Worship Ministry Course Descriptions

GMNN 3011/ 4011 Ministry Internship
0 Credit Hours
Internships: Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts degree programs except for Advanced Theological Studies majors are required to participate in a minimum two semester internship program in their specialized fields. The internship program is practical field work in a specialized area of ministry and will be supervised by the student’s academic advisor. A written report of the field experience will be submitted at the end of the second semester and will be graded by the academic advisor. It will be graded with satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

WORS 2302 Fundamental Issues in Worship
3 Credit Hours
This course is an introduction to basic definitions and uses of worship terminology and practices in the Scriptures, the historical evolution of worship and its practices in the Roman, Orthodox, and Protestant churches, and a survey of the avenues, modes, and styles of worship in modern Christendom. Specific problematic issues will be evaluated and discussed, especially as they relate to post-modern thought.

WORS 3102 Practical Worship Skills: Styles
1 Credit Hours
This course consists of applied rehearsal in a worship team setting, coupled with special lectures and workshops relating to practical ramifications of worship philosophy, specifically as it pertains to music style and function, prayer, posturing, liturgy, and drama.

WORS 3112 Practical Worship Skills: Sources and Formatting
1 Credit Hour
This course consists of applied rehearsal in a worship team setting, coupled with special lectures and workshops relating to worship music, hymn use, liturgical formatting, copyright information, and other relevant resources.

WORS 3122 Practical Worship Skills: Rehearsal Techniques
1 Credit Hour
This course consists of applied rehearsal in a worship team setting, coupled with special lectures and workshops relating to rehearsal techniques, planning, etiquette, and strategies.

WORS 3301 Music and the Arts in Christian Worship
3 Credit Hours
A survey of the musical, visual, and performing arts in worship will be conducted in a lecture/seminar format. Special attention to communication theories will be given to each of these art-fields as they seek to communicate, articulate, and “make real” the presence of God in the presence of His people. Further attention will be given to worship space and architecture. The course will be supplemented with appropriate Scripture study, outside reading,
and projects appropriate to the materials discussed.

WORS 3303 Art and Architecture in Christian Worship
3 Credit Hours
John Ruskin wrote that we want two things from our buildings: we want them to shelter us and we want them to speak to us. The ability to shelter is relatively simple: a decent roof can take care of that. But the ability to speak is far more difficult. This is especially true when we consider the architecture of a church. After all, a church building is tasked (at least partly) with the responsibility of communicating something of the presence of God within his
covenant community. This course will review the biblical concept of sacred space and place as well as the history of ecclesiastical art and architecture from the early house churches to the modern mega-church.

WORS 3311 The Church Year
3 Credit Hours
A study of the history, development, activities, and pertinence of the church year will be conducted in a lecture/seminar format. Included will be detailed analyses of each of the major seasons of the sacred calendar, exploration of ontological understandings of time (beginning with Augustine and ending with contemporary understandings of temporality), and appropriate representations of the church calendar in the worship environment. The course
will be supplemented with Scripture study, outside reading, and projects appropriate to the materials discussed.

WORS 3312 Sacred Actions and Sacramentality
3 Credit Hours
A study of the biblical and historical theology and development of the sacred actions of the church (baptism and communion) are examined in lecture/seminar format. Other actions, events, and rites of passage, historically considered sacred by the church (i.e. marriage, funerals, healing rites, etc.), will also be examined. The course will be supplemented by appropriate Scripture study, outside reading, and projects appropriate to the materials discussed.

WORS 3322 Images of Christ: The History and Christology of Religious Art and Film
3 Credit Hours
From Giotto to Gibson, from “Superstar” to “South Park”, depictions of Jesus Christ in all forms of media both reflect and shape our modern and post-modern culture–sometimes positively and sometimes horribly. This course reviews the history of religious imagery and the church’s varied interpretations of the Second Commandment. Special emphasis is also placed on the Christological implications of particular works of art and film and the Christian’s responsibility in constructing a theology of imagery.

WORS 4301 Philosophy and Theology of Worship
3 Credit Hours
This course includes studies of the ramifications of ontological and epistemological theories as they pertain to worship, as well as normative biblical claims as they relate specifically to Christian worship. Study of potential systematized approaches to a theology of worship will result in each student’s written and verbalized conclusions in a final project.

WORS 4311 History of Worship in the Church
3 Credit Hours
A survey of the development of Christian worship theology and practices will be explored and discussed in lecture/seminar format. Segments will include brief studies of the ancient church, the early and late medieval church, the Reformation, post-Reformational church movements, and the post-modern church. The course will be supplemented with appropriate Scripture study, outside reading, and projects appropriate to the materials discussed.

WORS 4331 Practical Worship Skills Practicum
3 Credit Hours
Students will complete a supervised Worship experience in a professional setting. The primary focus is on worship preparation, worship team development, and other worship minister duties outlined in the Practical Worship Skills Practicum Manual.