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Posted December 18, 2006
We have now been back in Jacksonville for a little over 10 weeks. Since then we have been reconnecting with many of our old friends, most of whom are in ministry. Here's what the Lord is doing...Robbie is now in the process of developing a new ministry, mentoring the next generation of worship leaders. Well, not all of them. What we are praying for is for God to give Robbie 12 young worship leaders in whom he can invest his many years of experience as a worship leader and pastor. Seminars and worship training materials abound. We thank God for all of them and will certainly make our own available. However, none of that can prepare a young minister for the inevitable relational and professional challenges of full time ministry. Everyone needs the advantage of someone who has "been there and done that" to walk with him through those times. The average tenure of a music minister in a local church is 18 months. One recent article that we read declared, "The rate of attrition among ministers is uncomfortably high. Perhaps
one reason is because pastors suffer from the same lack of
connectedness that currently characterizes our society. Today's
ministers need relational intimacy to strengthen the foundation of
their work". According to the Alban Institute, 17% of pastors are
experiencing burnout. Almost 100 ministers in the Southern Baptist
Convention leave the ministry every month, according to some estimates.
Nationwide, 1,600 ministers leave the pulpit every month. That should not be. We believe that relationship is the answer. Robbie feels that his focus is to be on entering into mentoring relationships with music ministers. Since he is of the creative temperament, he understands what makes musicians tick. He speaks their language. Yet he has 35 years under his belt of successes and mistakes. He also has the maturity and wisdom to know what he would have done differently. His desire is to break the cycle of fallout and raise the level of retention of this generation of worship leaders to new heights. We believe that this is only possible through relationship. Please pray for us as we prepare to launch this very important ministry. For more information and updates visit Robbie's website at www.robbietrice.com.
On August 18th, Northwood Assembly in North
Charleston, South Carolina (where I served as Music Minister for 8
years) had a tragic fire that distroyed the santuary, classrooms and
offices. We visited the church a few weeks ago and saw the devestation
first hand. It was heartbreaking. Our friends, Greg Norton and Mike
Wingler took us through what use to be a beautiful house of worship.
It was heartbreaking. Then we spent a couple of hours with Pastor Fred
and his wife, Soni. He told us that the church had grown by 400 since
the fire. It was a vivid reminder that the church is not a
building...the church is people. Please visit www.northwoodassembly.com and click on "Building Update" to see an inspirational video and photos of the aftermath.
On September 17th Robbie performed Alpha & Omega with the men's ensemble at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville Florida. FBC has been named the 19th most influencial church in America by www.churchreport.com.
Having been there to experience that tremendous choir and orchestra and
the wonderful message from Pastor Mac Brunson, we can see why.
On October
2nd, after a 20 year absence, we have moved back to our home town,
Jacksonville, Florida. After much prayer, counsel and confirmation, we
believe that God directed us to come home. It doesn't seem like it was
20 years ago that we left Jacksonville to persue our dreams, but what
an incredible journey it has been. Now the journey continues and as
Parson Carson said, "Jacksonville will not be the past...but the
future".
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