'Encounter - leading people as we worship God' is the introductory training course for worship leaders in Glenabbey. The course materials are available here, along with 'Deepening your Encounter', devotional materials that help you reflect on some of the issues raised in each class.
Encounter background

1. In which we consider a theology of worship for worship leaders

EncounterEvery human being is a worshipper, but we too easily give our worship away to lesser objects, to created things rather than Creator. Our call is to be true worshippers, orientating our lives around the one worthy Object of worship - God himself. In this class, understand something more of the nature of God, of worship, and of the people we lead in worship .
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1.1 Deepening your encounter

The devotional materials encourage us to take some quality time in some scripture passages so that we might grasp something more of the character of the God whom we worship.
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2. In which we ask: God, what do you think of our worship?

EncounterAs soon as we realise that God is the object of all true worship, then we must ask ourselves what he thinks of our worship. If it's all for him, then it must be an acceptable offering of worship to him. This class looks at how God defines acceptable worship, focusing particularly on who God wants us to be as worshippers.
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2.1 Deepening your encounter

The mp3 below is a teaching by Gilbert Lennox on 1 Tim 3:8-16 where he explores the biblical qualifications for all those in leadership. The pdf download notes help us consider the biblical balance between God's uncompromising standards of holiness and his inexhaustible measure of grace as we seek to be conformed to his call for godliness in our lives.

In addition, check out the blog entries with extracts from Mark Driscoll's teaching on identifying the idols of our hearts. Part 1 is here and part 2 is here.
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3. In which we examine the principles of acceptable worship

Encounter'I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good,' wrote Paul to Corinthian church. God cares about what we do when we gather together as the church. This class looks at the biblical principles that help us determine what our purpose and practice should be when we meet for corporate worship.
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4. In which we get to pick some songs - at last!

EncounterHow do we choose the theme for our music worship slot? How do we shape the journey? What songs should we pick and where should we place them? These, and many other practical issues, are addressed in the final Encounter class of the series.
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All materials here are creative commons copyright © 2008 AW Hamill. Feel free to reproduce and distribute this material in any format as long as you don’t alter the wording in any way and don’t charge a fee other than the cost of reproduction. If you're printing any of these resources, please include the following statement: By Alistair Hamill © 2008 AW Hamill. Website: music.glenabbey.org.uk. If you're posting this on the internet, a link to the document on this website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved here.