The new face of Chapel

Worship

A new sound was heard during ORU's first chapel last Aug. 14. Though some enjoyed it and others disliked it, everyone wanted to know more about the man in the suit and lady with blond hair.

Wayne and Jennifer Lee are Consulting Directors for the International Worship Center, formerly known as Music Ministries. They now oversee the department with Laura Cooke as Assistant Director.

Wayne Lee served as Director of Student Worship in Southeastern University (SEU), while Jennifer Lee was Coordinator of Ministry Tour Teams.

A recent graduate of SEU, Jonathan Swindal is also an Assistant Director alongside Cooke. He was involved with worship while he was a student at Southeastern University.

After seven years of service, the couple left SEU in May to focus on their worship consulting firm, WorshipLife International, based in Jacksonville, Fla.

“We are a Spirit-led consulting firm created specifically for the Spirit-filled local church,” they explain on their website. “It is our calling to assist the local church and pastor in finding the perfect solution for its worship leadership...We believe that God has ordained WorshipLife International to be the call to the local church that reclaims its voice of worship and establishes connection from the creation to its Creator. ”

Contrary to many assumptions, the new worship leaders stressed that they will not change anything in the program but simply make expansions.

"Our main goal here is to add to the great systems that are already here,” Wayne Lee said. “This department under Laura Cooke was run with passion. Our job is not to change anything but to add to it."

The Lees family and ministry are based in Florida, so they are flown periodically to Tulsa under their contract with the University. Several ministries also support the expenses of their travel. However, the couple is not fully employed by the University, so they do not receive any benefits.

“I know their ability, their confidence, their skill set,” Dr. Rutland said. “I know what they do, and they are professionals. They can deal with a wide variety of issues... They didn't graduate from college last year. They know what they're doing... There are not many people [or] companies that do that kind of consulting for a broad range of issues. And I have experience with them. I want to work with people who I am confident with, so I don't have to start over educating them from the beginning... Consulting is a great investment... You don't have to hire another employee.”

Students' reactions, however, are still divided. Some students prefer how it was last year, stating song selection as a concern.

“I think it's gonna take a lot of time to get used to it,” junior Reagan Barger said. “[I] have more of a bias towards Laura [Cooke] and enjoying that type of a worship, like the Hillsong... The new worship leader is really good and experienced but it's just a new style. It's like old church style, older songs... It's just new to get used to. I'm not a super fan of it yet, but hopefully we'll warm up to it.”

Others also found it important to see people their age lead chapel worship.

“I prefer student-led worship because, I don't know, it makes me be more engaged to it,” senior Lauren Oxford said. “These new people, I'm not really sure how to feel about them because it's new and their older and it's just more 'churchy'.”

On the other hand, groups of students feel more comfortable with the new leaders because of their energy and experience.

“The new husband and wife will bring a new balance to chapels,” senior Jasmine Edwards said. “They are very skilled and knowledgeable of music so they will bring a variety in the song selections and genres of music.”

The couple will also be spearheading the new premier singing group, which is still in the planning stage.

Their contract with the University only lasts for the Fall semester, but it is still uncertain as to whether it will be extended.


Speaker

This year, the chaplains don't have to announce the next chapel speaker at hall meeting. Dr. Rutland has chosen to preach for all chapels, except for a very few times when Ron Luce will be taking his place. Dr. Rutland will also be speaking during fall revival.

Our president says he takes chapel as an opportunity to speak to everyone all at once. By doing so, the ORU family gets to know him more. In chapel, he seeks to promote leadership and set an example among the faculty, staff and students.

He also wants to set the theological and spiritual pace of the university, something that will be hard to do with numerous speakers coming in and out.

“Chapel is a great place where leadership can happen,” Dr. Rutland added. “You can model the way you want things to run... It allows me the opportunity to set the pace, to state where I want things to go theologically or spiritually.”

Consistency is also a priority the president seeks to achieve.

“Continuity is one of the keys to community,” Dr. Rutland said. “[With different speakers every chapel,] each chapel becomes an event that starts from scratch. [With me speaking each chapel], it creates continuity, and continuity tends to a community. It's one of the keys to a community”

Dr. Rutland is still not sure if he will be doing this for his whole term at ORU, but he says that it will be so for the “foreseeable future.”