Guiding Congregations into Richer, Fuller, and More Meaningful Traditional Worship!
Many churches struggle with traditional worship that is tired and lifeless. Sacred Song helps churches refine and revitalize their traditional worship by providing practical solutions to the challenges of traditional worship. Churches that engage Sacred Song will find a traditional worship that inspires and attracts followers and seekers into the fullness of communion with God in worship.
Why Sacred Song?
Sacred Song was born out of a desire to help congregations experience life-enriching traditional worship. Many churches miss the mark in their worship clinging to forms that have no meaning in the context of worship. Such congregations experience “spiritual get togethers” rather than corporate worship. Many church leaders earnestly seek to engage their congregations in dynamic worship but rely on franchised ideas that are irrelevant or antithetical to their situations. Sacred Song was developed to help these churches and church leaders implement effective worship practices through traditional expressions. Sacred Song will guide your congregation to become advocates of corporate worship rather than appeasers of self, forms, or styles. Sacred Song exists to mentor and disciple church leaders and their congregations into a fuller, in-depth understanding of worship and its transformative power. Sacred Song sees this need and is ready to help congregations refocus their corporate life around the worship of God.
Our Three-Phased Approach to Help Your Church in Worship
REFINE
Sacred Song will help your congregation refine its traditional worship. We’ll look at mechanics of worship and introduce practices that improve the flow of the worship service. We’ll address the process of implementing more effective worship by providing a road map for worship leaders and congregations to make sure all leaders and participants are figuratively (and literally) singing from the same hymnal. The ultimate goal of refining traditional worship is to make the actual order of worship pop off the page and move seamlessly from one act to another becoming the vehicle through which the congregation worships rather than the object of the congregation’s worship. The act of refining traditional worship provides a living example of theology in practice, a living example of acts of worship on display.
REVITALIZE
Sacred Song will help your congregation revitalize its traditional worship. We’ll help your worship leaders and congregation improve the theology of worship and design, implement, and lead corporate worship that engages the believer rather than simply entertains them. The revitalization of the acts of worship will help congregations rediscover the theology behind acts of worship, their Biblical precedents, and their importance in corporate worship with the ultimate goal of empowering the congregation to be active, passionate worshipers. Revitalized traditional worship does not focus on a human emotional response but rather provides the tools through which a congregation can offer their praise to God and hear God speak to them, to commune with The Creator. The natural result of this spiritual dialog between Creator and created will, of course, produce an emotional response that is a result of the encounter rather than the catalyst for the encounter.
REFORM
Sacred Song will help your congregation reform its traditional worship. We’ll help your worship leaders and congregation rediscover the Biblical models of worship. We’ll help you learn what worship actually is and what we as believers should be doing in worship. Our goal is to teach how to worship—to give worship leaders the tools by which they can create their own corporate worship—rather than simply “doing things” and calling this divergent collection of acts “worship.” This reformation of worship is an act of discipleship, it is teaching worship leaders effective strategies and sound theologies of effective traditional worship so that they may teach their congregations through worship.
Meet Mark Bowdidge
Traditional Worship Consultant
Sacred Song offers 30 years of experience assisting, planning, leading, and evaluating traditional worship as a minister of music, organist, worship committee chair, and as an informed congregant. I hold both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Church Music from the School of Church Music of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, concentrating in choral conducting. I have had a variety of experiences as a worship leader in Anglican, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Disciples of Christ, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations serving in a variety of roles. My experience in this broad sweep of Christian denominations gives me insight into numerous expressions of worship from a variety of traditions. This exposure helps me view the elements of worship with a more three-dimensional perspective. It gives me an unusual ability to see the typical problems of traditional worship regardless of denomination and propose and implement creative solutions.
We Help Your Church By:
Evaluating Your Current Traditional Worship
Sacred Song will provide an unbiased eye looking at the order of worship, the flow of worship, the execution of worship, and the elements of worship. What the church does in worship communicates what it believes about worship and about God. We’ll help your congregation align its message with its worship.
Identifying Your Successes and Areas of Improvement
Sacred Song will point out the strengths of your current traditional worship as well as those areas that are not as strong. We’ll address these areas and recommend options for continuation, improvement, remediation, or implementation of new acts of worship to align your practices of traditional worship with Biblical models.
Guiding Your Church Through Worship Renewal & Implementation
Sacred Song will help your worship leaders and your congregation walk through the process of worship renewal providing options for step-by-step implementation of new acts of worship or renewal of current worship practices. We’ll give you recommendations that will assist you in considering what to address, how to address it, and when to address it.
Connecting Worship Heritage with Contemporary Society
Sacred Song will help you rediscover the Biblical origins of worship, the traditions of early Christian worship inherited from the Temple and Synagogue, and the development of worship practices from antiquity to the current day. We’ll help you understand what worship should be and give you guidance on implementing faithful traditional worship for contemporary people.
Our Consulting Packages
EVALUATION
Basic REMOTE SERVICE includes:
- Initial INTRODUCTORY CONVERSATION
- Review of THREE VIDEOS of your current worship services
- WRITTEN EVALUATION of your submitted worship services
- Follow REMOTE COACHING SESSION
CONSULTATION
ON-SITE CONSULTATION includes:
- Complete EVALUATION package
- ON-SITE consultation with all of your WORSHIP LEADERS
- SITE-SPECIFIC COACHING with LEADERS on worship theology, worship design, worship planning, and leading vibrant traditional worship.
FORMATION
WEEKEND RETREAT includes:
- Complete EVALUATION and CONSULTATION packages
- ON-SITE RETREAT – Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning sessions for the congregation
- WORKSHOPS covering worship history, worship practices, worship design, and individual worship preparation