Calvin Worship Symposium, January 28-30, 2010 (Grand Rapids)

Seminar 8: Modern Songs for Worship: Conversations with Five Composers—Keith and Kristyn Getty, Greg Scheer, Dan Schutte, and Matthew Westerholm, hosted by Paul Ryan
Join a conversation with five contemporary song writers who will each speak about and lead us in singing of examples of their music; assess the current state of worship song writing; and offer their hopes and dreams for modern congregational songs. Come prepared to sing, learn, and critique new and noteworthy songs written and selected by this thoughtful and diverse panel of song writers.

B18: Planning Worship with www.Hymnary.org—Harry Plantinga and Greg Scheer
Have you ever struggled to find just the right hymn? www.Hymnary.org is a powerful search engine that helps you find hymns, search hymnals, and research congregational songs. In this session you will be introduced to the Hymnary, led through simple and advanced searches, and find out how to become involved as a contributor.

C16: Hymn Text and Tune Writing—Bert Polman and Greg Scheer
If we are to "sing a new song to the Lord," we must first compose them! This workshop will begin by outlining the traits of great congregational songs throughout the ages, and then move into a discussion of participants' songs. Bring one or two completed (or nearly completed) congregational songs of any style that you would like to present and discuss with the class. Of course, those who aren't yet ready to share their songs are also invited to attend the session.

D15: Models for Coordinating Weekly Worship—a panel with Veda Bankhead, Mike Cosper, Barbara Newman, and Greg Scheer, moderated by John D. Witvliet

Calvin's CALL (Calvin Academy for Lifelong Learning) noontime series: "Is there still a place for Psalm-singing in worship?", Nov 19, 2009

Calvin Chapel, Sing a New Song: Rest in the Lord (Psalm 127), Nov 9, 2009

Music & Liturgical Arts Week, June 21-26, 2009 (Lake Junaluska, North Carolina)

Planning and leading 6 worship services

Timeless Hymns in Today's Setting: Attempts to transplant hymns into a praise and worship setting often sound awkward. This session offers suggestions for how a praise band can lead hymns in a way that supports, rather than undermines, the original text.

The Other 87.5% of the Worship Iceberg: Too often we concentrate only on the things we see in worship. If you want to affect worship renewal in your church, work below the surface. This is an especially good session for pastors and musicians from the same church to attend together.

Heavenly Harmonies for Worship Team Vocalists: Adding vocal harmonies to worship songs can sound lovely, but it takes skills to do well. In this session, worship team leaders and vocalists will learn how to create vocal harmonies for everything from two voices to full choir. Participants will sing and see examples.

Recovering the Heart, Uncovering the Art, June 14-17, 2009 (Methodist School of Music, Singapore)

The Art of Worship: A Theology of the Heart (plenary)

Band Arranging: Taking It to the Next Level

Global Songleader Training, May 7-9, 2009 (Richmond, VA)

A weekend of collaborative learning. Taught a session on using hand percussion in worship.

The Art of Worship Leadership, March 28, 2009 (Calvin CRC, Ottawa)

Paul Ryan and I led our day-long worship team training.

Heart Songs, Global and Local, March 19, 2009 (Third CRC Kalamazoo, MI)

From the brochure: "Join Greg Scheer and Norma de Waal Malefyt as they introduce worship songs from around the world and from close to home. Many of the songs will be drawn from the forthcoming Faith Alive global and contemporary songbooks, and some will be hymns under consideration for the upcoming CRC/RCA hymnal. This will be a great opportunity to learn some new worship songs in an relaxed atmosphere. Worship leaders, service planners, church musicians and hymn lovers of any denomination are warmly invited to attend this free event."

The Psalms in Modern Worship, March 7, 2009 (Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights, IL)

Theoretically we see the importance of the Psalms in worship, but in practice how often do we use any more than short quotations from the most “user friendly” Psalms? This session will look at different methods of Psalm-singing through the ages, making suggestions for adapting and combining those techniques for modern worship settings.

Calvin Worship Symposium, January 29-31, 2009 (Grand Rapids, MI)

Composing, Arranging, Writing, Leading, and Publishing New Songs for Worship (panel with Mark Altrogge, Edward Doemland, Robert Hobby, Gerardo Oberman, Horacio Vivares, K. Lee Scott , Rae E. Whitney, Kelly Dobbs Mickus and Mark Lawson. Moderated by Emily R. Brink.

Singing and Praying with Brothers and Sisters Around the World, Greg Scheer with Christina Mandang, Gerardo Oberman, and Horacio Vivares. In the 21st century, increased travel and communication give us unprecedented access to non-western worship music. Hearing and joining with voices from around the globe have the potential to expand and challenge our vision of God and enrich the communion of the saints. This session will introduce several songs led by people from different cultures in ways that will help connect your congregation’s worship with other Christians around the world.

Mentoring Musicians. How can we change our leadership paradigm from directing people to helping them grow? Greg Scheer¹s story of mentoring and being mentored is a launching point for a discussion of how we can best nurture those who are involved in our worship ministries for the good of God's kingdom.

Songwriting workshop, January 23 & 26, 2009 (Kuyper College, Grand Rapids, MI)

Yale Institute of Sacred Music, November 17-18, 2008 (New Haven, CT)

Guest lecturer in REL928 on Praise & Worship
Chapel worship planner and leader

Chapel introducing Global Worship, October 30, 2008 at Providence Christian High School (Fremont, MI)

Art of Worship Team Leadership workshop with Paul Ryan, September 19-20, 2008 (Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario)

RCA/CRC Hymnal Consultation, August 25-26, 2008 (Grand Rapids, MI)

How does a foreign song become a heart song?

Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians and Worship Artists (FUMMWA) Worship! 2008, July 30-August 6, 2008 (Grand Rapids, MI and Wilmington, DE)

Building a Better Band
Conductors study orchestration and voice production, so why don't worship leaders spend more time studying the instruments of worship teams? In this session we'll look at the instruments of the modern worship team—guitar, piano, bass, drums, etc—and see how they work together musically. By the time we're finished you'll have new tools to shape your team's sound and rehearse more effectively.

Worship Planning in Today's Church
The modern worship planner has to juggle more music styles, more instruments and more songs than ever before. We'll look at techniques for bringing all these elements together in a way that flows smoothly.

Mentoring Worship Artists
How can we move from directing people to helping them grow? Greg Scheer’s story of mentoring and being mentored is a launching point for a discussion of how we can best grow those who are involved in our worship ministries for the good of God’s kingdom.

CICW Grants Colloquium, June 24-26, 2008

Global and Multicultural Worship (with Anne Zaki)

Reformed Church in America General Synod, June 5-10, 2008 (Holland, MI)

Planned and led worship with Ron Rienstra at

Transforming Culture, April 1-3, 2008 (Austin, TX)

Worship Planning in an Eclectic Culture: Preserving the old, Releasing the new. The modern worship planner has to juggle more music styles, more instruments, more songs, and more expectations than ever before. In this workshop we'll look at techniques for bringing all these elements together in a way that flows smoothly.

Westside Presbyterian Leadership Retreat, February 9, 2008. With Kimberly Bracken Long (Englewood, NJ)

Calvin Worship Symposium, January 24-26, 2008

Art of Worship Team Leadership. Thursday seminar with Paul Ryan

The Worship Team’s “Other” Instruments. The guitar, piano, bass, drums and voice form the backbone of the modern worship team, but what do we do with other instruments that may be available in our churches? This session will help worship team leaders incorporate brass, woodwinds, strings, as well as such instruments as mandolins or even accordions into their team’s sound.

Where Can I Find That Song? Researching Hymns Online. There are a few databases that will allow anyone to find sources of particular songs or hymns. The most established (still within the last few years) are geared toward historical hymns, but more recent databases are becoming more comprehensive and global in scope, even to providing sources of different versions/keys, ability to print a song, ideas for performance, etc. Come to learn about the current state of research.

Art of Worship Team Leadership workshop with Paul Ryan at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL. Nov 3, 2007

Your church has a worship team, but how do you help them reach the next level? This intensive training includes instruction in the role of the worship team, vocals and vocal harmony, guitar, piano, bass, drums, putting all the instruments together, and a demonstration rehearsal. The curriculum is aimed toward team leaders, but anyone who is on a worship team or hopes to lead one in the future will benefit.

Contemporary Worship Institute in Kansas City, October 3, 2007

Foundations of Modern Worship Too often our conversations about modern worship start and end with style. This session will help pastors and worship leaders consider the essentials of healthy worship, regardless of style.

Psalms in Modern Worship Theoretically we see the importance of the Psalms in worship, but in practice how often do we use any more than short quotations from the most “user friendly” Psalms? This session will look at different methods of Psalm-singing through the ages, making suggestions for adapting and combining those techniques for modern worship settings.

Global Music for Western Worship In the 21st century, increased travel and communications give us unprecedented access to non-western worship music. These voices from around the globe have the potential to expand and challenge our vision of God. Together we will explore the riches of global worship music.

The Other 87.5% of the Worship Iceberg at Our Community in Worship: Tie that Binds with the American Baptist Church of Michigan, October 19, 2007

Too often we concentrate only on the things we see in worship. If you want to affect worship renewal in your church, work below the surface.

Association of Christian College Music Educators in St. Louis, September 13-15, 2007

Worship: What's Next? People tend to see the 60s (Jesus People, CCM, P&W) as worship’s watershed: either the renewal of worship or the end of tradition, the beginning of narcissism and the collapse of quality. Placing recent worship trends in a larger context allows to more accurately predict future trends.

Campus Worship What are the unique challenges and opportunities for those leading worship on college campuses?

Musical Mentoring The story of those who have mentored me is a launching point for a discussion of how we can best mentor those who are involved in our worship ministries.

Global and Multicultural Worship on the Worship Teleseminar, July 24, 8-9pm

Global and Multicultural Worship: Reasons, Remarks, and Resources at the CICW Grants Colloquium June 19-21, 2007

2007 RCA General Synod in Pella, Iowa. June 6-12, 2007. Led worship with C.J. Grier and Jacqui Lewis.

Worship training and learning trip to Uganda, April 27-May 14, 2007. (Visit the audio reports of the trip.)

Heavenly Harmonies for Worship Team Vocalists at the Calvin Worship Symposium, January 25-27, 2007

Adding vocal harmonies to worship songs can sound lovely, but it takes skills to do well. In this session, worship team leaders and vocalists will learn how to create vocal harmonies for everything from two voices to full choir. Participants will sing and see examples.

Forging Links Conference, Durham, NC (co-sponsored by the CFAMC) Sept 17-19, 2004

Worship Composition: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Since the late 19th century, there has been a seemingly irreconcilable chasm between the music written by "classical" composers and the music used in worship. Is there a way to build (or rebuild) bridges between serious composers and worship? Looking back at worship history, we find an array of spiritual approaches and compositional possibilities that can be applied to future worship compositions. Here, I explore these using three broad continuums (head/heart, word/music, people/professional), hoping to provide insight for fresh application in our own, modern church compositions.

"6" for string quartet was performed at Duke University

Gather into One: Praying and Singing with Christians Worldwide in Grand Rapids, MI June 21-July 16, 2004

One of the 2004 Luce Seminars in Christian Scholarship at Calvin College, the seminar was led by C. Michael Hawn, a leading scholar in the area of global hymnody.

COLAM (Conference on Liturgy and Music) in Denver, CO July 7-10, 2004

Musical Mentoring

Jesus preached to thousands but discipled just twelve. Music ministers lead congregations and likewise, should intentionally invest in a small group. This workshop will explore ways we can help raise up a new generation of music ministers by taking younger or less-experienced musicians under our wings in a combination of spiritual discipleship and musical apprenticeship that can be called musical mentoring.

Hands around the World: Percussion for All Ages

Praise the Lord. Praise him with the djembe, conga, bell and shakers! This session will explore the use of hand percussion as an accompaniment to worship, focusing primarily on African drum ensemble styles. All ages and experience levels are welcome to take part in this energetic, "hands-on" experience.

Calvin Symposium on Worship and the Arts January 29-31, 2004

Planning Worship: Joining Structure and Style

Today's worship planner must weave together many different song styles and worship actions into each service. This workshop will help you understand the fundamental structure and goals of your own church's worship service, and then suggest methods of effectively incorporating a variety of styles within that structure.

Planning Worship: Practical Techniques

Do your worship services feel like a liturgical "to-do" list--jerking from one thing to the next, but never connecting as a whole? This session explores practical techniques that worship planners can use to increase the flow and cohesion of their services.

Congregational Songwriting Workshop

If we are to "sing a new song to the Lord," we must first compose them! This workshop will begin by outlining the traits of great congregational songs throughout the ages, and then move into a discussion of participants' songs. Bring one or two completed (or nearly completed) congregational songs of any style that you would like to present and discuss with the class.

Also played bass in a symposium worship session which was recorded for future release on CD.

Mid-West Regional CFAMC Conference held at Evangel University March, 2004

Worship Composition: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Also presented electronic composition "Crossfade" to Evangel music students and held a songwriting workshop.

The Ramblers (Oct 14, 2003)

"Worship: What's Next?" The Ramblers are a community group in Orange City, Iowa, who meet monthly to hear a presentation and share some conversation. It was especially fun presenting my thoughts about new trends in worship with a group whose membership was considerably older than I. They must have found it interesting--some members invited me to give the talk again at the Trinity Reformed Church's Booster's Club on November 16, 2004.

Middleburg Free Grace Reformed Church, IA (Jan 17, 2003)

Worship consultant. I attended a Saturday morning praise team rehearsal, giving them ideas about ways their leadership could be more effective. Here are some of their comments: "I felt Greg was very positive and encouraging." "The workshop was different than I expected it to be. He was not intimidating and he offered excellent suggestions!" "I think we need to watch the video once a year so we don't forget the musical and worship ideas he gave." "Everything was excellent!" "Greg just fit right in. His sense of humor, pleasant personality, and expertise made the morning fun and very informative. I appreciated the examples given." "We feel we can adapt the advise he gave to our other pieces." On Sunday morning after my visit: "The praise team looked so polished today!" "He was interested in our church, worship order, and encouraged us to think about a worship team so we aren't just a 'plugged in' part of the service.

CFAMC 2002 National Conference at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN

The Composer and Community

Christians are called to be in community with each other, and on a larger scale we are called to take part in the work of reconciling people to God and each other. However, the very fabric of Western Art music seems to be geared toward elitism, isolation, and pride. If it's true that Christians should be fostering community and that Western Art music separates more than it unites, how should a Christian composer respond?

 

Bethel Reformed Church of Sheldon, IA (2000)

Worship consultant

Bakerstown Presbyterian Church, PA (1998)

Worship consultant

Gerrero Allen Organ workshop (1997)

"Contemporary Worship Music"

CFAMC National Conference at Houghton College (1996)

"The Fine Line between Art and Worship"