"And he sat down and called the twelve.  And he said to them, 'If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.'" (Mark 9:35, ESV)

Several weeks ago I attended a conference on church music.  Dr. Charlotte Kroeker of the Church Music Institute shared some findings of a research project she has written about in her forthcoming book, "The Sounds We Offer: Achieving Excellence in Church Music" (Alban Institute, 2011).  She listed a number of characteristics of  "successful" worship ministries.  The first one she mentioned was a mutual commitment to servant leadership, appreciating and calling forth the God-given giftings in one another.  In other words, churches where the pastor and worship leader/music minister/parish musician commonly valued and practiced servant leadership had a much higher probability for vital worship ministry than those that did not.  No big surprise here, but if we keep reminding ourselves of this critical and Godly virtue in all of our relationships, we will have greater potential for achieving excellence and Kingdom impact in our ministries.

January Session Update

The 2011 January session ended about 4 weeks ago.  Below are some of the highlights of the session:

·         Twenty-two new students were welcomed into the IWS community.

·         Paul Neeley, President of the International Council of Ethnodoxologists,  was the guest professor in the MWS 504 class, "Worship in a Transcultural World."  Welcome, Paul!  Carl Park completed his second term as a guest professor in MWS 503, "Spirituality in a Postmodern World."  Welcome back, Carl! 

·         Don Davis, Director of The Urban Ministry Institute, led our January worship seminar, which drew around 20 enthusiastic participants interacting on the topic of "Sacred Roots: Retrieving the Great Tradition in the Contemporary Church."  Don was engaging, scholarly and inspiring to all who attended.  Audio files will be available soon on the website.

·         For the first time, the entire campus had wireless access.

·         Late in the on-campus week the idea emerged to facilitate affinity groups within the community.  A number of groups were spontaneously formed, including senior pastors, organists, college professors, etc.  More groups will be forthcoming, possibly with some ongoing online interaction.

·         A new, five-year strategic plan was reviewed and adopted by the board.

Other News

·         In Advent, IWS held its first Advent Festival of Lessons and Carols, featuring the newly formed IWS Festival Choir.  Approximately 325 people filled the Orange Park Presbyterian Church for the December 5 community service.  Over $2000 was collected to benefit Waste Not Want Not, a non-profit food rescue organization that exists to prevent the discarding of food and other items that can be used to fight hunger and poverty.  With each dollar donated rescuing 22 pounds of food, IWS was responsible for over 44,000 pounds of food going to feed the hungry of Northeast Florida!

·         IWS Student Services Director Sandy Dinkins has added the duties of Administrative Assistant for Advancement to her position, a job previously held by Sally Finn.  Thank you and farewell to Sally for her fine work, and welcome Sandy!

·         At seven and a half months into this fiscal year we have received gifts and pledges amounting to about two thirds of our goal of $100,000.  Enrollment is strong, our expenses are contained and our financial reports are positive.  Please pray for fundraising efforts, and consider making a contribution.  IWS not only needs your participation, we depend on it!  Please also remember Jim Dodge's matching pledge challenge to alumni to benefit scholarships/financial aid, with $13,000 received toward a goal of $50,000. 

Many blessings to you and yours!

The Lord be with you,