Every 3 years the LCMS puts on a Worship Conference focusing on preaching, worship, singing, and music primarily.  What I can gather from mailings and online info, is that it focuses extremely heavily on the new hymnal, traditional liturgy, hymnody, chanting, handbells, choirs, and formal instrumental ensembles.  Is there anything wrong with that??  NO!  I love all of those things and I feel they are an essential part to praising our Lord.  They should be done well in order to heighten the congregation’s ability to worship our Lord fully in a service.  A conference is a great idea!  I want that to be said before I make my next point:  what are we doing to prepare our (LCMS) church body for alternative styles of worship beyond the hymnal?  Some people may call this style contemporary, but I’ll blog about my issues with that word some other time.  Yet, despite my…