AL Worship Conference, Pure Praise Featured in Huntsville Times

NOTE: The following article excerpt appeared on the front page of the Faith & Values section of The Huntsville Times on July 31, 2009. To register for conference, go to www.NextLevelWorshipConference.com.

He Goes to Great Lengths to Inspire, Motivate

Speaker hopes to share joy of worship during workshops.

By Kay Campbell, Times Faith & Values Editor

Think you have it tough getting to church on time?

On 40 Sundays of the year, Dwayne Moore packs his two sons, 10 and 14, and his wife into the car at 6:30 AM. The family drives from Huntsville to Hoover to lead worship at The Church at Ross Station.

“And my wife hasn’t left me yet,” Moore said, laughing about his extraordinary Sunday commute.

Moore brings his enthusiasm for Jesus, worship and helping other worship leader to the workshops he take around the nation. On Aug. 15, he’ll be the headline speaker at a one-day conference for worship leaders and for the volunteers who help them sing, pray and inspire others.

“Any time you retreat and focus on why we do what we do, it’s going to be a good thing,” Moore said.

The conference includes three workshop periods offering the how-to’s for a variety of topics, including running sound and video equipment, putting an orchestra together to use in church, planning services, and improving vocal technique and stage presence.

It even offers a workshop for the brave worship or choir leader on “Transitioning Music Styles in Your Church.”

“It’s possible, but you have to be careful,” Moore said of the subject that can split a congregation. “We have people who have been through the fire on that and learned some things.”

“The most important part of the workshop,” Moore said, ” isn’t so much the how-to as the why-to. The three general sessions he will lead will be based on his new book, “Pure Praise: A Heat-focused Bible Study on Worship.” This book is a nine-week guide for worship leaders and groups. Everyone who attends the Aug. 15 workshop will receive a copy.

Designed like a daily devotional, the book looks deeply into 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, when Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, called a big prayer meeting when he was told that enemies were marching on his country.

Both the book and the workshop are meant to connect worship leaders with that kind of deep sense of the necessity, biblical basis and joy of worship.

It’s the only way he himself remains inspired, Moore said.

“Some weeks, I don’t feel like being in church,” Moore said. “I dont’ pretend otherwise. But when we come together and lift up God, even when I’m ‘not in the mood,’ I find a source of joy down inside.”