VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Ben Kreps:
Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace churches with our Executive Director. Mark, as you well know, and those that are watching and reading, one of our shaping virtues in Sovereign Grace is that of gratitude. And when we look out across the landscape of Sovereign Grace churches, there is so much to be grateful for. And one of the things that I'm particularly grateful this morning for, and I know you are as well, is the gift that Sovereign Grace Music is to Sovereign Grace churches. And you wanted to talk about that.
Mark Prater:
They are a gift. From my seat that I sit in, in my role, there's much to be grateful for. I'm grateful for the pastors of Sovereign Grace churches and have expressed that in previous episodes of this podcast. And in the future, I will continue to express gratitude for our pastors. In recent episodes I've tried to highlight how the members of Sovereign Grace churches play a vital role in our mission. And I thank God. I'm grateful for the members of Sovereign Grace churches.
And as I thought about this episode today of the podcast, I just thank God for Sovereign Grace Music, in particular for the leadership of Bob Kauflin and now alongside of him, David Zimmer and Devon Kauflin who are just serving our churches in many ways. And they're doing that well. And it's not just what they produce in songs or training resources. It's the heart with which they do it. They love the local church and so they want to serve all churches, but they hold a special place in their heart for Sovereign Grace churches. And I think that's captured in their mission statement. Sovereign Grace Music exists to produce Christ exalting songs and training for the Church, big "C" Church, any church, from our local churches, from the churches of Sovereign Grace. Most of what's produced springs from Sovereign Grace churches. So you hear in that a heart for the local church and for Sovereign Grace churches in particular. And so I just thank God for them. They have been serving us so well in a number of ways: the Sound and Doctrine podcast, the Worship God conferences every other year, the training resources that we're gonna talk about today, and Bob's book, Worship Matters. All of those are just some of the ways that Sovereign Grace Music serves us so well and gives us reasons to thank God for Sovereign Grace Music, and for Bob and David and Devon.
Ben Kreps:
Yes. I think one of the things I appreciate most about everyone who's in Sovereign Grace Music is that these people are rooted in the local church. They are people who serve on worship teams and some serve as pastors. We had Sovereign Grace Music in to do a Christmas concert the last couple of years. And people were surprised to learn that most of the band were not paid staff. They were just willing to sacrifice their time and energy to come and serve other local churches and to see Christ exalted in those churches through song. So the mission statement of Sovereign Grace is that they do produce Christ exalting songs and training for the Church from our local churches. And there's a number of ways that Sovereign Grace Music seeks to invest in the local church through training. Talk to us about some of those ways.
Mark Prater:
Yeah. I wanted to highlight the training resources in particular because I want to remind pastors of the resources that are available that you can use to train vocalists and musicians and worship leaders in your church. Maybe sound tech folks would benefit from this a as well. That would be the Worship Matters Intensives. First of all, the Worship Matters Intensive videos that are really built off the book that Bob wrote several years ago, Worship Matters. If you haven't read that, or haven't read it recently, please read it. If you have people in your church that serve on your worship team and they haven't read it, give them a copy as a gift and have them read it.
The Worship Matters Intensive videos are available, based on that book, for you to take advantage of and can be found on the Sovereign Grace Music website, sovereigngracemusic.org. Go to training, and then you'll go to Worship Matters Intensive Videos. And those are a 12 part video series that Bob has put together. And they're useful for song leaders, for musicians, for vocalists, for anyone that helps lead through worship on a Sunday morning. They're about 20 to 30 minutes long, and they include outlines and discussion questions. All of that is available on the Sovereign Grace Music website. And I would encourage any church to take advantage of them, and want to remind pastors leading Sovereign Grace churches to take advantage of them. And again, it might be good to do those videos along with Bob's book, the Worship Matters book.
And then, there's a live Worship Matters Intensive that Bob Schedules twice a year. Those are held in Louisville and it's an intensive for two or three days where he just invests into those who attend. And he uses the Worship Matters Intensive videos in that format. And so you might say, "well, why go to a Worship Matters intensive if I've watched the videos?" And Bob would say this simply; you're going to benefit from the interaction there between him and other guys leading the intensive, with questions you might have. You get to have fellowship and dialogue with other vocalists, musicians, sound folks and song leaders. And that's just a real benefit to have that kind of conversation over the material. So, the Worship Matters Intensives for this year are already full for 2023 so I want to give you the dates for 2024. You can register for these on the Sovereign Grace Music website, sovereigngracemusic.org. Go to training, go to Worship Matters Intensives; two dates February 2024: 21st, the 25th, and June 19 through the 23rd, 2024.
And just one other event to mention in 2024 is Worship God. Bob is leading Worship God conferences every other year. Many folks know about them. That'll be July 24th through the 27th, 2024. So just a few ways, not all the ways, but a few ways that Sovereign Grace Music is serving our churches and strengthening our churches through these resources. I hope that you'll consider taking advantage of them.
Ben Kreps:
That's excellent. I had the privilege of attending last year's Worship God conference. And make no mistake, it is not only for people involved in leading the singing on Sunday. I think senior pastors, especially in Sovereign Grace churches, should consider going to the conference. And you'll find it helpful as you interact with those who lead singing in your church as the lead pastor. If guys want to listen to the rich Instruction from past Worship God conferences, there is a website, worshipgodconference.com, and there's a whole bunch of teaching, instruction, panel discussions on there. I think that would serve folks. One more thing to highlight is of course, the Sound and Doctrine podcast that I was listening to yesterday. What was the title of it?
Mark Prater:
It was: Should We Sing Songs from Questionable Sources? That episode is brilliant.
Ben Kreps:
Yeah, it's brilliant: Bob's characteristic wisdom and Instruction, and actually hearing Devon step up as well, and Dave as the next generation. And to hear the wisdom and the thoughtfulness that they put into this, I just found myself very grateful for Bob, for Devon, for Dave, and for everyone in Sovereign Grace Music.
So thank you guys for the way that you serve us. Not only by giving us rich Christ-centered, theologically informed songs for us to sing on Sunday, but for all of the instruction and training that you bring to serve us in Sovereign Grace churches.
Mark Prater:
Yeah. And Ben, you were saying before we recorded that you listened to that particular episode, Should We Sing Songs from Questionable Sources?, and they mentioned another podcast that they have recorded that you then went to and benefited from. Something along the lines of what do you do if you were in a church and you disagree with the song that's being sung or something like that? Isn't that right? Didn't you listen to that?
Ben Kreps:
I did. So they're not only giving helpful instruction and insight to leaders as worship is happening on a Sunday or elsewhere, but also to the members of Sovereign Grace Churches. And in that episode it was what happens when your church isn't singing songs you think are best? And how do you interact with leadership in a godly way and navigate through that. So much wisdom was there as well. So, if you don't listen to Sound Plus Doctrine, get it on your podcast feed because it will serve you. And it will help you as you pastor your church or interact as a member in a Sovereign Grace Church.
So thank you, Mark, for your encouragement to check out these resources. I hope that more and more of our guys take advantage of this rich instruction. It's so helpful. Thank you everyone in Sovereign Grace Music for the way that you serve us so well. And thank you all for reading or watching. We'll see you here next week, Lord willing. Bye for now.