If you’re looking to download the messages from WorshipGod11, both the main message and seminars can be downloaded from the Sovereign Grace Ministries blog.

Well, on March 31 we found out how many people are the kind that wait until the last minute to sign up for a conference. 478. That’s how many signed up that day, bringing the total registration to around 1000.

That’s by far the most we’ve had registered for a WorshipGod conference this far out. We’re excited about what God has in store!

But here’s the bad news. Seminars are already beginning to fill up. We’re switching some rooms around to add more people to the full seminars, but eventually those will fill up to. The moral of the story is, if you want to go to a specific seminar, sign up now.

And remember, you can change your seminar choices up until July 31, the day that online registration ends. But once a seminar is full, it will no longer appear in the drop-down menu. Of course, if some people drop out, it will show up again. So if you don’t see the seminar you want to attend listed, stop by again later to see if it’s opened up.

For the last two WorshipGod conferences we’ve capped attendance at 1700. It looks like we might surpass that this year. If the demand is there, we have the option of opening up another section of the auditorium and increasing the attendance by about 500.

We’ll see how it goes…

We asked Jamie Brown a few questions about the breakout session he’ll be teaching at WorshipGod11: The Gathering. It will be specifically aimed at those who lead worship with a more formal liturgy.

What do you hope will be filling people’s minds and hearts as they walk away from your message?
It can be discouraging and frustrating to lead worship in a liturgical church. I hope this seminar relieves some of that frustration, and encourages worship leaders to go back home with some hope and excitement at what God can do through them even in the constraints of a formal liturgy.

How has what you’re going to speak on affected your own life?
I have only ever attended and led worship in an Anglican church. I know firsthand that leading worship in this setting can feel like trying to paint in a straight jacket. I’ve seen dead, robotic services where heartless hymn singing is the norm and contemporary songs are the enemy. I’ve also seen God melt hearts of stone and use music as a surgical tool to help people encounter God in vibrant worship.

Can you expound on one point that you’ll be making in your message?
Great chefs have learned, through years of experience, how to work with a recipe, mixing all the different ingredients and making some adjustments, to present something that feeds and satisfies. Worship leaders, especially in liturgical churches, have a lot of ingredients and recipes to juggle. If the “recipe” owns them – the meal is going to be stale and bland. If they get comfortable and familiar enough to own the recipe – to know where they can make adjustments and where they can’t – then the final product can be more edifying. And edible.

How are people best going to be served by coming to this seminar?
For years I left these kind of conferences thinking “those were amazing times of corporate worship. Too bad my church can’t experience that.” I hope worship leaders will leave this seminar thinking “my congregation can experience more of this than I thought”.

Is there any passage of Scripture that sums up what you’ll be sharing?
Many liturgical churches do Psalm 46:10 really well (“Be still, and know that I am God…”). They might be surprised that two verses later, in Psalm 47:1 they’re encouraged to: “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” By thinking surgically and leading carefully, prayerfully, and biblically, you can help your congregation grow in their expression of heartfelt, Christ-centered, Sprit-filled worship.

With so many worship conferences going on, why come to WorshipGod11? Here are twelve reasons why I think you (pastor, worship leader, musician, songwriter, techie) should join us:

1. Biblical, practical, engaging preaching. Guys who love to preach God’s Word and serve local churches will be explaining why gathering together as God’s people matters. We’ll get to hear from Ray Ortlund, Jr., Bryan Chapell, Thabiti Anyabwile (pictured here), & Craig Cabaniss. And me. Here’s a clip of John Piper from WG2009.

2. Skilled church musicians who love God, his gospel, his Word, and his church. Everyone who leads at the conference may not be a household name (although Enfield and Sojourn Music should be), but that’s okay. They’re leading because, like you, they know what it is to serve in the church week in and week out, with volunteers who want to serve the church more faithfully. And they do it really well.

3. Live album. Friday night we’ll be recording back to back sessions of our new album, The Gathering. And you can be on it! The songs will be designed around a gospel-shaped liturgy. If you’re registered, you’ll receive MP3s of the songs 2 weeks in advance of the conference to learn them. Should be a rich time.

4. Lots of free stuff. in 2009 we gave away a midi keyboard, a $300 Sweetwater gift certificate, a copy of Sibelius, a guitar amp, some iPods, and a bunch of other stuff. Who knows what we’ll give away this year? Besides free, we also do cheap albums and books pretty well.

5. Like-minded worshipers. You’ll meet over 1500 people who are passionate about doing what you do and want to do it better for the glory of Jesus.

6. One responsibility: take it all in. Enjoy 3 whole days where you don’t have to arrange any of the songs, lead any of the rehearsals, practice any of the riffs, or show up early for any of the sessions. Of course, if you’re a conference junkie, you can come early to watch the rehearsals and stay up till 2AM hanging out.

7. Forty seminars and two pre-conference intensives. You get to pick four seminars, and can download the rest later for free. Grow in your musical chops, become a better leader, learn how to fight sin with worship, test out sound/band equipment, grow as a vocalist, understand creativity better, simplify your spiritual life, etc. The two 3 hour pre-conference intensives focus on playing the piano (I’m teaching that one) or rehearsing with Ken Boer and the conference choir. More info can be found here.

8. Theology, character, and skill. That’s what we focus on at each WorshipGod conference. Because all three matter.

9. There is a time to laugh (Eccl.3:4). And we make sure we find it at WorshipGod. We take worshiping the Savior very seriously. Ourselves, not so much. Here’s one example. And here’s another. And one more.

10. Spanish seminars and translations. So this one only really matters if you speak Spanish or know someone who does. The main sessions will be translated and we’ll have one seminar each session in Spanish as well as another that’s translated.

11. It’s cheap. Until April 1, students get in for $90, groups of 5+ are $120, and individuals are $150. That price includes lunch both days, a binder with all the outlines, 6 sessions, and 4 seminars. Did I mention the snacks and drinks during the day and after the evening sessions? And the free stuff? We’re practically paying you to come!

12. Encountering God. If you’ve attended a WorshipGod conference in the past, you know that it’s about much more than receiving solid teaching, singing great songs together, and growing in your skills. God never fails  to change, inspire, convict, and encourage hearts as we behold his glory together (2 Cor. 3:18).

So there’s my pitch. If you’ve been to a WorshipGod conference in the past, feel free to leave a comment as to why someone should think about coming this year.

One feature we’ve added at WorshipGod09 this year are pre-conference intensives for vocalists, songwriters, and worship leaders/planners. They’ll take place on Wednesday, April 5, 1:00-4:30. We wanted to offer something more hands-on and focused for those who were willing to pay a little more ($50) and come a little earlier.

Due to numerous requests, we’ve added thirty slots to the worship leader intensive, which I’ll be leading. I’ll be covering topics like 4 ways to view ourselves as leaders, heart issues, song progression, working with a team, and more.  If you’ve already signed up for the conference and saw that the intensive was full, you can email the conference via the WorshipGod09 website, and ask to be added to the intensive. You’ll also have to give us permission to charge your credit card.

If you haven’t yet registered for the conference (and you’d better get on it!), the intensive will be one of the options during the registration process, until the class is full.

If you or your team signed up for the Worship Team Evaluation seminar on Friday at WorshipGod09, thanks! If you want your team to be considered for evaluation, you have to send an email to Chelsea Kauflin at ckauflin@sovgracemin.org with your name, the name of your church, and the players/vocalists you’ll have (limit of 6). Due to time constraints, we’ll be using wedge monitors and house instruments. Also, please include three songs you’d be willing to play. You’ll be contacted in advance if your team is chosen to be reviewed.

This will be a great opportunity to be put on the spot and find out where you’re doing things well or receive suggestions for improving what you do!

If you wanted to take part in one of the tech lunches at WorshipGod09 but found they were already full, we’ve got good news. We’ve increased the number of people that can attend. Here’s what you need to do:

- Go the registration log-in of WorshipGod09
- Login
- A registration form will appear – in the top left corner click on View or Edit My Registrations
- Click Edit on the registration you want to edit
- Click on the Special Fields tab
- Check the Tech Lunch box
- Click Save

Dave Campbell taught a seminar on Electric Guitar at the conference which was supposed to have some additional handouts related to theory and practice. You can access them by clicking here.

I mentioned in a previous post that Drew Shirley, lead guitarist for Switchfoot and member of the Sovereign Grace church in San Diego, will be teaching two workshops on electric guitar on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 4:15-5:30. They’ll be open to anyone who’d like to come.

Drew said he’ll be demonstrating guitar skills for the electric guitarist on the worship team – things like tone, texture, riffs, voicings, and techniques. He’ll also share some perspectivs on being an artist and some general music concepts. Should be a great time.

If you’ve registered for one or both of the Songwriting Evaluation Seminars at WorshipGod08, you only have a few more weeks to get your songs in. If you’d like to have your song considered for evaluation at the conference, send an MP3 and a Word document with the lyrics to Chelsea at ckauflin@sovgracemin.org. You can also send a CD and lyrics to: “WorshipGOD08 Song Evaluation,” c/o Chelsea Kauflin, 7505 Muncaster Mill Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. These must be sent no later than Tuesday, July 15, to be considered. No more than two submissions per writer. Please understand that we won’t be able to return submissions or review every song submitted. Thanks!