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| About Milton Terang |
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Milton Terang is a staff member at the Council of Baptist Churches in North East India (CBCNEI); he has been the coordinator of the worship conferences for the past 5 years. He resides in Guwahati, Assam; and will go to Bangalore for theological studies in mid-2005.
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Blessing Unexpected
by Milton Terang
It was by "accident" that I became involved in the CBCNEI Worship Conference program. The first Music Festival at Tura in the Garo hills in 2000 was initially organized by a former colleague. The day before the conference, he received news that his son was injured at school in another province and he had to leave for Delhi right away. At the last minute the CBCNEI office asked me to coordinate the conference.
I didn't know what to do. I had neither any previous experience in event management nor a good idea about worship. But of course I was very interested in music. I just made myself available to learn to do what I had to do. I had to struggle so hard to even understand what was going on, let alone coordinate the entire conference. I didn't even have a clear idea about worship. It was only through Anthony's teaching that I began to realize that worship is not about the music, the style, the language, or the form, but it’s all about Jesus.
The church in Northeast India faced a serious concern before the first worship conference. We had very poor or no church attendance among the youth because they could not relate to the church services--the worship, the jargon, and the expressions all seemed like rituals without any experiential meaning to them. They wanted to worship -- but it should be through ways and forms that was meaningful to them.
Throughout the NEI region the churches had to go through division due to worship style and even the music and the use of musical instruments. The pastors were divided on the issue. In some churches they allowed their young people to lead in praise and worship during the start of a worship service, but after the singing the pastor would say, "let us start our worship service by singing hymn number..." That comment typified the traditionalist attitude to contemporary worship.
I personally first tasted true worship only from the Tura conference. From then on, for the next four years, it was an experience of learning and of worship. From my involvement in the ministry with joyful noise Xpress and others I began to understand the life of a worshipper. That worship is not just our praises and music but all that we are; all that our heart is.
During these past five years the Worship conferences--from Tura, Nagaon, Mokokchung, Imphal to Diphu--have cleared a lot of the confusion about what worship is really about. Today we have pastors very open and active in contemporary worship. Many churches now have their own worship team and there are new worship teams forming every day. Today we see young people with a heart for worship, with a lot of passion, energy and enthusiasm like never before. Some churches now conduct their own local worship conferences.
One thing that the Worship conferences have emphasized over the years was that indigenous music, forms and expressions should be developed to enhance the worship experience of the communities of the region, with all its languages, traditions and cultures. Today we see some of the worship leaders writing their own songs in the indigenous forms and styles.
Anthony Chan and jnX have not only taught us all about worship and music through their expertise but also through their lives--a life of worship and sacrifice. Their ministry here in the past five years has not only sown the seed but has also come to fruition. I thank God for the opportunity and blessing to get to know them and serve with them all.
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