Reflections on SING!
Professors Allison Keeport, Dr. Jori Jennings, and Aaron Wong at the Sing! Conference
Imagine singing a wide variety of hymns—gifted to us through the centuries—with thousands of people who share the same faith, the same hope in life and death through Jesus Christ! This is what a few of our M&MA faculty had the privilege of experiencing at the Sing! Conference in Nashville, TN.
On top of that incredible experience, Dr. Jori Jennings, Professor Keeport, and I had the opportunity to be present at the exhibition hall representing Moody Bible Institute, particularly the Music and Media Arts division.
Not only did we get to meet and greet many of our Moody alumni, we also talked to conference attendees about their desire for theological training, as well as worship and music education. One couple told me how their son had graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in music, then later went on to finish medical school. Now, as he looks for a church to serve in, they recognize his need for theological training as well because “leading worship is not just leading music.” They added, “When you speak between songs, for example, that requires you having sound theology.” It is in this context that I was able to share our 1-year online Certificate in Worship Leading, which offers Old Testament and New Testament courses, as well as classes such as “Technology for Worship Leading” and “Planning and Leading Contemporary Worship.”
On the final day, right before the evening session, as I went to buy myself a giant cookies n’ cream sundae for dinner (quite literally), I ran into Ryan Dahl, Founder and CEO of PraiseCharts, a company that has served many local churches for over 25 years. I explained to him how I became a professor at Moody because I want to equip students to become worship leaders for the church who are competent theologically, musically, and technologically. Ryan then offered to Zoom into one of my classes in the near future so that he can “let the students hear the back side of what we do… data and analytics.”
“I want to equip students to become worship leaders for the church who are competent theologically, musically, and technologically.”
As exhausting of a trip as it was, this conference is a vivid reminder that all of us are a part of a much bigger redemption story highlighted by incredible hymn texts written by saints in the past. But that is not the end! God is still actively working in all of us, and we all have stories to tell. We have the responsibility to carry and contribute to the collection of hymns and music that point us to God, who is the author and perfector of our faith.
