School of Church Music and Worship

Message from the Dean

Thomas W. Bolton

With the variety and diversity displayed in the music and worship ministries of Southern Baptist churches, it is both an exciting and challenging task to train students for effective ministry in these areas. At the heart of the educational philosophy of the School of Church Music and Worship are the core values of biblical fidelity and musical excellence. But we are also committed to prepare students to expand their ministry horizons to meet the needs of the 21st-century church.

Like Martin Luther, we believe the new needs to grow in the shade of the old. Over the past few years, we have added courses that prepare students for leadership of contemporary corporate worship, including leading vocal and instrumental praise teams and writing songs for worship, while retaining more traditional courses in music ministry with various age groups, choral and instrumental conducting and literature, hymnology and applied studies.

Our overarching goal is to bring to the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention biblically based worship that brings glory and honor to Christ in a manner that reflects His character, rather than centering on the performance of man as mere entertainment. We believe that appropriate worship must serve as a framework for the centrality of the proclamation of the Word, and much care and attention must be given to the corporate music and worship expressions of those who profess belief in Him. Our God is a great God and worthy to be praised with our highest level of excellence, regardless of style.

In the current cultural climate that seeks to be man pleasing, it is more important than ever that our church musicians be trained in a theological environment where biblical truth is taught and a philosophy of ministry is developed and refined. We are seeing this strong commitment to the Word of God in our current students and look forward to the task or working with future students as they prepare for ministry in the cause of Christ in the postmodern world.

Thomas W. Bolton