Worship Arts Area

The School of Theology is pleased to announce a new program called “Worship Arts Area.” Worship Arts is an interdisciplinary program of study uniting music, theology, art, communication, and theater to equip and empower students to lead a local church to revitalize the arts in their worship of God. As Robert Webber (Christian worship educator) says, “The arts are the wheels on which the Gospel turns.” In a culture that is in many ways returning to a more visual, image-drive orientation (with music very much at the heart and center), Campbellsville University provides the opportunity for called and gifted young men and women to train for holistic worship ministry. Our design is to create a generalist able to think critically about the intersection of faith, culture, and the arts. There will be students who excel in one or more areas, but the goal is to integrate the arts into a life of worship and service.

Upon completing the Worship Arts Area, students can expect to:

• Have a biblical and theological understanding for evaluating the quality and content of all elements of worship service;
• Call out the aesthetic gifts (music, art, drama, media) of Christians in a local church and empower them to worship and to serve;
• Demonstrate discretion and skill in planning worship services and events;
• Design and lead worship in a variety of settings.

Worship Arts students will have opportunity to develop needed skills in the classroom (with courses like guitar/voice/piano, conducting, music in worship, arts in worship, theology in film, and worship & technology) as well as outside the classroom (with opportunities afforded by a four-hour praxis as they serve in media or worship in local church settings, with the FIRST CLASS program, or Baptist Campus Ministry programs). Additionally, students are encouraged to focus on one area of concentration by completing a minor in either Church Music, Pastoral Ministries, Mass Communication, or Theater.

Four new courses have been created, which have been duly approved by each area concerned.

• “Art of Reading the Bible” (CHS 211) provides a comprehensive view of the Bible as the powerful word of God: why and how does the church read the Bible faithfully in spiritual worship and common life?
• “Faith and Beauty” (CHS 437) provides theological foundations for a Christian aesthetics: why and how is art a way to image and encounter the Triune God?
• “Worship and Technology” (COM 265) provides practical skills for adopting and adapting technological media: how does the church (re)image the life, witness, and worship of a believing community?
• “Arts in Worship” (MUS 453) provides an integrating experience for students, preparing them for leadership within the church: how does one develop an effective worship plan that utilizes the arts?

To bring focus to the Worship Arts Area, the School of Theology, in cooperation with the Worship Arts Committee (faculty from music, theology, art, communication, and theater), will host an annual Worship Arts Conference, which will not only provide opportunity for students to learn from practitioners in the field but also to participate in planning and performance. Each conference will highlight an aspect (or several aspects) of worship and the arts. The first Worship Arts Conference is scheduled for March 29-30, 2007 and will feature Grammy and Dove award winner Michael Card (www.michaelcard.com), who will speak on “The Power of Lament” and will be in concert March 29. The Worship Leader for the Conference, John Mark McMillan (www.thejohnmark.com), will be in concert March 30. See link to Worship Arts Conference.

WORSHIP ARTS AREA - 70hrs
This BS degree within the School of Theology requires 70 hours—in the areas of music, theology, arts, communication, and theater—plus 10 Gen Ed hrs and 3 additional hrs. To complement specific interests and abilities, the following minors are recommended: church music, pastoral ministries, mass communication, and theater.

General Education Courses Required - 10 hrs

• CHS 111 Introduction to Old Testament Study (3 hrs)
• CHS 121 Introduction to New Testament Study (3 hrs)
• ART 110 Understanding Art (2 hrs)
• MUS 125 Understanding Music (2 hrs)

Additional Theater Arts Course Required - 3 hrs

• TH 231 Theater Arts I (Gen Ed; 3 hrs)

Music Courses - 21 hrs

• MUS 100 Elementary Musicianship (3 hrs) OR MUS 101 Music Theory I (3 hrs)

(Must take 3 out of 4)

• MUS 140 Guitar Class I (1 hr)
• MUS 143 Voice Class I (1 hr)
• MUS 145 Piano Class I (1 hr)
• MUA XXX Applied Study (1 hr)

• MUS 343 Conducting I (2 hrs)
• MUE XXX Ensemble (1 hr)

• MUS 260 Music in Contemporary Worship (3 hrs)
• MUS 367 Music in Worship (3 hrs)
• MUS 362 Hymnology (3 hrs)
• NEW COURSE: MUS 453 Arts in Worship (3 hrs)

Theology Courses - 24 hrs

Core Requirements (15 hrs)

• NEW COURSE: CHS 211 The Art of Reading the Bible (3 hrs)
• CHS 230 Spiritual Formation (3 hrs)
• CHS XXX OT or NT Upper Division Biblical (3 hrs)
• CHS 471 Church History (3 hrs)
• CHS 432 Christian Theology (3 hrs)

• CHS 251 Ministry of Christian Leadership (3 hrs)
• CHS 337 Theology in Film (3 hrs)
• NEW COURSE: CHS 437 Faith and Beauty (3 hrs)

Art/Communication/Theater Courses - 21 hrs

• ART 101 Drawing I (3 hrs) OR
• ART 120 Elements of Design (3 hrs)

• MAC 165 Audio/Video Production (3 hrs)
• NEW COURSE: MAC 265 Worship and Technology (3 hrs)
• MAC 335 Editing Aesthetics and Technologies (3 hrs) OR
• MAC 425 Directing (Cinema/Television) (3 hrs) OR
• MAC 470 Television Studio Production (3 hrs)

• TH 200 Stagecraft I (3 hrs) OR
• TH 333 Acting (3 hrs)
• TH 334 Directing (Theater) (3 hrs)
• TH 336 Religious Theater (3hrs)

Praxis - 4 hrs

• CHS 365 Christian Studies Internship: Worship Arts Praxis (4 hrs)
  (45 hrs of work per 1 hr credit; 4 credit hrs = 180 hrs over the course of 16 weeks, or 11.25 hours each week.)