading from this inner perspective.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing worship leaders in the church today?

A: I think one of the biggest challenges is helping people through the subjectivity of worship. . .that it is not about them, but all about God. The consumer mentality in the church is still alarming to me. The “what’s-in-it-for-me” attitude is still very prevalent where I live. As a result, I feel that we really have to be careful that our leadership does not become so secularized that we miss the presence, power, and purpose of a living, “at-with-us” God. What we do is a high and holy calling. Our jobs entail helping people both on and off the stage to realize that worship is not about the music, but it is about the heart. Who else gets to do that?

Q: If you could say 1 thing to every worship leader, what would it be?

A: Seek God, become acquainted with your soul (which, by the way, really likes to go into hiding) and guard your heart. (OK. . .that was three.)

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For a detailed list of Engage sessions, or for registration info, visit us on the web: www.EngageConf.com 

Let’s connect on Twitter: @BrianLTabor   @EngageConf   @MpccWorship

Kathleen is an absolute gift to the Body of Christ and is an amazing member of the Worship & Arts Ministry at our church. (MPCC) She is a graduate of Eastman School of Music and holds a doctorate from Indiana University. She is currently Chair of the Music Department, Director of Vocal Studies and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Indianapolis. She has traveled the world as a performer and clinician. Follow her on Twitter @KathleenHacker

We are thrilled that she will be leading a breakout session at ENGAGE: The Worship Experience on Vocal Technique and I had the chance to ask her a few questions about singing, vocal health and how she hopes her session will impact the vocalists who attend. Engage is a Worship Conference coming to Greenwood, IN, September 12-14. Dig deeper by visiting our web site: www.EngageConf.com

Q:  When did you start singing?

A:  I was singing in the womb. I was one of those children who never considered doing anything else with her life. We even had to make a rule at our house that there would be no singing at the dinner table. I never connected that the rule was made because of me.

The first solo I was given in school was in first grade for Miss Philips. It was for the Christmas program “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”  and I got to sing it with the sixth grade choir. It is unusual perhaps, but singing was my first language and speaking my second. I would go into the dining room and close the panel doors to sing and play piano for hours on end. I took part in every musical opportunity that came around for our small town and was in every music class offered in my school. When it came time to begin thinking about college, it never occurred to me to consider any other degree program than music…I just had to figure out where I would earn it. My sister told me a few years ago that they (all four of my siblings) always thought I was a bit weird growing up….

I never thought about being a star or desired that image. I just wanted to learn how to sing everything that came across my plate.  Later on in life, I wanted to sing great music with talented people; I wanted to teach others what I knew; and I wanted to be able to put my children to bed every night. I have that life now because God granted me the desires of my heart.

Q:  When did you realize it was going to be more than a hobby for you?

A:  When I had to start making a living and realized that I didn’t know how to do anything else….

Q:  You will be leading a Vocal Technique session at Engage this year. What do you hope to impart to the vocalists that attend your session?

A:  The most important thing I wish to impart is that Gods gift can be brought to its highest communicative potential and that a singer’s heart can be most fully expressive if one understands and employs good technique. The more you work at becoming your best self as a singer, the more equipped you are to share the glory and power of God’s story.

Q:  What do you think are the biggest challenges facing vocalists in the church today?

A:  1) Understanding good vocal technique and using that same technique while adjusting for amplified sound.
2) The current repertoire is not repertoire that builds basic technique like classical repertoire does…the range is necessarily limited and sits low for most women in order to accommodate good congregational sound,  so you have to bring good technique to the table.
3) Bringing a song to life that has many repetitive phrases is not easy. Repetition is good, because the congregation then takes the phrase away with them, but making each turn of the phrase come alive  in performance is truly a feat for the imagination.

Q:  If you could say 1 thing to every church vocalist, what would it be?

A:  Love the Lord, desire to express his Majesty in all that you do, and know that people will be lead if you remain an instrument for God. Once you get in the way of that and push God out of the picture, you are no longer leading a worship experience.

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For a detailed list of Engage sessions, or for registration info, visit us on the web: www.EngageConf.com 

Let’s connect on Twitter: @BrianLTabor   @EngageConf   @MpccWorship

Music has a language all its own. So often we throw our volunteers into the deep end of the pool before we’ve taken the time to teach them the basics of swimming. That can lead to frustration for them and for us. Developing volunteers is all about giving them the tools they need and helping them develop over time. I have been guilty of this many times over the years and am working at ways to improve how I develop our volunteers.

This basic leadership principle crosses over into all worship disciplines as well. Whether it’s setting lighting for your service, doing projection or playing guitar. What are you doing to help develop your volunteers? What kinds of tools are you providing? How do you approach training?

These are questions that we wrestle with all the time at MPCC and are the foundational heartbeat of ENGAGE: The Worship Experience. (September 12-14, 2013) We started Engage because we wanted to provide quality training for our own volunteers and it has blossomed into an event that can benefit your church team and volunteers as well.

Engage is a conference for your entire church team, both staff members and volunteers alike. We are bringing in resource people from all over the country to help encourage and equip you and your team of volunteers.

Engage will offer sessions on a wide variety of topics:

• Spiritual Preparation For Worship
• Music Theory
• Guitars In Worship
• Vocal Technique
• Projection
• Sound
• Drums In Worship
• Lighting
• Media & Communications
• Vocal Expression
• Copyright Law
• Volunteer Development
• Any Many More!

I would invite you to dig deeper by visiting the ENGAGE web site by clicking here. Also, follow us on Twitter @EngageConf

Here’s a video about Engage. Take 70 seconds and give it a look.

Ministry can also be challenging. It can even be discouraging. Those of us in vocational ministry can relate to the ups and downs of ministry because we live them. But, what about the volunteers? Imagine walking through some of those ups and downs on top of managing a separate fulltime job, a family and finding time to nurture your relationship with God?

How do we, as leaders, encourage and develop the volunteers that serve with us? I’d like to offer a few suggestions. This is not meant to be a completed list, just a few thoughts to get the conversation rolling. Thoughts? I would love to hear from  you in the Comments section.

• Be A Cheerleader :: Be your teams biggest fan. Celebrate them. Sit in the front row when they sing or play and hang on every note. 
• Be An Encourager :: Do you write thank you notes/emails/texts? If not, start. Let them know you are praying for them. Tell them you know how hard they work.
• Be An Investor :: Provide opportunities for them to grow in their gifts. Give them examples to follow – and you should be on that list. Invest in them.
• Be A Resource :: Give them a target. Find a way to let them see where you want to go. Attend concerts and conferences as a team. Give them CD’s and share videos with them.
• Be An Example :: When your team sees how you encourage them, it will show them how to encourage one another.

The whole subject of volunteers is the heart of Engage: The Worship Experience. We want you to come and bring your volunteers with you. I promise you that they will leave encouraged and fired up. We’ll offer lots of practical sessions on both the music side and the technology side. Our team is already praying for your team, and trusting God that September 12-14 will be a dynamic time for all of us. We want this to be an experience that transforms your ministry….and ours.

I hope to see you and your volunteers in September.

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @BrianLTabor    @EngageConf     @MpccWorship 

We are back. That’s right…Engage 2013 has been set in motion and our Conference Team is ready to go! Mount Pleasant Christian Church is proud to present; ENGAGE: The Worship Experience, a Worship and Arts Conference coming to Greenwood Indiana September 12-14. Engage is a large worship gathering for your entire church team; both staff and volunteers. Filled with speakers, dynamic workshops, and a Worship Night featuring Christian Rock Group Sanctus Real, ENGAGE is here to provide unique and resourceful ways of helping your church team grow in many different areas. Participating at this event will enable you and your team to create new ministry strategies and practical ideas to implement to your congregation while learning and striving to engage yourself and others with God. Come learn, listen, connect, experience, share and find your story and love for worship with ENGAGE.

The Worship and Arts portion of the conference will include a range of sessions from training vocal teams; to hands-on instruction for instrumentalists, choirs in contemporary music and reading sessions lead by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse of Praisegathering Music Group; to informative discussions on worship leading, music theory and using copyrighted material. The Programming feature of this conference will focus on production, producing, visual and sound performance, new media technology and communications.

NEW THIS YEAR: Engage For Kids!

Engage is not only for Worship and Arts Teams- but for people who help in Children’s Ministry. During the Engage conference, you will have the opportunity to rub shoulders and learn from leaders about how children can come to life through worship and learning each weekend. Our sessions will include a general overview of the children’s ministry model and how to integrate technology and worship for all age levels.

REGISTRATION
Early bird registration is now available for $99.99 per person until August 31. Special rates and discounts are offered for students and groups of six or larger.

It is our sincere prayer that you’ll will join in on this journey with us and come to ENGAGE 2013! We want to share the latest resources and new ways to intimately meet Christ through Worship- and most of all spread a new fire for worship that is undeniable and contagious.

Early bird registration is now available for $99.99 per person until August 31. Special rates and discounts are offered for students and groups of six or larger.

Check out our New look at www.engageconf.com Registration is now available! See you all in September!

Brian Tabor and Joey Santos
Twitter: @EngageConf

In nearly 20 years I have had a consistent struggle each week as I plan worship. For many weeks, I have prayed & planned to create this experience. I have been up late at night thinking about it. I wake up thinking about specific moments that we are trying to create…special ways we are trying to impart God’s Truth to the congregation. I have dreamt about transitions and how critical they are to the flow of worship…and when we nail them, it can help to create a powerful moment in a worship service.

After this whole journey, I hand it off to volunteers who haven’t had the benefit of going through the journey with me. We can certainly work to explain what are hoping for and through rehearsals, hard work and great communication we can get a ton of things right; but, it isn’t always fair to expect our volunteers to be able to catch a month worth of preparation in a one hour rehearsal.

To Click or Not To Click, that is the question. Many churches are wrestling with this and I wanted to offer some thoughts on why and how we use click at MPCC. This is not meant to be a complete list, just a starting point. I would love to hear your thoughts in the Comments section.

• Stability :: This is so important when leading worship. Sometimes slight changes can affect the congregation or even become a distraction, as they worship. We work so hard in planning, it makes sense to put things in place that protect the integrity and stability of the worship experience for our congregations.
• Consistency ::  At MPCC, we rotate players each weekend in multiple worship venues. And, while there is certainly room for each player to have some room to interpret their parts, it’s important that our congregation has some level of consistency. For instance, the song “Soon” by Hillsong United…incredible song with amazing lyrics. This has become a very special song for our church. The tempo is marked at 70 and our congregation is used to the speed & sound. Surprises can be good but with these songs of deep worship, I want to make sure that our congregation can really enter in and sing in a way that puts them at ease. We’ve all had those moments when our emotions get caught up in worship and all of a sudden, the tempo jumps by 20 points and the moment is lost for the congregation. Click can help to manage that.
• Training :: My wife, Kim, always says, “Singing is just like running or any kind of training. If you want to be a better, faster & more effective runner, find someone who is farther along than you are and run with them. Try to keep up with them. Learn from them.” Playing in a worship band is the same thing. Playing with click helps to train us – all of us (myself included) to stay and play in time. This is an element of basic musicianship and can go a long way in enhancing the worship experience for our congregation.
• Visuals :: We are all using more and more visuals in worship. Light & video cues need a context and something to hold on to. When they hit at the right moment, it can really inspire our congregation to worship. Using click allows us to plan for those and to give context to those cues so that our light & video volunteers can flourish.
• Supplements :: Using click allows you to supplement your band, as needed. Don’t have an acoustic guitar player and need one for a certain song? Record it on your click track. OR, many software programs allow you to mix your click and pull or raise levels of specific instruments, as needed. This is a HUGE help.
• Multiple Venues :: At MPCC, during our 10:45am Sunday service, we have worship happening in multiple venues with separate bands, vocal teams & worship leaders. Then, we come together for the sermon. This is not a transition we can leave to chance. In our situation, both bands play to the same click track, which allows us to stay together.

One question I get often is, what about the spontaneous flow of the Holy Spirit? Great question. First, the Holy Spirit can inspire you as you plan just as He can during worship. Leave room for that. We program space between songs for those moments of spontaneous worship, before we click off the next song. I would also encourage you to spend some time praying, planning and talking about how click can be beneficial to your specific worship experience, with the unique needs of your congregation.

Nathan Sutliff (Westminster Church Of The Nazarene – Westminster, CO) wrote a great blog about click. You can find it HERE.

At MPCC, we use ProPresenter as our presentation software. We load our click into the Timeline feature in ProPresenter, using an AIFF file that we produce in a program called Reason. Websites like PraiseCharts.com provide Reason files for many songs and using the program you can tailor those files for your situation. Then, we split the click so that our band gets the click side and our FOH Audio Engineer is able to mix the supplemental track into the house mix, as needed.

There are many other options for click, though. What do you use?

Social Media forums have forever changed how we interact with one another. There are numerous positive impacts that they have made on us, our lives and ministries; but, there are also some pitfalls and things that we need to avoid. My colleague, Joey Santos wrote a great blog on Social Media. You can find it HERE.

I’d like to offer a few thoughts on using Social Media in light of being involved in ministry. Whether you are a paid staff member or a volunteer at your local church, we need to use thoughtful wisdom when posting to Social Media sites. Thoughts? Please share in the Comments section.

• You Represent God To The World Around You :: Your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors probably know you are a Christian…or, at least they should. When they see you posting questionable material, thoughts or pictures it can cause them to question your Christian witness. That may sound harsh, but it’s true. Romans 12:1-2 is a great guideline for us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” We are supposed to be different and set apart. Make sure your Social Media presence reflects that. 
  
• What You Post Says Something About You :: When your friends read your Twitter feed, what does it say about you? Is it peppered with questionable language, behavior or images? Do you Retweet people who use offensive language? Who do you follow? We are always communicating and so many people have access to what we post. Be thoughtful and know that with every post you are adding to your online reputation. What kind of reputation do you want to build?
• You Represent Your Church And Your Team :: The right to be a leader is not easily earned. And, whether you are the upfront person leading worship or you are playing in the band or sitting at a computer,  you are a leader. People will see you out at restaurants, the mall, concerts, everywhere you go. What do they see in you? I can promise you that if they see you doing something questionable it will affect how they see you as a leader. One emotional vent can harm your personal reputation and the way they see your church or ministry as well. Guard your reputation and the reputation of the ministry you are involved in.
• Popularity Doesn’t Make It Right :: All kinds of things become popular in the world. Styles, pictures, sayings can all seep into our consciousness and become part of our lives before we know it. Certain phrases that the world thinks are funny can actually be super offensive to the cause of Christ. Be careful and THINK IT THROUGH before you use it.
• Your Posts Can Last Forever :: Did you know that pictures you post to Facebook, Twitter & Instagram can live forever? People have the ability to download the pictures you post or at least take a screen shot of them. Even if you go back and delete those later, the copies that they downloaded last forever. Use judgment for all the above reasons and more. Do you want people you don’t know to have access to pictures of you on vacation or with your spouse or in your swimsuit?? Think about it.
• What Do You Consider Questionable :: Great question. Would you show/read it to your grandma? That may sound old school and IT IS. Unapologetically so. Remember the old saying, “Would you speak like that if Jesus were sitting beside you.” Use that as a measuring stick. Is that hard core? Absolutely. Will it keep you out of trouble? ABSOLUTELY.

This is a starting point to get you thinking about your Social Media Reputation. As I said earlier, it is unapologetically old school. Don’t you think our reputations deserve that?

• “Let The Praises Ring” [From the CD "Let The Praises Ring" by Lincoln Brewster]
• “Our God Saves” [From CD "Our God Saves" by Paul Baloche]
• “Soon” [From the CD "Tear Down The Walls" by Hillsong United]

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @BrianLTabor :: @KimTabor :: @FinallyFreeTM :: @MpccWorship :: @EngageConf

I’d like to get us started with some thoughts. This is, by no means, a complete list. I also don’t mean these in a judgmental way, just some food for thought as we build our teams. Not every person who wants to serve on your team is gifted to do so. If you would like to add something feel free down in the comment section. Let’s talk.

• Commitment To Jesus :: This should go without saying. First and foremost, we need volunteers who are in love with Jesus.
• Commitment to The Church :: It’s been said, “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.” If someone tries to convince you that their level of dedication will skyrocket once they have a microphone in their hands and stand under the lights….RUN. That is a red alert.
• Attitude :: A servant attitude is crucial. **Let me also say, that THIS BEGINS WITH US as leaders. That’s right, I went all-caps. We need to model this for our volunteers. Be a servant, not a rockstar. This is a lifelong process for all of us…myself included.
• Character :: Are they a person of character? When you look at their Twitter feed or Facebook page, what do you see?
• Gifts :: I mentioned this earlier but not every person who desires to serve on your team is gifted to do so. Here’s an example from my own life. When I was in college I wanted to sing like Steve Green. I mean, I really wanted it. I wanted to stand on the stage and sing that enormous high (Bb) and let the congregation go wild. Well, I was not gifted to do that. Only God knows why, because I would have rocked it! Seriously, I had to come to a realization that God had gifted me to do something different than he gifted Steve Green. We need to help our people, in a very nurturing way, to find their area of giftedness. That will bless God, The Church and them.
• Others? Thoughts?

Once they start serving, it’s up to us to model the type of servants we want them to be. Do you want your team to be on time to rehearsal? Then start by being on time yourself. Be ready before they arrive. This shows respect for them, the process and your entire team.

Do you want your team to embrace excellence in their worship? Then be excellent. “Be all you can be.” Be the best YOU that you can possibly be.

Early in ministry, I learned some of these lessons the hard way. I would be running around like a crazy man right before rehearsal, trying to get things ready for for my volunteers. You know what? They stopped coming on time, because rehearsals weren’t starting on time…. because of me. Yikes. I had to change my behavior. I had to intentionally change my process so that I could have things ready beforehand. This freed me up to welcome my team….it gave me time to build community with them.

What are your thoughts on building a team of volunteers?

Let’s Connect On Twitter: @BrianLTabor :: @KimTabor :: @FinallyFreeTM :: @MpccWorship :: @EngageConf