I Love to help worship leaders and worship pastors grow and become all that God has called them to be. I hope these 12 keys challenge you like they challenge me. I have been leading worship and pastoring for over 30 years but I still go back to this list to see what I need to work on!
1. Love and Spend Time with God Daily > Are you reading your Bible daily? > Where is your secret place to meet with God? > How is your daily prayer life? Are you praying and Obeying? 2. Love Your Spouse and Family > Are you carving out regular time in your schedule for your spouse and family? > Are you taking one day off per week? > When is the last time you had a date with your spouse? 3. Love the Church like Jesus love the Church > Are you building God's Kingdom or yours? > Do you love the people you are leading? > Jesus laid down His life for us, are you willing to lay down yours? 4. Mentor the Next Generation of Leaders > Are you looking for and developing the potential leaders on your team? > Are you giving room for new leaders to lead a song or worship time? > Jesus spent over 3 years developing His team, are you following His example? 5. Develop a Good Relationship with your Pastor > Do you have a weekly or bi-weekly meeting with your pastor? > Are you supporting your pastor in private and public? > Have you ever had your pastor and his wife over for dinner? 6. Keep your Heart Soft and Pliable Before God > Have you learned to forgive and forgive again? > Do you have good friends who can speak into your life? > Do you have safeguards to keep you from falling into temptation? 7. Never Stop Growing > Are you practicing your singing and playing on a daily basis? > Are you taking lessons and improving your craft and leadership? > Are you changing and growing with the new trends, style and songs? 8. Be a Passionate Worshiper > Are you keeping it real? Be authentic, are you the same on and off the stage? > Are there areas in your life that are holding you back from God's richest blessings? > Do you love the Lord with all your heart and are you a passionate worshiper? 9. Develop a Strong Team > Do you have a system of bringing along new musicians? > Are you developing multiple musicians for each position? > Are you helping your team grow spiritually? 10. Learn to Pick Great Worship Songs > Are you teaching your congregation the great songs from around the world? > Do you ever go outside your preference in musical styles? > Are you developing a balanced repertoire of fast, medium and slow songs? 11. Learn to Run Highly Effective Rehearsals > Are you spending enough time with the music to get past it and worship? > Are you giving your team all the tools they need to be successful? > Are you and your team memorizing the songs? 12. Develop your Administrative Skills > Are you creating timely schedules for your musicians and planning ahead on the church calendar? > Are your worship sets and services well organized? > Do your worship teams get their music well in advance so they can be excellent? Source: www.markcole.ca
0 Comments
Ministry is a marathon: it’s not how you start in ministry; it’s how you finish.
If you look at 2 Corinthians 4:1-18, Paul gives seven suggestions for finishing the race: Remember God’s mercy (v. 1): God has given us our ministries. We don’t have to prove our worth through our ministry, and we don’t have to wallow in our mistakes. You don’t have to earn your place as a pastor or leader in the church. Be truthful and honest in all you do (v. 2): Maintain your integrity because integrity produces power in your life, while guilt zaps your energy. You need to finish with your character intact. Your integrity includes how you handle the Word of God. Don’t distort it or make it confusing. Be motivated to work for Jesus’ sake, not out of selfish desires (v. 5): We need a right motivation. A lot of guys start off as servants and end up celebrities. You need to learn to live your life for an audience of one, and that one is Jesus Christ. Realize that Christians are only human (v. 7): We must accept our limitations, and the quickest way to burn out is to try to be Superman. Humility is being honest about your weaknesses. Develop a true love for others (v. 15): Churches thrive, grow, and survive when love endures. You must love people or you won’t last in the ministry. Allow time for inward rejuvenation (v. 16): I have a motto – Divert daily, withdraw weekly, and abandon annually. You need to take time for recharging. In the Air Force, they’ve mastered the art of mid-flight refueling. You can, too – you don’t have to land every time you need to refuel. Stay focused on the important things, not distracted by momentary troubles (v. 17-18): Keep your eyes on the goal, not the problem. Only he who sees the invisible can accomplish the impossible. To be a winner in the marathon of ministerial service, Christians need to realize great people are just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. If we run from problems, we’ll never be able to become what God wants us to become. The world needs you to last in ministry! God wired you and called you to the task, and you can do it in his power and under his grace. Source: www.markcole.ca If you are leading worship in your congregation on a regular basis, chances are it is because God has chosen you for that role. He has given you the skill and desire to do the job. So keep growing, keep learning, keep seeking the Lord. It is a sacred calling. Don’t take it lightly. How we lead, the songs we chose and the teams and musicians we develop have a huge impact on our churches.
But, keep your priorities right. Our first priority is to minister to the Lord: to lift our personal worship to the King of Kings, to live a life worthy of His calling. Never neglect your personal worship times. Spend time reading your Bible and spend time worshiping the Lord in your personal times with Him. It is a high privilege to lead our congregations in praise and worship to the Lord. Let us never take it lightly. I love it when congregations sing so loud that the sound man has trouble hearing the worship band over the people singing around him. Worship leaders – if the congregation is not singing, we are not doing what God has called us to do. Here are a few things that I’ve learned to avoid in order to encourage the congregation to sing.
1. Avoid doing frequent and long instrumental solos The goal is to get the congregation to be involved. If you have too many solos and they are too long, it can cause the congregation to disengage and become spectators. It certain situations, a well placed solo or short 4-8 bar instrumental works well. But be careful not overuse them. I generally use them only as short transitions to the next section. I also find short song intros are generally the best (4-8 bars is ideal). 2. Avoid doing too many new songs I love new songs and the band loves learning new songs. But, the congregation doesn’t get tired of songs as fast as we do. They haven’t put in hours of listening to and rehearsing the songs or playing the same songs in multiple services. They just hear it once on Sunday morning and maybe on Christian radio. A congregation can only learn so many songs. Be careful about how often you introduce new songs. 3. Avoid having too many songs in your worship rotation There are hundreds of thousands of worship songs and hymns. I recently read that CCLI has around 300,000 worship songs in their catalogue. But, how many songs does your congregation really sing in a year? Probably only 40-50. Learn to edit your overall top songs list and repeat songs on a regular basis. 4. Avoid using songs that aren’t the best of the best There are great songs and there are average songs. Learn to pick the best of the best. Song Select has a ‘most popular’ list that really is the songs that congregations love to sing. Some worship leaders avoid ‘popular lists’ because they think that is unspiritual. But I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to worship leaders all over the world and one of the results is a consistent list of top songs that most churches are using. Here is my list of top songs. 5. Avoid putting songs in too high or too low keys Your average person does not have a huge singing range. The ‘Rule of D’ (top note is around a ‘D’ i.e. C-Eb) is a great guideline for choosing the best key to sing in. If you pitch songs in comfortable keys the congregation is more apt to sing-along. 6. Avoid using singers and band members who aren’t worshipers When your congregation sees singers and band members who are fully engaged and worshiping the Lord with all their heart, it encourages them to do the same. Encourage your whole team to memorize their music. Teach them the attitudes of worship and the actions of worship: standing, singing, clapping, raising their hands, dancing, bowing down, playing instruments, shouting and giving. Teach them to be passionate worshipers on and off the stage. Teach them the importance of good stage presence and the power of smiling. 7. Avoid making the arrangement and rhythms too complicated It’s easy to lose a congregation if the form and flow of the song isn’t musically obvious. Certain musical forms (i.e. intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, double chorus, tag and end) really help congregations feel comfortable about where the song is going. Don’t create unnecessary complications to solid musical form. Also be careful about using melodic rhythms that are too complicated. Congregations are learning to sing more complicated rhythms but be sensitive to where that musical and rhythmic line is. 8. Avoid ad libs that confuse congregations I love ad libs that help congregations know what is happening next. But sometimes overuse or mis-timed ad libs can throw off your congregation. Really practice the use and timing of ad-libs so they help and don’t hinder congregational singing. 9. Avoid having the band playing all the time. Learn when the band and individual instruments should play and not play. Learn to build a musical arrangement and where to have the band or an instrument sit out a section. Some of the most powerful singing is when the band doesn’t play at all. Creating musical layers gives more musical interest and space for congregational singing. 10. Avoid having miscues with lyrics Put your best media operators on the computer running your lyrics. Double-check the order of your lyrics and the spelling. Have a full run-through with your lyric operator to double-check for mistakes. Slow and mis-timed or mis-spelled lyrics can really inhibit a congregation from singing with all their heart. 11. Avoid using only new songs I love to learn and use all the great new songs that God is giving to the church. But I have learned that congregations still love to sing the best of the great hymns and older choruses. Learn to include some classics to help all the generations sing with all their heart. 12. Avoid worship leading without proper prayer and preparation Time spent in private reading the Word, praying and worshiping, really is the secret to effective worship leading. Learn to develop a daily time with God and teach your worship team to do the same. God will honor you in public when you honor Him in the secret place. When the congregation senses God in the house, they will be more engaged. Source: www.markcole.ca I remember the day like it was yesterday. I remember my heart racing, tears flowing and my life changing. It was the day I experienced the presence of God for the first time. Sure, I had been in church many times before. But this time was different. This time I felt the love of God sweep over me like never before. I could sense His presence. I caught a glimpse of His glory. And I’m not one to get emotionally overwhelmed by things. I’m much more analytical. But this was different. This was the call of God. This was an awakening from death to life. When I think on that moment, it reminds me that those moments are happening all the time. Every song we choose, every word we speak, every service we lead, destinies can be altered. These are the kinds of things I wish I was told when I started leading worship. Which is why I compiled this list. If you’d like, share this with the young worship leaders you’re working with. Nine Lessons for Young Worship Leaders 1.You Don’t Need to Make Something Happen Powerful worship doesn’t depend on your ability to work up a room and be a charismatic leader. The Holy Spirit is moving. Jesus is glorious. All you need to do is highlight that. And get out of the way. 2. Worship Leading Is About Worship and Leadership You need to be a worshiper. But that’s not enough. The stage isn’t the place for your own personal worship. You need to lead people and facilitate others’ encounters with God. 3. Serve Your Church, Not Your Ego You are a part of a local church. It’s not a place to trumpet your own awesomeness or to do what you want. You’re there to serve a lead pastor’s vision and to passionately be a part of it. 4. Choose Songs That Are Good for Your People Don’t just choose songs you like or even just songs that are popular. Choose songs based on what they say and the faith they build in people. Think pastorally. What do your people need to say and sing? 5. Songs Are Tools, Not Ends in Themselves The goal of your “worship time” isn’t to sing through songs. Rather, carry something in your heart for what you’re about to do. Use songs as vehicles to help you lead people into declaring the promises of God. 6. Learn How to Communicate Singing isn’t enough. Great worship leaders build trust with the people they lead. And that is done by knowing how to speak and communicate in a way that helps people relax and endears them to you. 7. Don’t Think of It as a Career Move Thinking of worship leading as a career leads to all sorts of problems. Think of it more in terms of your calling and your passion to serve the local church. I’m not saying you shouldn’t get paid for what you do. Just don’t approach your local church’s stage as a way to climb the corporate ministry ladder. Lead because you love God and have a heart for his people. 8. Be a Pastor No, you don’t need to have credentials. But you need to approach your role pastorally. Love people. Care for them. Lead with compassion. Then all the other things—songwriting, albums, events—actually make sense. 9. Don’t Neglect God’s Word It’s easy to neglect the Bible for new worship music, leadership books and “creative inspiration.” Resist the urge. The Word is never a book you graduate from. You never learn enough. You never arrive. Let it get inside your spirit and influence everything you do and say. God is too glorious and there’s too much to be done for us to waste time on our egos. Let’s love and lead with all our hearts. How about you? How are you training your young worship leaders? Source: www.churchleaders.com Worship leaders are in an incredibly important part of today's church. But from time to time, I take them to task; like in this post: What Katy Perry and Taylor Swift Can Teach Church Worship Leaders. Today I have different issue. I've visited a number of churches this year that on Sunday mornings allow the worship team to continue rehearsals after the doors are open for the congregation. As a television director, I understand the need to tweak rehearsals until you get it right. But here's why - for most churches - it's a mistake for the congregation to watch the rehearsal: The Difference in Attitude During rehearsal, your attitude isn't on worship, it's on getting the music right. As a result, you're thinking about audio levels, the mix, the band, the monitor levels and more. You're fine tuning the music so once the real worship service starts, you can focus on God. But most of the congregation doesn't understand this. So when they watch rehearsal and see you stop and start, walking around and adjusting things, they assume your attitude about worship is flippant and shallow. Plus, when they see the dramatic difference between rehearsal attitude and your worship service attitude, they think it's hypocritical. Obviously, many in the congregation or audience today understand the difference. But from experience, I can tell you that enough that it can create perception issues that grow into real problems. And that's not all - in one church, one of the men wore a tank top undershirt during the rehearsal, and a woman did it in curlers. Not exactly the kind of look that gets church members into a attitude of worship. Worship Leaders - Be The Leader Of Your Team If they need to start rehearsal earlier, then do it. Think about the image, attitude and spiritual demeanor you're projecting when people are watching. In most cases, the worship team is the first step a congregation takes into presence of God. Don't let your team's desire to sleep late hurt the worship experience for the very people you're trying to reach. Source: www.churchleaders.com Ever ask yourself as a church leader, do I worship something or someone other than God? It's a great question and great heart check. I'll stick my neck out and suggest that you do have idols you worship instead of God. At least I do. Once you identify them and root them out, you'll become a better leader. You're an Idol Factory I get challenged about my personal and leadership idols every year when I read through the middle part of the book of Isaiah. Chapter 44, for example, is all about the futility of worshiping idols, which in those days were mostly wood or stone carvings. So what's an idol today? You don't need wood or stone to create one. An idol is anything that takes our focus and reliance off of God. John Calvin was dead on when he said, "Man's nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols." Discard one, and you'll simply create another. 8 Idols Church Leaders Still Worship Today The list could be much longer than eight, because Calvin was right. But here are eight I struggle with or have seen other leaders struggle with. These are in no particular order, because, well, any idol is bad enough to be #1. 1. STRATEGY So I'm strategy wonk. If you read this blog, you know that. I think many churches fail for lack of a clear, coherent strategy. But strategy is no substitute for trust. As valuable as strategy is (and it is), no strategy is a substitute for trusting God. Strategy makes an excellent servant and a terrible master. 2. SKILL By all means, get better at what you do. Learn, listen, polish, and perfect your skills. Skill alone can get you far, but the church is a supernatural thing. God changes hearts. You can't. I can't. You know what's better than a skill set? A surrendered skill set. Having a B-Level set of skills that's surrendered is better than an A-Level set of skills you're trying to use without God. 3. SIZE There is no merit in size. Some leaders think only bigger is better. But idolizing big can be thin mask for ego. (Your self-worth rises and falls with big.) Some idolize the romanticism of small. Yet idolizing small can be a thin mask for insecurity. (You love small only because you will never be big.) There is no magic to size. Focus on getting healthy, and size will take care of itself. Or to switch metaphors, pull some weeds, till the soil, plant some seeds and trust God to grow things at the pace and to the size he wants. 4. STATS I love stats too much. I watch attendance, baptisms, givings, group participation and volunteer rates like a hawk and then I am disappointed if they don't meet my exaggerated expectations. I watch my blog and podcast stats too much, and if I'm not careful I'll even allow them to dictate my emotions. Before you gloat a little, ignoring stats can be another idol. Being the slacker who doesn't care / I'm too hip for that leader can close you off to God as readily as being the leader who rises and falls with the numbers. Stats tell you things. But they don't measure your worth. Or God's faithfulness. Watch them. But don't believe they're a barometer on how awesome or awful you might be. 5. ALLIANCES I wish I had a better title for this, but "alliances" simply refers to the group we do in ministry with. In some cases, It's your denomination or a church planting group. Or in my case, as a North Point Strategic Partner, its North Point Church. Alliances are often strategic and helpful. They have been for me. But they are not your savior. It's tempting to think, "If we join X group, our church would take off." No... it probably would not. Just so you know. Alliances help. But they will not save. God does that. 6. MORE Too many times, I've caught myself worshipping the idol of more. If I had more staff... more money... more lights... more team... more square footage... more fill in the blank with whatever your current obsession is, then our church would be awesome. Nope. God is awesome. And again, there's nothing wrong with having more. It's just that more will not be your salvation. Faithfulness is measured in what you do with what you have. And if you steward what you have well, guess what? Often (not always, but often), you eventually end up with more. Focus on what you have, not what you don't have. That's better leadership. 7. PROGRESS I seem to be far more addicted to progress than God appears to be. Or at least what I would define as progress (I'm quite sure God makes more progress on things than I do). I often think I would be the worst biblical character. I would not be good with being in prison for years like Joseph or Paul. Or wandering the desert for 40 years like Moses while people complained. Or waiting to be king for what must have seemed like an eternity to David. if every graph is not up and to the right, I get worried. But God seems to use wilderness seasons in your life and in the life of your church to grow your character. Besides, if your platform outgrows your character, you're doomed anyway. I know God has used seasons when I'm frustrated with progress to grow me. I am still a reluctant convert to patience and trust. But I am thankful God is patient with me, even when I am not patient with God. 8. BALANCE Some of you may be frustrated by now because this appears to be yet another leadership post written by yet another driven leader. I know. I get that. But there is another idol lurking under the guise of work-life balance that's worth identifying. Often in the pursuit of a "balanced" life, people can lose passion and commitment. Don't get me wrong: I am all for rest, balance, margin and a life that doesn't drain the life out of you. But balance can become code for barely working. Balance can become a synonym for not throwing your heart or weight into anything. If that's a temptation, just understand that's an idol too. We have a God who asked us to love him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Most of the people I know who have accomplished significant things are not balanced people. They are passionate people. So be passionate in your work, in your family life, in your rest and in all you do. When you do, you will glorify God. Those are eight idols I see and often struggle within leadership. What do you see? Derived from www.churchleaders.com We've all been there. You're in a sensational worship service with all the arms raised high, voices loud and awesome, lyrical art drawing a fierce connection between you and the Father... and then that song comes on. We could fill in "that" with a number of variable modern praise songs. For me, that song causes me to roll my eyes and, honestly, get a little grumpy. This author obviously doesn't know their theology! There's no way these lyrics were thought through! This is a bunch of emotional fluff age! Although it is fair to criticize worship songs to an extent, I will admit that my attitude used to go beyond righteous criticism and into pride. But there is an evident problem with many modern worship songs stemming from their lyrics. Many of them are written and sung through an emotional dialect but lack sacrificial rhetoric, while others are self-centered instead of God-centered. This is a problem because, after all, we are responding to God, yes let's make sure we keep our priorities straight and always remember... IT'S NOT ABOUT US. Our responsive worship should be as intentional as our practical worship. Worship is not just singing, it's a lifestyle, and thus worship should reflect consistently throughout our lives. Whether we're ministering to others, singing praise songs to God, or taking out the thrash because our parents told us to, we're worshipping. If our hearts are in humble and obedient posture before the throne, then we will worship in all we do, even writing lyrics. Lyrics should reflect our adoration, theology and even our requests. Making our requests known to God is an obedient maneuver as well because it shows that we are sons, not slaves, and that we trust in the sovereignty of God. Lyrics should be an integration of God's gift of art and our obedience to use this gift for his glory. WE ARE WORSHIPPING THE ALMIGHTY. Worship may be concert style, but it is not a concert. Concerts bring attention to the performers and it stops there. In a corporate setting, the worship leader's purpose is to usher the congregation into an intimate time of responsive worship before the Almighty Father. When we remember that God is the focus, the lyrics we pen should reflect such an attitude. Consider Justin Kintzel's worship hit "Love Displayed." He is love displayed, Grace and justice now collide. He is ransom paid, In flesh in blood alive. He is Kingdom come, He's the one great miracle. Shining like the son, He is love displayed for all. This song to me is like cheese-puffs; I'll never get tired of it. In a short chorus, Kintzel has presented the gospel and the loving attributes of the Father while directing all attention toward heaven. I asked Justin his thoughts on the fact that many lyrics today are not thoroughly considered before being published. His answer was awesome: There is something so powerful and pure about hundreds or even thousands of people from all walks of life coming together in one place and singing the same words with one voice as one body to the Lord. I think when song lyrics don't reflect the profound nature of what congregational worship truly is, we ignore some very important things to think about when deciding what the body should be singing. I'm not one who opposes new stuff or old stuff by any means. I appreciate and love "Oceans" just as I appreciate and adore "It is Well" and believe there is a very important place for both. Style, preference or time period isn't what I'm referring to... it's content. There are many songs, beautifully written, that don't really mean a lot to the average Christian, and I think as worship leaders, we just need to hack through the thick forest of culture and figure out what those are. Sometimes, very catchy but shallow songs will be accepted into Christian culture and will be sung passionately, but we just have to remember that our job as worship leaders is not to lead what's cool and popular that will garner a response, but what is true, solid and will garner a response based upon the fact that some dots were connected in people's heads and the passion they feel is not toward the music they are singing but toward the truth they are singing. When you can get beautifully written song with beautifully true lyrics, we as humans who appreciate art and truth can grab a hold of it. Some songs are impacting culture in a very significant way but aren't really saying much as a whole. Some can still be used though, if carefully, strategically and thoughtfully done, and so that's where this gets tricky. Some of the "easier" songs can be used to lead to more deep content in a worship set. I think some of it comes down to very careful and balanced discernment and conviction from the person who is shepherding the ministry. WHEN ASKED ABOUT HIS METHOD OF WRITING, HIS RESPONSE WAS INSPIRING... AND HUMOROUS. The method I usually use is, I first get in bed and try to fall asleep with no thought about music in my head whatsoever. Then, as I try to fall asleep, annoying melodies and thoughts will enter my head. I will then pull back the covers, get out of bed, walk into the other room, so as not to wake my already sleeping/early-to-bed wife, and record what little melody or junk my head is coming up with. The next day or so, I'll polish what I came up with and either expound upon it myself or send it to some very talented song writer buddies of mine to toy with. We'll throw some things back and forth, maybe do a "Skype-write" until were finished! That's the technical side. The spiritual side is, I don't finish a worship song unless I can actually picture in my mind people singing this song and believing what it says while they sing it. That's kind of my bottom line. I want lyrics to grab people, shake them, and say, "Hey! What you're singing is True! Do you believe it?" and with passionate worship to Jesus, they answer yes. The lyrics, the leader and the congregation should all point toward the Father. When the lyrics don't then the singers cannot. EMOTIONALISM IS NOT WORSHIP. One song that I have a problem with is "God's Great Dance Floor." While boasting lyrics of prodigal restoration, the verses and chorus are a great display of God's love for those who have fallen away and returned. But the bridge often serves as an invitation to dance all over the place for fun and not in accordance with a worshiping heart. It's a reasonable assumption considering that 99 percent of the congregation only dances for that part of the song. I'm not saying the lyrics are bad at the bridge, but I would have left them out considering the primarily emotional response from the audience as opposed to a praising one. If we're honest, most students who dance to that song are doing so because it's fun - not to worship. I realize that there's worship in the Bible in forms of dancing. But they danced because, for example, they were just freed from the clutches of an angry Egyptian mob ready to kill them all... not because a song told them to. When our worship is strictly emotional then congregants have no problem leaving the session and partaking in a slanderous gossip session. A humble obedient heart of worship will convict one in their sin and will expose the love of the Father to bring them to restoration. NEITHER IS LEGALISM. A common dispute is that modern praise songs have too much "I, Me, We" and not enough "You, God, Jesus." The claim is that when I, Me and We are used so much, it makes the song about us. I beg to differ - to an extent. When the "Me" is "create in me a clean heart," then the song is still about Jesus because when we ask God to create in us a pure heart, we are recognizing our depravity, his atoning sacrifice and beauty of grace. It's straight from the scriptures, which in context was also worship. If "I, We, Me" causes a brother or sister to be grumpy, then the issue lies with their heart. If "I, We, Me" causes them to sit and sulk during a worship service, then they have missed the humble approach to worship that is prefaced in the song. If we ever get to a point of aggravation where we cannot simply opt out singing to pray, but instead we angrily attack the lyrics and supposed intents of the author/singer... then we've come to a point where pride has claimed the victor and we must repent of such hostility. Can a song be about us? sure, if it means us responding in adoration to the glory of the Father. In everything we do, in everything we say, in every moment of our lives, may we live to glorify our Lord. Article derived from www.churchleaders.com One of the beautiful things about the church is all of the different ways it expresses its worship in music around the world, in different cultures, in different denominations, with different instrumentations and with different opinions about how it should be done. It's a wonderful expression of the unsearchable greatness of God (Psalm 145:3). And even though this breadth of worship expression can make it hard for worship leaders across the spectrum to talk principles and practicalities, I do think there is one question that gets to the heart for all worship leaders, regardless of their culture, denomination, instrumentation and technique. That question is: "Where am I pointing?" The local worship leader with a team of two musicians (one of whom can't play in five keys). The underground worship leader playing some songs off of her iPod. The megachurch worship leader with five weekend services, three weekly production meetings, two full dress rehearsals and an all paid band. The organist who chooses hymns according to the lectionary and selects anthems for a small but good choir to sing. All very different churches. All with different challenges and responsibilities for their respective worship leader/organist/choir director. But in each of those churches, the person responsible for leading the worship in song has to decide where to point. And the kicker is that any moving object can only move in the direction it's pointing. Try walking in multiple directions at once. Try driving on multiple roads at the same time. It's logistically, physically and literally impossible. You can only move in one direction at a time. So when a worship leader is planning and leading a service, in whatever context and with whatever style, he can choose to point toward Jesus or to point away from Jesus. You can't point away from Jesus and point toward Jesus at the same time. You can't exalt yourself and Jesus at the same time. It's impossible. I'm afraid that some worship leaders across the broad spectrum of worship expressions think it's possible, permissible, and even preferable to point to themselves, their music, their style, their personality, their instrumentation, their professionalism, their polish and their performance. There's a word for this, and it's called "mission creep," and it's what happens when we forget our original mission's goals and move in other directions. All worship leaders, and I'm preaching just as loudly to myself here, need a constant reminder: No! It's not ok to point to yourself. By doing so, you are pointing away from Jesus and vainly seeking after a share of the glory he is due. Our mission has one aim: The exaltation of Jesus Christ. Who am I to say that worship leaders have one aim? Don't blame me. Blame Paul. "Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent." (Col. 1:15-18) Preeminent (i.e. totally, completely, unmistakably above all other things). Where is the wiggle room in this? Where is the gray? Where is the room for me to exalt myself? None! Jesus is the image of the Father. He's glorified by the Spirit (John 16:14). He "upholds the universe by the power of his word" (Hebrews 1:3). Is he the center of our worship services? He either is or not. We're either pointing to him or we're not. Regardless of our musical expression, context, style, technique, approach or denomination, we have this one question to answer. And it's not a multiple choice. Article derived from www.churchleaders.com Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength Mark 12:30 NLT God wants all of you. God doesn’t want a part of your life. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God is not interested in half-hearted commitment, partial obedience, and the leftovers of your time and money. He desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life. A Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style of worship. Jesus replied that these external issues are irrelevant. Where you worship is not as important as why you worship and how much of yourself you offer to God when you worship. There is a right and wrong way to worship. The Bible says “Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him.” (Heb. 12:28) The kind of worship that pleases God has four characteristics: 1. God is pleased when our worship is accurate. People often say, “I like to think of God as …” and then they share their idea of the kind of God they would like to worship. But we cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry. Worship must be based on the truth of Scripture, not our opinions about God. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23) To “worship in truth” means to worship God as he is truly revealed in the Bible. 2. God is pleased when our worship is authentic. When Jesus said you must “worship in spirit,” he wasn’t referring to the Holy Spirit, but to your spirit. Made in God’s image, you are a spirit that resides in a body, and God designed your spirit to communicate with him. Worship is your spirit responding to God’s Spirit. When Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and soul” he meant that worship must be genuine and heartfelt. It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say. Heartless praise is not a praise at all! It is worthless, an insult to God. When we worship, God looks past our words to see the attitude of our hearts. The Bible says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7) Since worship involves delighting in God, it engages your emotions. God gave you emotions so you could worship him with deep feeling – but those emotions must be genuine, not faked. God hates hypocrisy. He doesn’t want showmanship or pretence or phoniness in worship. He wants your honest, real love. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely. Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That’s why both spirit and truth are required. Worship must be both accurate and authentic. God pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and heads. Today many equate being emotionally moved by music as being moved by the Spirit, but these are not the same. Real worship happens when your spirit responds to God, not to some musical tone. In fact, some sentimental, introspective songs hinder worship because they take the spotlight off God and focus on our feelings. Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself – your interests and your worries over what others think about you. Christians often differ on the most appropriate or authentic way to express praise to God, but these arguments usually just reflect personality and background differences. Many forms of praise are mentioned in the Bible, among them confessing, singing, shouting, standing in honor, kneeling, dancing, making a joyful noise, testifying, playing musical instruments, and raising hands (Heb. 13:15, Psalm 7:17, 149:3, 150:3, Ezra 3:11, Nehemiah 8:6). The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God, based on the background and personality God gave you. 3. God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful. Jesus command to “Love God with all your mind” is repeated four times in the New Testament. God is not pleased with thoughtless singing or hymns, perfunctory praying of clichés, or careless exclamations of “Praise the Lord,” because we can’t think of anything else to say at that moment. If worship is mindless, it is meaningless. You must engage your mind. Jesus called thoughtless worship “vain repetitions.” (Mat. 6:7) Even biblical terms can become tired clichés from overuse, and we stop thinking about the meaning. It is so much easier to offer clichés in worship instead of making the effort to honor God with fresh words and ways. This is why I encourage you to read scripture in different translations and paraphrases. It will expand your expressions of worship. Try praising God without using the words praise, hallelujah, thanks, or amen. Instead of saying, “We just want to praise you,” make a list of synonyms and use fresh words like admire, respect, value, revere, honor, and appreciate. Also be specific. If someone approached you and repeated, “I praise you!” ten times, you would probably think, for what? You would rather receive two specific compliments than twenty vague generalities. So would God. Another idea is to make a list of the different names of God and focus on them. God’s names are not arbitrary; they tell us about different aspects of his character. In the Old Testament, God gradually revealed himself to Israel by introducing new names for himself, and he commands us to praise his name. God wants our corporate worship gatherings to be thoughtful too. Paul devotes an entire chapter to this in 1 Corinthians 14 and concludes, “Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” (1 Cor. 14:40) Related to this, God insists that our worship services be understandable to unbelievers when they are present in our worship gatherings. Paul observed, “Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don’t understand you, how will they know to say, ‘Amen’? You may be worshiping God in a wonderful way, but no one else will be helped.” (1 Cor. 14:16-17) Being sensitive to unbelievers who visit your worship gatherings is a biblical command. To ignore this command is to be both disobedient and unloving. 4. God is pleased when our worship is practical. The Bible says, “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Rom. 12:1) Why does God want your body? Why doesn’t he say “Offer your spirit?” Because without your body you can’t do anything on this planet. In eternity you will receive a new, improved, upgraded body, but while you’re here on earth, God says, “Give me what you’ve got!” He’s just being practical about worship. You have heard people say, “I can’t make it to the meeting tonight, but I’ll be with you in spirit.” Do you know what that means? Nothing. It’s worthless! As long as you’re on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. If your body isn’t there, neither are you. In worship we are to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” Now, we usually associate the concept of “sacrifice” with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. He wants you to live for him! However, the problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, and we often do that. We sing, “Onward, Christian Soldiers” on Sunday, then go AWOL on Monday. In the Old Testament, God took pleasure in the many sacrifices of worship because they foretold of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Now God is pleased with different sacrifices of worship: thanksgiving, praise, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in needs. (Psalm 50:14) Real worship costs. David knew this and said: “I will not offer to the LORD my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 24:24) One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time. You don’t worship to be seen by others or to please yourself. You deliberately shift the focus off yourself. When Jesus said, “Love God with all your strength,” he pointed out that worship takes effort and energy. It is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is a sheer act of the will – a willing sacrifice. Passive worship is an oxymoron. When you praise God even when you don’t feel like it, when you get out of bed to worship when you’re tired, or when you help others when you are worn out, you are offering a sacrifice of worship to God. That pleases God. Mat Redman, a worship leader in England, tells how his pastor taught his church the real meaning of worship. To show that worship is more than music, he banned all singing in their services for a period of time while they learned to worship in other ways. By the end of that time, Matt had written the classic song “Heart of Worship”: I’ll bring you more than a song, For a song itself Is not what you have required. You searched much deeper within, Through the way things appear; You’re looking into my heart. The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart. Derived from Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren |
AuthorWarren Jhun Ocampo Archives
September 2017
Categories |