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Congregational Worship Languages:
Summary-Analysis-Reflection
Garrett T Blackburn
WRSP 421-D01
Dr. Tony Cooper
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Contents
Introduction – Page 3
Initial Analyses and Comparisons – Page 4
Reflection – Page 6
Summary – Page 8
oAppendix
Interview 1 with David Wellborn – Page 9
Interview 2 with Phillip Biles – Page 11
Interview 3 with Scott Heins – Page 13
Bibliography – Page 15
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Introduction
Within the three interviews which I conducted, I was provided some very interesting
points and views, some of which I had not been previously aware of. To start, the biker church
and Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church, even though they are only a few miles apart from each
other in the same area of the small, southern town of Wilkesboro, North Carolina, some of their
beliefs and traditions are vastly different from one another. Bedrock Community Church is
similar to Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church in some ways, while being mostly different from
the biker church, but still stands by itself in terms of comparing the three church establishments
side-by-side. Overall, this was a great experience getting to catch up with each of these pastors
and learning more about each church that I otherwise may not have ever learned without doing
this interview project assignment. The size difference between the three churches is notable as
well, as it ranges from less than 100, to around 350, and then into the thousands, even though
the buildings themselves are of similar size and structure. As we move into the official analyses
and reflection of the process and results of these three interviews, I hope that more
understanding and insight will come across into the mind of the reader as to what these three
church bodies are about and how they are led daily and weekly.
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Initial Analyses and Comparisons
As stated in the previous paper, which was a comparative analysis, we can see from the
interviews that these three churches are located in very similar areas in terms of surroundings,
scenery, and demographics within the populations. Even so, it can also be seen that each of these
churches fall under different denominations from the other, so differences in their theologies and
traditions can be expected as the biker church is part of the United Methodist Church, Fishing
Creek Arbor Baptist Church is part of the Southern Baptist Association, and Bedrock
Community Church (while partly associated with the Southern Baptist Association) falls into the
nondenominational side of Christian practice. Another aspect of the locations of these churches
that can be taken into account is the fact that, since they are all located in small, southern towns,
there are hundreds of other churches scattered across each of their respective towns; therefore, a
sobering mindset shared between each of these pastors is that other local churches around them
are not the “competition,” rather they are family working together to further the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and to grow the Kingdom of God here on earth, in preparation for His glorious return in
the end of time. Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church has been growing slowly over the last
couple of decades to get to the point that they are currently at and have a faithful, loyal
congregation. The biker church has maintained a fairly small yet loving group of congregants
within their body of believers, and they are content with not being the largest and flashiest
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church in town. Bedrock Community Church has grown tremendously in the last few years,
seeing how they have planted a total of ten churches with hundreds, and some thousands,
faithfully attending each week at each church and they do not plan to stop planting churches any
time soon, according to their leading elders and teaching pastors.
While it is widely understood by most that a demographical nuance and diversity does
not solely refer to race alone, Pastor David Wellborn focused mostly on the dominant race of
Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church’s congregation in saying, “Our church is in the woods in the
south, so sadly we are a mostly white congregation with only three people of color. We are
working on doing more outreach to further the diversity of our church, but it presents difficulty
at times.”1 In his reference to the difficulty that arises in this endeavor, he is referring to the fact
that there are many older, traditional people within the congregation of Fishing Creek Arbor
Baptist Church that still hold on to racial and discriminatory belief systems. Pastor David
Wellborn had another interesting yet vague explanation to the question of whether or not the
congregation of Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church has a specific “worship language” by
saying, “No, they just stick to Scripture and doctrine.”2 I say that this is an interesting answer
because in my time at this church (basically my entire life) I have not noticed an abundance of
“Scripturally-sound” worship, as the vast majority of the congregation just sits and listens to the
1 Wellborn, David. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview. Wilkesboro, NC, November 2,
2021.
2 Ibid.
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person/people singing, and claps when they are finished, treating it more so as a performance or
a concert of sorts rather than a sacrifice of praise to the Lord. The biker church and Bedrock
Community Church both have a different approach from Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church, as
they are both inclusive in their worship services, bringing participation from everyone inside the
buildings.
Reflection
From speaking with each of these pastors, I can easily see that their hearts for the Lord
are full of humility, honor for Christ, and pure worship. While not all of the congregants may
feel this way, the vast majority of church members in these churches are also on fire for the Lord
and absolutely love to worship Him, not only on Sundays, but in their everyday lives outside of
the church building. The different forms of employment in the churches are also interesting as
they are slightly similar to one another, yet also different. In terms of Fishing Creek Arbor
Baptist Church, Pastor David Wellborn says, “The church secretary and myself are the only paid
staff at the church, but all of our volunteers gladly lend a hand in anything they can do to prepare
each week.”3 This was in reference to the question of the roles of paid and volunteer workers in
the church. Pastor Phillip Biles, in reference to how Bedrock Community Church handles their
paid and volunteer workers, says, “All pastoral staff are to be present in each meeting, all
3 Ibid.
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worship team members are expected at every rehearsal and service they are scheduled for, and
every service is heavily prayed over.”4 This was not stated in the interview, but to my knowledge
all pastoral staff are paid as well as the worship leader and the custodial workers. To finish off
this portion, Pastor Scott Heins (Pastor of Biker Church of the United Methodists) says in
reference to this question, “We have no paid staff. Not even me. But that’s ok. Everyone helps
with setup and tear down every Sunday, and the band is very committed to working with the
pastor and working together to make sure everything is solid.”5 This is an amazing thing to hear,
because it shows that this church is not “in it for the money.” They only care about serving each
other and serving Christ, which is a beautiful thing.
As I wrote in my comparative analysis paper on these three interviews, each of these
church bodies are vastly unique from one another, and beautifully maintain the foundational core
of our Lord Jesus Christ, even though they have some different beliefs and approaches to certain
things and traditions. The differences that can arise between different church establishments
whether they are in the same denomination or not (all three of these church establishments being
in three different denominational perspectives), one can easily tell that as long as the
foundational core beliefs that Jesus Christ is Lord, is the Son of God, died on the cross for our
sins and was resurrected to, one day, return in glory are fluid and exactly the same as each other,
4 Biles, Phillip. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview. Bedford, Virginia, November 5,
2021.
5 Heins, Scott. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview. Wilkesboro, NC, November 2, 2021.
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and their belief of Scripture is accurate, they can all sit down and fellowship with one another
and call each other “brother.”
Summary
This was an amazing, refreshing, and humbling experience to say the least. Catching up
with each of these pastors and being able to get a deeper and more detailed look into their
congregation and leadership’s beliefs and methodological traditions was an experience I will not
take for granted and will be able to use in reference later in life when I am the one working as
worship pastor within a church body. From the different styles of music to the different methods
of worshiping, I now have a better understanding of what it actually looks like in the brainwork
of the church itself rather than just an outside look when attending on a Sunday morning. The
love and work of Christ is evident in each of these men and I am humbled to have received this
wisdom and knowledge from them through the process of this worship leadership interview
project.
Appendix
Interview 1 with David Wellborn:
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WORSHIP MINISTRY INTERVIEW FORM
Name Garrett T Blackburn
Student ID L27114916 E-mail gtblackburn@liberty.edu
Date of Interview 11/02/21
Name of Worship Leader/Minister of Music Pastor David Wellborn
Position Senior Pastor Full time ( Yes ) Part time
Church Affiliation Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church
Address 2446 Fishing Creek Arbor Rd
City Wilkesboro State & Zip NC 28697
Phone ( ) E-mail
Education: Winston Salem State University; Southern Baptist Seminary
Undergraduate Degree and College WSSU, BS Biblical Studies
Graduate Degree and College SBS , Doctorate of Theology
Additional Education N/A
Local Church Ministry
Describe the characteristics of your church:
Approximate attendance in worship 350
Approximate attendance in Sunday School 200
Approximate number of baptisms/conversions/new members in the last 2 years: 60
Number of worship services 1 on Sunday, 1 on Wednesday
How would you describe your worship services?
Contemporary Blended (YES)Traditional
Are there any differences in the worship design and style between your services? Explain.
No. They are both blended in tradition and contemporary.
Briefly describe the music and worship ministry at your church. How many praise bands?
Choirs? The role of the soloists? Numbers of musicians? Other? We have one team called the
Ladies Praise Team. Six women sing unison on every song, most of the time to a track, but
sometimes with a band.
Do you have a children’s praise and worship and/or music ministry? Explain. 3 times per year we
do a youth Sunday and have the children and youth lead us in worship.
How would you and your church rank the importance of worship in the everyday lives of your
people: Essential ( Yes ) Very important Somewhat important
Explain what is most important to your church emphasis on worship? Loving God and loving our
neighbors
How would you describe the church’s commitment to world missions as related to worship? We
send out teams multiple times per year to various locations around the world for missions.
The Role of the Congregation in Worship
Define the working relationship you have as worship leader with the congregation. I am very
close with all of the members of the church and know basically all of them by name .
Please describe the cultural and demographic nuances of your church and congregation.
Our church is in the woods in the south, so sadly we are a mostly white congregation with only
3 people of color. We are working on doing more outreach to further the diversity in our church
but it presents difficulty at times .
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How do you build and develop your relationship with the congregation? I have lunch with
multiple congregants per week, play golf with them, and just hang out as friends .
Explain how you prepare and present worship to your congregation each week. There is a
rehearsal on Wednesday nights for the Sunday of that particular week to go over the songs.
Explain the role each of your staff (volunteer or paid) have in helping you prepare and execute
worship to and with the congregation each week The church secretary and myself are the only
paid staff at the church, but all of our volunteers gladly lend a helping hand with anything they
can do to prepare each week.
What value do you place on human resources in preparing and executing congregational
worship each week? Explain. We do not really deal much with HR, but we take great care of
everyone in the congregation.
What other resources do you feel are essential for executing congregational worship each
week? (music, technology, building, sound, lighting, etc.) Explain. Sound equipment, the Bible,
participation, and a large room for more people.
What role does the culture of your church play in making decisions for congregational worship?
Explain. This is a big question. The culture of the church absolutely drives how our decisions are
made on a weekly basis because we are surrounded by stubborn legalists in this area.
Do you think your congregation has its own “worship language” or “worship voice”? Why? Why
Not? No, they just stick to Scripture and doctrine.
Interview 2 with Phillip Biles:
WORSHIP MINISTRY INTERVIEW FORM
Name Garrett T Blackburn
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Student ID L27114916 E-mail gtblackburn@liberty.edu
Date of Interview 11/05/21
Name of Worship Leader/Minister of Music Pastor Phillip Biles
Position Children’s Pastor Full time ( Yes ) Part time
Church Affiliation Bedrock Community Church
Address 402 E Main Street
City Bedford State & Zip VA 24523
Phone ( ) E-mail
Education: Not given
Undergraduate Degree and College Not given
Graduate Degree and College Not given
Additional Education N/A
Local Church Ministry
Describe the characteristics of your church: Very LIVELY! Everyone is great!
Approximate attendance in worship 1 , 000
Approximate attendance in Sunday School 400
Approximate number of baptisms/conversions/new members in the last 2 years: 42
Number of worship services 3 every Sunday
How would you describe your worship services?
Contemporary (YES)Blended Traditional
Are there any differences in the worship design and style between your services? Explain.
No, our services are identical to one another.
Briefly describe the music and worship ministry at your church. How many praise bands?
Choirs? The role of the soloists? Numbers of musicians? Other? We have a fairly consistent band
and team with many people to choose from each week. Honestly there are too many to count
because we also have a lot of interns from Liberty.
Do you have a children’s praise and worship and/or music ministry? Explain. Yes. I lead this
ministry and it is called KidsRock.
How would you and your church rank the importance of worship in the everyday lives of your
people: Essential (YES) Very important Somewhat important
Explain what is most important to your church emphasis on worship? We are a strictly
exegetical teaching church so we focus on what Scripture says in context and use what we learn
to serve the community around us.
How would you describe the church’s commitment to world missions as related to worship?
Absolutely essential. We are a church-planting church. We currently have planted 10 Bedrock
churches, one of which is in Niceragua, and we frequently visit to serve and minister .
The Role of the Congregation in Worship
Define the working relationship you have as worship leader with the congregation. I make it one
of my main priorities each week to be welcoming and loving to every person I see come through
the door and let them know Jesus loves them and so do we.
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Please describe the cultural and demographic nuances of your church and congregation.
Very diverse, especially culturally.
How do you build and develop your relationship with the congregation? My wife and I have
people over for dinner all the time and we host a Life Group in our home each week.
Explain how you prepare and present worship to your congregation each week. Weekly
pastoral meetings virtually with the staff of every campus to pray over the week.
Explain the role each of your staff (volunteer or paid) have in helping you prepare and execute
worship to and with the congregation each week All pastoral staff are to be present in each
meeting, all worship team members are expected at every rehearsal and service they are
scheduled for, and every service is heavily prayed over .
What value do you place on human resources in preparing and executing congregational
worship each week? Explain. We take care of our people. We host several groups in our church
throughout the week to gather people in communities that they need, and are intentional
about knowing people personally.
What other resources do you feel are essential for executing congregational worship each
week? (music, technology, building, sound, lighting, etc.) Explain. Guitar, drums, keys, bass,
vocalists, lights, sound equipment, and most importantly: the BIBLE and sound doctrine!
What role does the culture of your church play in making decisions for congregational worship?
Explain. We are sensitive to different cultures, and thatcan make choosing different songs
difficult, but we are relentlessly inclusive of other cultures in all of our worship.
Do you think your congregation has its own “worship language” or “worship voice”? Why? Why
Not? No, I think we all worship differently from person to person, but are all obedient to God’s
commands .
Interview 3 with Scott Heins:
WORSHIP MINISTRY INTERVIEW FORM
Name Garrett T Blackburn
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Student ID L27114916 E-mail gtblackburn@liberty.edu
Date of Interview 11/02/21
Name of Worship Leader/Minister of Music Pastor Scott Heins
Position Worship Leader Full time ( Yes ) Part time
Church Affiliation Biker Church of the United Methodists
Address
City Wilkesboro State & Zip NC 28697
Phone ( ) E-mail
Education: Appalachian State University
Undergraduate Degree and College BA Music Studies
Graduate Degree and College
Additional Education N/A
Local Church Ministry
Describe the characteristics of your church: We are a wild bunch, but we love the Lord.
Approximate attendance in worship 50
Approximate attendance in Sunday School 10
Approximate number of baptisms/conversions/new members in the last 2 years: 5
Number of worship services 1 weekly
How would you describe your worship services?
Contemporary (YES)Blended Traditional
Are there any differences in the worship design and style between your services? Explain.
N/A
Briefly describe the music and worship ministry at your church. How many praise bands?
Choirs? The role of the soloists? Numbers of musicians? Other? We do hard rock styled worship
music, sort of like Skillet.
Do you have a children’s praise and worship and/or music ministry? Explain. No .
How would you and your church rank the importance of worship in the everyday lives of your
people: Essential Very important (Yes) Somewhat important
Explain what is most important to your church emphasis on worship? Preaching the Word as
truth and absolute.
How would you describe the church’s commitment to world missions as related to worship? Our
funds are limited so we can’t travel much but we donate when we can and do missions locally.
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The Role of the Congregation in Worship
Define the working relationship you have as worship leader with the congregation. The
congregation really gets into the worship music, and we even have a band between a few of us.
Please describe the cultural and demographic nuances of your church and congregation.
Not very diverse because of limited congregants in our location
How do you build and develop your relationship with the congregation? Everyone knows
everyone. We’re all family here.
Explain how you prepare and present worship to your congregation each week. I give all of my
trust to the Holy Spirit to guide me however He sees fit for His purposes.
Explain the role each of your staff (volunteer or paid) have in helping you prepare and execute
worship to and with the congregation each week We have no paid staff. Not even me. But that’s
ok. Everyone helps with setup and tear down every Sunday, and the band is very commited to
working with the pastor and working together to make sure everything is solid.
What value do you place on human resources in preparing and executing congregational
worship each week? Explain. N/A
What other resources do you feel are essential for executing congregational worship each
week? (music, technology, building, sound, lighting, etc.) Explain. The Bible, our team, lights,
smoke, and sound tech.
What role does the culture of your church play in making decisions for congregational worship?
Explain. Not much emphasis on cultural differences in decision making because we are all alike
in our culture and interests .
Do you think your congregation has its own “worship language” or “worship voice”? Why? Why
Not? Yes, we speak truth boldly in our worship.
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Bibliography
Biles, Phillip. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview. Bedford,
Virginia, November 5, 2021.
Heins, Scott. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview. Wilkesboro,
NC, November 2, 2021.
Wellborn, David. Interviewed by Garrett Blackburn. Worship language interview.
Wilkesboro, NC, November 2, 2021.
