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June 2001 Table of Contents
Special Feature
Beside Still Waters – The Worship Leaders' Retreat
By Don McMinn
Executive Director of 6Acts Ministry
and Associate Pastor of Parkway Hill Baptist Church
Plano, TX
It's been said that if you have more than three ways that people can get in touch with you – you're a sick person.
If that's true, most of us are seriously ill. Cell phones, email, pagers, landlines, faxes – life in the 21st century is fast-paced and hectic. And most ministers of music live in ICU.
David, king of Israel and fellow worship leader, once wrote a song about the Lord "leading him beside still waters and restoring his soul"(Psalm 23). If that was good advice then, it is great advice today. But how long has it been since you took some time off to restore your soul?
Well, that's too long!
For the past three years, 6Acts Ministry has offered a time of refreshment and renewal for worship leaders – a time beside still waters – an opportunity to restore the soul. The three day retreats, simply called The Worship Leaders' Retreats, are held at Camp Hoblitzelle, a pristine campground just 20 miles south of Dallas.
The retreats are unique in many ways: there's nothing for sale; each retreat is limited to 80 delegates in order to preserve an intimate and caring environment; the focus is not on the "mechanics of ministry" but rather on relationships; many different denominations are represented; and both large churches and small churches are represented.
Jack Taylor (the keynote speaker for the March 2001 retreat), said, "The pervading presence of God, the powerful sounds of voices united in praise and worship and the celebration of truth joined together to make it one of the greatest moments in my more than fifty years in ministry."
Alumni Michael Wierick, worship pastor at Fielder Road Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas said, "I've attended every conference imaginable, but have never been so moved or so challenged as I was at the Worship Leaders' Retreat 2001. Ryan Christian, minister of music at Richland Hills Church of Christ in Ft. Worth, Texas commented, "Jeff Nelson said the retreat was the spiritual highlight of his life. I wanted that to be the case for me but didn't believe it could actually happen. The retreat exceeded my expectations and was the most worshipful, ministry impacting experience of my life."
For many alumni, the Worship Leaders' Retreat has become an annual event, "This is the only retreat/conference that is non-optional for me." (Mike Stewart, South Reno Baptist Church, Reno, Nevada) Indeed, 90% of past delegates continue to attend year after year.
One of the ongoing challenges of the ministry is to stay spiritually fresh and relationally authentic. And it's hard to do that on your own. The Worship Leaders' Retreat is an annual plunge into the quiet, restorative waters.
The retreats are open to anyone who sees himself as one who leads others into the presence of God. They are held twice a year in the spring and fall. Upcoming retreats are scheduled for: October 14-17, 2001, April 14-17, 2002 and October 13-16, 2002. For more information or a copy of a free brochure, contact Don McMinn at 972.432.8690 or djmcminn@msn.com.
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