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Worship and Seminary Education: Formation of worship leaders

Article by Thomas E. Dipko

The Association for Reformed and Liturgical Worship (AR&LW) has begun a conversation around the formation of worship leaders for Reformed congregations.  Partners in this conversation include congregations, seminaries who train the worship leaders, and the judicatory bodies that ordain these leaders.

Who is responsible for what?

Who is responsible for the formation of those who lead Christian worship?  How do worship leaders learn the art and discipline necessary for shaping corporate worship?  The Association for Reformed & Liturgical Worship (www.arlw.org) understands that congregations, denominational judicatories, and seminaries share this covenanted responsibility.

With representatives of thirteen seminaries of the Reformed heritage present, the annual meeting of AR&LW (2008) hosted a rare conversation about the particular role of seminaries in fulfilling this responsibility.  The dialogue, made possible in part by support from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, was non-judgmental, open to new patterns of cooperation, and respectful of the growing and often unrealistic expectations placed on seminaries.

Keynote insights from a seminary professor

In a keynote address, Kristin Saldine, Assistant Professor of Homiletics at Austin Theological Seminary, cited studies that show how highly both laity and pastors rank the importance of pastoral responsibility for the worship life of congregations.  Pastors, she noted, indicated that leading worship is what they do best. How well they are prepared for this ministry is less clear. 

In the experience of members of the Steering Committee of AR&LW, the role of seminaries in their personal formation as worship leaders was minimal.  In interviews with each of them, the common theme was praise for their seminary experience in general, but an admission that much of their preparation for worship responsibilities came through on the job experience and post-seminary continuing education.

Kristin Saldine, while affirming that the formation of worship leaders involves more than clergy, described a banner that read “Welcome Worship Leaders” as she arrived at the Dallas airport.  She discovered that the sponsors of the mega-church event were all music companies and musicians.  The program assumed the model of the musician as “presider,” with pastors in the role of preachers and teachers under the direction of music leaders. 

She appealed for a more holistic understanding of pastors, musicians, and gifted members of congregations as a worship team.   With this cooperation, all worshipers should be participants who are able to say, “This is holy. I can be part of this.”  (For a related story from US News.com, read "A Return to Tradition").

In her comprehensive address, she refreshed minds about the importance of worship in the historical documents of the Reformed family of churches, and the power of symbols, art, language, gestures, music, silence, movement, and mystery in worship that enacts the faith we confess.  Although seminaries were at the top of her list of those responsible for educating leaders of worship, she also celebrated the place of supervised internships, mentoring, the influence of worshiping congregations, and one-on-one coaching that the current generation of seminary students welcomes.

What seminaries offer for the formation of worship leaders

Seminary teachers shared candidly the limited courses offered in worship at their institutions and indicated, with few exceptions, that no course in this field is required for graduation.  In some instances, worship is one part of homiletics (preaching) courses or is covered in courses on theology, church history, church music or ecumenical studies.

Chapel was also cited.  The frequency of chapel services ranges from daily to once per week and guidelines for chapel worship are minimal.  The frequency of Holy Communion varies more widely, from “rarely” to “weekly,” depending on the assigned leadership.

The shape of worship is diverse, often depending on the denominational background of the leader, but in some instances a basic structure is recommended.   Taizé and Benedictine forms, various breathing and centering exercises, and ecumenical services are used.  None of the seminaries has produced its own book of worship.  Ten different hymnals are represented in the seminaries included in this discussion, in addition to or in place of power point texts. 

Some formation of worship leaders occurs in field education, especially for those placed in congregations, but the quality of these experiences varies widely.  One teacher shared a chart of how fourteen seminaries in his region provide field education.  The general training of supervisors in these schools ranges from only four to fifteen hours per year and does not focus on worship.

Field education requirements for students, in the seminaries represented by the teachers, range from one to six semesters.  In some instances, however, a waiver from the requirement is possible.

Concerns identified in small group dialogue:

Surprises and hopes raised by the comments of the seminary teachers were identified in small group discussion.  Among the surprises:

• The constrained amount of time for the study of worship
• Lack of integration among disciplines, including worship, in the total curriculum
• Absence of spiritual disciplines or formation opportunities
• Separation of academic study from a living worship tradition and experience
• Reluctance of denominational seminaries to require denominational formation
• Diversity that, unmanaged, diminishes distinctive faith traditions
• Laissez-faire worship planning that lacks coherence
• Absence of denominational programs for the reception of books of worship

An ecumenical guest cautioned that it is inconceivable that worship leaders may be “formed” in a seminary that is not itself a worshiping community.  He urged that ways be found to bring the academic study of faith and the worshipful practice of faith into an inseparable unity.    One of the founders of AR&LW, in similar words, lamented that “the concept of seminary worship as a component of the educational mission of the seminaries was not prominent” in our dialogue.

Among the hopes identified in the groups:

• A rediscovery of the centrality of worship (liturgy) for theology
• An overcoming of barriers hostile to or indifferent to worship in seminaries
• Judicatory willingness to require courses in worship for ordination
• Imaginative and sustained use of chapel as an experience in worship formation
• Seminaries and judicatories committed to continuing education in worship
• Worship education that includes the laity, including church musicians
• Regard for individuals but a curbing of individualism in worship planning

We were reminded by Kristin Saldine in a panel presentation that seminaries are expected to comply with accreditation demands, denominational expectations, student choices, and other pressures that make it difficult to satisfy all constituencies. 

For many who attended the gathering, the fact that thirteen seminaries of the Reformed family were willing to encourage their faculty to participate was in itself a sign of hope. Further, one founding member of AR&LW wrote,

"The most memorable experiences at the conference were the worship opportunities.  The fact that all of them were led, in part, by seminary people was most encouraging.  My hope is that those folks have ample opportunity to exercise these talents and capabilities on their campuses."

In the closing hours of the annual meeting, the gathering worked to develop generative questions about the future formation of worship leaders.  These questions, finalized by the Steering Committee, will be shared with regional cluster groups (of eight to twelve persons) that will meet throughout the country over the next year.  Their insights will be used at the 2009 annual meeting where the focus will be the role of congregations in the formation of worship leaders.

Other articles for this project:

	Ecumenical Voices
	Regional Cluster Groups
	Focus on Congregations