In Part 1 we looked at the book of Malachi and saw quite clearly that God desires the best of what His people have to offer to Him, not the leftovers. We also noted that the unacceptable offerings the priests made were directly related to their low view of God. But when it comes to practical application in our own lives, it might be difficult for us to relate to the Levitical priesthood and animal sacrifices in ancient Israel. So here's a few more considerations that can help us discern what giving God our best looks like in the 21st century. First, we need to recognize that God has put a different calling on each of our lives, according to the abilities he's given us and the resources He has entrusted us with.
"...the Lord has chosen Bezalel...and he has filled him with the Spirit of God...with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze..." Exodus 35:30-32
"...Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king.Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord..." 1 Chronicles 25:6-7
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work." 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
God doesn't expect us to be excellent at something we haven't been called to or equipped for. If you aren't clear on what God has called you to or what abilities and resources you could be using in service to Him, it's important to discover that. Pray about it. Do some brainstorming. What are you good at? What personal resources could be of kingdom use? What needs do your church and community have? Keep in mind that God will often use our weaknesses too. Seek counsel from other believers, sometimes they see something in us or sense a call on our lives that we don't. Secondly, God desires sacrificial giving, but whether an offering is truly sacrificial or not is somewhat relative. Consider this example from Luke 21 about giving our possessions.
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Luke 21:41-44
How might this play out with talent or skills? I'll put myself under the microscope for this one. Out of the "wealth" of training and experience I have as a guitarist it's possible for me to barely practice and still play the songs sufficiently during a service. I don't make a habit of this, but if I'm honest it does happen sometimes. On the other hand, I've had students that pay for weekly lessons and practice a lot just to be able to lead their congregations in song. So on a Sunday where I've done minimal preparation, I may still end up playing better than they do. But I believe in God's eyes the other guitarists are putting "more into the treasury."
We could go on with different scenarios but the bottom line is that God will hold us accountable for what we did with the time, talent and treasure He has given us. Did we use it for His glory and purposes? Or did we dedicate most of it to lesser things? Do we desire to bring Him sacrificial offerings because we love Him? Or are we trying to get away with giving as little as possible because ultimately we're not convinced that God is worth our best? These are important questions to ask ourselves and check our hearts on. In closing there's something we should never forget as we consider these things. Even our best still falls short of what our holy God deserves, and in and of ourselves we are not even worthy to come before Him to worship and serve. Thanks be Jesus for cleansing us with His blood, so that we can come confidently before God's throne and have the privilege of offering our lives as living sacrifices.
During World War II the expression "good enough for government work" meant something could hold up to the most rigorous standards. Over the years that saying has been used in a more ironic sense, meaning something is minimally acceptable but far from the best quality. I have to admit that I use that expression fairly often, always with the latter meaning in mind. What's sad is how "good enough for church" can often be taken in the same way. It ought to mean excellence for our great God, but instead can mean we're okay with mediocrity or worse. In the book of Malachi we see God's own priests settling for less and get to hear what God has to say about that.
"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?'...When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor?"
Malachi 1:6-8 (ESV)
It's interesting that God doesn't reject these offerings solely based on His ceremonial laws. Instead He asks these priests to consider their own cultural standards. What they offered to Him would have been dishonoring to human authorities, let alone the God of the universe! Now let's be clear, this wasn't a case where the priests only had blemished animals to offer. Simply put, they were withholding their best from Him.
"Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations."
Malachi 1:14 (NIV)
So if they had the ability to offer God something better, why were they holding out on Him? Perhaps they were greedy and simply wanted to keep the best for themselves? That may have been part of their motivation, but God's diagnosis of their hearts reveals an even more tragic cause for their shoddy service to Him.
"You profane me when you say, 'Worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account,' and when you say, 'I'm bored—this doesn't do anything for me.' You act so superior, sticking your noses in the air... And when you do offer something to me, it's a hand-me-down, or broken, or useless."
Malachi 1:11-13 (The Message)
These priests did not recognize what an honor it was to be in their role of serving God and His people. It seems there was a deficiency in their love and view of God which made worship and service seem like a chore or a burden, rather than a privilege. That being said, we shouldn't get too comfortable pointing out their sins. It's all too easy for us to fall into a similar pattern of irreverence and offensive offerings. Next week, in Part 2, we'll try to make some practical applications from this study and explore what it looks like to give God our best and guard against the "good enough for church" mindset.
I was recently listening to a podcast entitled "The Power of the Resurrection." In it Rabbi Jason Sobel (a messianic rabbi based in California) highlights the fact that the resurrection and what it means for us is all about being changed, from death to life. But that change came at a great price, it cost the very life of the Son of God. Now of course we all want to see that kind of resurrection power in our lives and in the world around us. The problem Rabbi Jason identifies is that "we all want change, but we're not willing to pay the cost for change." Now we might be open to change that isn't too costly, something that only costs the spare change of our lives, but not the bigger kind of change that will cost us our time, plans, comfort, money, reputation... And yet when we looked at Luke 9 in Part 1, we saw that one can't be a disciple unless they are willing to surrender their entire lives to the Lord on a daily basis. And thus, as Rabbi Jason observes, Jesus has "lots of fans, but few true followers."
What's the difference between a fan and a follower? Consider this excerpt from J.C. Ryle's "The Cost."
"Any of you who does not give up everything he has, cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:33
What does it cost to be a Christian?
I grant freely that it costs little to be a mere outward Christian. A man has only got to attend a place of worship twice on Sunday, and to be tolerably moral during the week--and he has gone as far as thousands around him ever go in religion. All this is cheap and easy work--it entails no self-denial or self-sacrifice. If this is saving Christianity and will take us to Heaven when we die--we must alter the description of the way of life, and write, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to Heaven!"
But it does cost something to be a real Christian, according to the standard of the Bible. There are . . . enemies to be overcome, battles to be fought, sacrifices to be made, an Egypt to be forsaken, a wilderness to be passed through, a cross to be carried, a race to be run. Conversion is not putting a man in a soft armchair, and taking him pleasantly to Heaven. It is the beginning of a mighty conflict, in which it costs much to win the victory. Hence arises the unspeakable importance of "counting the cost."
True Christianity will cost a man . . . his self-righteousness, his sins, his love of ease, and the favor of the world. A religion which costs nothing--is worth nothing!
A cheap, easy Christianity, without a cross--will prove in the end a useless Christianity, without a crown.
This week's song is "Lead Me to the Cross," written by Brooke Fraser. It was first released on the Hillsong United album All of the Above. One of my favorite lines in this song says, "Rid me of myself, I belong to you." Oh Lord, may we truly live each day as if our lives were not our own.
"By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."
-Exodus 13:20-22
It must have been amazing to be the people of Israel during the Exodus, to be led by God in such visible and powerful ways. Surely I'm not alone in thinking that it would be nice if God would lead us in such a perceptible way today. But then again, Jesus did say "blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). And let's not forget that despite all the wonders performed, many of those pillar-led people still doubted God's provision (Numbers 11), made idols (Exodus 32), and refused to go where He had commanded them to go (Deut. 1:26-46). The truth is that God can lead us just as intimately and unmistakably as He led the Hebrews thousands of years ago. Just look at passages like Mark 13:11, Acts 10, and Acts 16:6-10. As exciting and life-changing as this should be for all who believe, I can't help but notice that many of us don't seem to be moving when God moves.
You're the one I seek,
knowing I will find,
All I need in you alone.
Through prayer, scripture, the counsel of godly people, or perhaps even a supernatural sign the Holy Spirit can reveal the will of the Father to us. But if we don't actively seek God, how can we expect to hear His voice or sense where He's leading? One of the biggest obstacles to perceiving God's leading is the lack of priority we put on spending time seeking the Father either in private or with other believers. Getting to that place where we can hear from God clearly and begin to step out in faith takes intention, consistency and patience on our part. He can transmit to us all day long, but if our spiritual antennas aren't up, we'll never get the message. Of course, sometimes I wonder if the reason we don't put a lot of effort into seeking the Lord is because we're afraid of what He might say.
All your ways are good,
all your ways are sure,
I will trust in you alone,
But even if we do end up getting the message that God wants us to hear, we've got just as much potential as Israel did to resist Him. If we don't totally believe that God's intent for us is good and that His way is the only way in the grand scheme of things, then our fears, doubts and idols will hold us back at some point along the journey. We'll begin to doubt what God actually said, just like Adam and Eve did. Or we'll be afraid because of the risk involved or because it means changing our plans (that was Jonah's problem). At the end of the day, it's about trust. Do we trust that He'll provide if we start giving more of our time and resources away for kingdom purposes. Do we trust that He'll give us the words to speak if we're brave enough to talk to our co-worker about Jesus?
Lord we pray that you would help us to prioritize seeking you so that we might actually hear from you, and Father we ask that you would increase our faith so that when we do hear from you, our lives will actually begin to look like the picture this song paints, going where you go, staying when you stay, loving whom you love, serving however you call us to serve, so that in dying to ourselves we might truly live in You. Amen.
“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
Luke 9:23-24
Over the last several months I've really come to appreciate how candid Jesus was about the cost of following him. In a world full of false advertising, side effects and the hidden details in the fine print, Jesus' transparency is very refreshing. But if we're honest, we'd still prefer a more comfortable option that required less self-denial. After all, we're used to hearing messages that appeal to our self-centeredness and our desire for entertainment, instant gratification and the like.
"Where there's life, there's Bud" (Budweiser)
"Life's Short, Play More" (XBox 360)
"Have it your way" (Burger King)
"Just do it" (Nike)
"Because I'm worth it" (L'Oreal)
Quite the contrast with "In this world you will have trouble," "Deny yourself," "Count the cost," "Follow me." Regardless of how many potential followers were scared off or how many people were offended, Jesus never retracted any of his statements or tried to reinvent himself in order to be more appealing to the masses. Yet as the church in our culture we often give in to the temptation to try to make Jesus more marketable, more politically-correct, less offensive, more entertaining, less demanding of our own participation and action... And whenever we fall into that, we fail to be or make the kind of disciples Jesus explicitly told us he is looking for.
The sad truth, as Dallas Willard said, is that "It is now generally acknowledged...that one can be a professing Christian and a church member in good standing without being a disciple" (The Divine Conspiracy). I don't want to fit that description, do you? Jesus didn't say "whoever wants to be my disciple needs to pray the sinner's prayer and try to make it to church every week. Piece of cake." He said his disciples are those that make a choice each day to surrender their lives to the will of God, no matter the cost. In the weeks to come, I'll be sharing a song and devotional thought with this series of posts that will help us to meditate daily on surrender, devotion and obedience. By the grace of God we won't just sing these songs or think deeply about their implications- we'll actually live them out in everyday life. Be blessed.
Back in March Christ's Church hosted "The Heart of a Worship Leader," the first of our Worship Workshops 2011 series. It was very encouraging to have pastors, worship leaders, and musicians from several local congregations participating in this gathering. The format of this particular workshop was more of a forum than a lecture, so we had some great thoughts and ideas exchanged. Below you will find a summary of each of our discussions as well as links to various supplemental articles, books and videos. There's a lot here, so you might need to visit this post a few times to get through it all.
What is a Worship Leader?
We began trying to answer this question by reading an article by Bob Kauflin entitled "What a Worship Leader Does."
"As I studied Scripture and read books like Engaging with God by David Peterson and Adoration and Action, ed. by D.A. Carson, I quickly realized that the Bible, especially the New Testament, didn’t give much space to my role as a worship leader. None, to be exact. The more I read, the more I felt I was reading myself out of a job.There’s no question that the role of the worship leader has been exaggerated in recent decades. Some pastors give 1/3 to 1/2 of their meeting to singing, led by a musician who has little to no theological training. Gordon MacDonald comments, “For many young people choosing a church, worship leaders have become a more important factor than preachers. Mediocre preaching may be tolerated, but an inept worship leader can sink things fast.” In addition, the rise of “worship artists” has intensified the often unhelpful connection between pop music culture and congregational worship..." read more
At the conclusion Bob gives us his attempt at a definition of an effective worship leader.
An effective corporate worship leader,
aided and led by the Holy Spirit,
skillfully combines biblical truth with music
to magnify the worth of God and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to join him in proclaiming and cherishing the truth about God
and seeking to live all of life for the glory of God.
I think we were all fairly satisfied with this definition and challenged by Bob's other thoughts, but there was still plenty of room left for conversation. Here are some of the thoughts that came out of our discussion:
Our job is not to convince or bully people into singing louder or loving God more. As Brian Doerksen says in this article, "Our calling is to re-direct their affections and devotion to the one who is worthy of worship."
The worship leader has a role as a teacher. Passages like Colossians 3:16 makes it pretty clear that songs should be used to teach and admonish the church. What we choose to sing and say ought to have this aim in view.
A worship leader is not someone who is there to primarily be a performer. See our last topic, Who are These People?, for more on the need for worship leaders to have a pastoral heart.
We need to recognize that corporate worship is not limited to the music time but really includes all the elements of a service like communion, reading and preaching God's Word, bringing offerings, prayer, etc. With this more complete perspective of what corporate worship is, we have to be careful to not let music have more significance than it ought to. This also means that "the worship leader" is not the only worship leader; the pastor ought to be viewed as one of the worship leaders as well.
A couple of non-musical worship leading ideas
One pastor seeks to model Psalm 100:4, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving...," beginning the service by asking people to share out loud what they are thankful for.
Another leader tries to identify people with powerful testimonies and give them a chance to share during a service. The congregation can then respond to what God has done in this person's life in any number of ways (clapping, prayers of thanksgiving, singing a song, etc.)
Why My Heart Matters?
The following video clip from Jeff Deyo set the tone for our second topic.
As worship leaders we're certainly not immune from neglecting our relationship with God. Sure, sometimes we've experienced God working through us even when we haven't been drawing near to Him, but that's certainly not the place He desires us to be ministering from. In an effort to encourage one another in "digging the well" as Jeff put it, we took some time to share some of the ways/disciplines that help us draw near to God and keep us from becoming fake worshipers.
Journaling
The person who suggested this discipline referenced The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro as the book that helped him in this discipline.
Worshiping God Privately Through Song
This could be done in any number of ways, but one specific example was to do this using the songs you've prepared for a worship service. If you can't use these songs to praise God privately, then how will you use them to lead others? It also gives you a chance to become more familiar with the songs and sense places where you might have some moments of prayer, readings over the music or more spontaneous moments of singing or silence.
Setting aside time each day to be alone with God
This time might include reading scripture or a devotional, praying, or simply being still and knowing He is God. For the person who suggested this, it meant the sacrifice of getting up early in the morning before anyone else in the house was up. Jesus modeled this idea in His own life when he would go off by himself to pray to the Father.
Read/Pray the Psalms Daily
Keep a bible or the book of common prayer by your bedside. Read and pray through some psalms in the morning, evening, or both. The psalms are filled with the language of worship and help fix our hearts and minds on the Lord and His glory and how worthy He is of all our forms of worship. Paul Baloche strongly recommends memorizing some psalms as a way to recall the language of worship while leading, without having to read it from a page.
Is My Heart Really in This?
During this discussion someone asked what they should do if their heart is not in leading worship. Someone suggested that there is a difference between one's heart not being in it, and one's heart not being in the right place. In the first case, there are always going to be times when we feel less than thrilled about preaching or leading worship or whatever we are called upon to serve in. But our commitment to serving God and His church even when we don't "feel like it" or are going through a rough time actually demonstrates to others that God is worthy of worship in every season, every mood, etc.
On the other hand, if one's heart is not in the right place then that could be grounds for removing yourself (or your leadership removing you) from leading worship. There are many examples of what this might look like: a lifestyle of unrepentant sin, life's distractions causing you to neglect your leadership responsibilities, a fake relationship with God (as mentioned in the Jeff Deyo video clip), ego problems, etc. A less obvious example might be that God is no longer calling you to serve in this ministry (or perhaps He never desired for you to serve in it in the first place) and yet you are still holding on to it or others are pressuring you to continue, without seeking and honoring what God's will is.
Who are These People?
For our closing topic we talked about the need to have a pastoral heart towards the people we are leading. The vertical part of our ministry is a bit more obvious, the part where we point to and relate to God. But the horizontal part, the people part, is something that requires intention and passion as well. Unfortunately, the entertainment industry's influence on worship and the church has made it very easy to depersonalize our congregations and treat them more like crowds or spectators. Glenn Packiam makes some great points here about the worship leader's role as a shepherd (this video was not shown at the workshop, but seemed appropriate to include here).
Of course the question becomes how do you do this? How do you develop more of a heart for the people in your congregation? There isn't a formula, that's for sure. Here's a few simple suggestions if you aren't sure how to grow in this.
Be intentional about knowing as many people's names as possible and make a point to meet any new or unfamiliar faces.
Sign up to receive your church's prayer updates. Be praying for the needs of your congregation, and check in with those you've been praying for.
Make it a priority to engage in fellowship opportunities.
A huge part of caring for people is to "mourn with those who mourn" (Rom. 12:15). During this discussion Pastor Darin shared about home and hospital visits he and I had made together to see members of our congregation. In some cases we had the privilege of singing worship songs over these people and praying for them, praising God in the midst of sickness and death. Perhaps you can ask your pastor to keep you in mind for these kinds of visits when he thinks it would be appropriate.
It is also important to encourage this heart for the congregation in your team as well. During rehearsal you ought to be praying together anyways, but make a point of encouraging the team to pray for those you'll be leading. You may have to model this kind of prayer for a while before anyone else will volunteer to do it. Pray for God's Spirit to have His way in your worship gathering, pray for people to be delivered from the bondage to sin, to be healed of sickness, ask God to impart truth to people in a way that causes them to live for His glory, pray for us to love another well, pray for marriages to be strengthened or restored, pray for other churches in the community...
Conclusion
Ultimately the point of this workshop was to encourage worship leaders in the local church to approach what they do with more purpose and intention as well get ideas and encouragement from other leaders in the community. I hope that you've been blessed and challenged in some way by what was shared here. Stay tuned for future workshop summaries here on the blog and check out our eventbrite page for future Worship Workshops 2011 events.
After a few years of having an "idea" for some small-scale worship seminars, I'm excited to share that the idea is finally becoming a reality with the launch of Worship Workshops 2011. We have a broad range of sessions that we hope to host here at Christ's Church in the coming year; some focused on worship leadership and theological discussions, others offering musical instruction. The most exciting part about these workshops for me is that our goal is to involve as many churches in our community as possible. We hope that this will bring unity and encouragement, sharing of ideas, and perhaps some special worship gatherings made up of various local churches. Here are some of the sessions we are planning for the coming year.
The Heart of a Worship Leader (held on March 12th)
Acoustic Guitar (held on March 25th)
The Worship Band
Worship Service Planning & Team Preparations
Electric Guitar
Percussion
Pastor & Worship Leader Relationship
Percussion for Vocalists
Vocals Part 1
Vocals Part 2
Upcoming Worship Workshops:
The Worship Band - Saturday April 9th, 2011 9am-12pm @ Christ's Church of Amherst
A class designed for worship band instrumentalists and worshipleaders. This workshop will tackle timing, dynamics, transitions, and developing parts for your instrument – learning what to play, when to play and when not to play. We will also discuss how to translate the recorded version of a song into an arrangement that your team. This session will include clips from Paul Baloche's Modern Worship Series.
Feel free to suggest other ideas for workshops using the comments section below. Click here to sign up for the e-mail list so you can get the most current info. on these events as they are scheduled.
I'm sitting here transcribing a great contemporary version of"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" by Red Mountain Church and as I'm getting ready to enter the words into the sheet music I'm in awe of what God did. I just needed to stop and say "thank you God."
"Leaving riches without number,"
"Born within a cattle stall,"
"from our fears and sins release us,"
At the same time as I'm blown away by Jesus' humility, I'm also caught up in a feeling of hope and expectation as if I'm watching it unfold the way it did 2,000 years ago, like I'm one of those who saw the Messiah come into the world first hand.
"O’er the hills the angels singing news, glad tidings of a birth,"
"Go to him your praises ringing Christ the Lord has come to earth"
"Now thy gracious kingdom bring."
This moment I'm having is a perfect example of how powerful music and good poetry based on God's Word can have an amazing effect on someone's emotions, intellect and spirit. Dare I say the effect could be classified as worship that is in spirit and truth?
Those closest to me know that many years ago I began to have very apprehensive feelings towards anything Christmas. I still do, and I won't get into all the reasons why, but I have softened up and have come to appreciate some things. The greatest of these of course (because I'm a wannabe theologian) is the opportunity Advent season affords to teach and meditate on the incarnation. My prayer is that the worship experience I've had tonight prompted by this Christmas hymn would be had by many more once advent season begins. So to you few readers out there, may you fix yourself on the Lord's incarnation and be filled with joy because of what it means not only for those in the past, but to us as well. If that happens, then despite all the traditions, materialism and pagan history that looms over this season, I will consider advent to be something still worth observing.
I know my last post had a video in it, but this one isn't a music video, it's more of a mini teaching. I stumbled upon it earlier today and was very blessed by the discussion these guys had. I always appreciate Keith Getty's emphasis on teaching the faith through quality lyrical content and a congregational "we" focus rather than the often shallow and individualistic lyrics that are so common in much of today's popular worship music. The time that he and his collaborators put into their art is very inspiring and is a great example to anyone who writes songs. I had never heard of Eric Wyse before, but he had some great insights too, specifically about encouraging churches to develop their own unique songs in response to what God is doing in their midst. Set aside a little time and check it out if you can.
Typically my intent with this "On Leading Worship" series is to get away from the links to articles and movies I often post and keep my sharing limited to my own words and personal experience. But honestly, if someone says something that I would say, but better, I might as well just quote them directly. That being said, I was amused by this article and the way it communicated some of the same advice I would give to sound guys, visuals people, musicians and leaders on what not to do. A few excerpts...
Turn It Up
Turn the volume up so loud that would-be-worshipers would have to scream in order to hear their own voices...
Projecting Confusion
...project the lyrics on the screen(s) out of sync with the songs. If you wait until a couple of lines have gone by before you put them up, most of the congregants will give up trying to sing along...Try using fonts that no one can read or projecting the words onto backgrounds that have very little contrast...
Close Your Eyes
Pretend that the congregation is not even there. Shut them out and act as if you are worshiping in your own private prayer closet...
(See Bob Kauflin's elaboration on this topic, it's not a big deal when eyes are closed a little here and there, but it is a problem when it happens for long durations throughout a service)
Go Emo
Pick songs filled with sentiments like: "Lord, today I totally love you with all my heart, soul strength and mind, and nothing else in the world matters at all to me." Do your best to avoid songs that speak of the work of God. Just keep the attention on yourself and your victorious spirituality that no one else can attain.
(That really isn't an exaggeration; prior to reading this I had just deleted a bunch of mp3's from an artist that sang lyrics just like this)
I could have done with a little less of the author's sarcastic tone, but I still think all 8 of his points are worth consideration, so read the full article. We need constant reminders that our job is to facilitate and encourage the whole congregation's participation in God-centered worship. Besides just asking ourselves if we do any of these things, it might be a good idea to find some people in the congregation that can give you feedback on these points as they apply to your role on the worship team. We ought to welcome and seek out any observations that can help us limit distractions, maximize participation, and keep everyone's focus on Christ.
"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Matthew 6:6 (NIV)
"You satisfy me more than the richest of foods. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on you through the night."
Psalm 63:5-6 (NLT)
Jesus Christ didn't humble himself to the point of death for God to just be a Sunday morning acquaintance, or the guy we only talk to as a last resort in a crisis situation. He came so that we could become God's children, having an intimate relationship with Him. Of course gathering to worship with other believers is an important part of belonging to Christ's body, but passages like the ones above paint a picture of the one on one time we also need with God. In this video Jeff Deyospeaks about our "behind the scenes" relationship with God and the critical part it plays in our ability to worship or lead worship authentically.
If you sense the the need for more one on one time with God and you're not sure where to start, these are a few of the things that God has used to help keep He and I interacting on a daily basis.
Keep a bible at your bedside, read/pray through some psalms when you wake up or when you go to bed. Besides being a general prayer help, doing this teaches us the language of worship and gives examples of authentic worship expression in the high and low points of life.
If you tend to listen to music on a regular basis, try to let worship music be the first thing in your ears each day. For me this definitely requires discipline, but the more I hold to this standard, the less I'm satisfied by music that does not draw me closer to God.
Practice praying without ceasing or spontaneous prayer. John Piper had some great examples of this in a sermon on Matthew 6:
Whisper a thank-you to God after a close call on the highway,
A
sk God for help in the middle of an exam,
C
onfess to God your sin after saying something hurtful to a friend,
P
raise God for a beautiful sunset,
A
sk for strength when you are ready to drop and have another task to do
P
ray for a missionary when you open his email and realize he needs help
right now.
Keep a prayer journal. My entries include written prayers; current life circumstances and how God has or hasn't showed up; notes on a scripture or devotional book that have been meaningful to me. Reading back through these entries months or years later often reveal the faithfulness of God in my life and almost work like modern day psalms of remembrance that can fuel my praise of Him.
Hi all, I came across this idea fromResound Worship and wanted to share it with you as well as get some participation going on. For some background on this concept, see the article from Worship Leader Magazine. I think I'm going to try doing this on Sunday and I thought it would be really cool if I not only used their words, but also wrote some of my own and also used ones that you the readers came up with. So click here to read about and listen to the song, and then come back to this post and comment to share any lines you've come up with.
Here are some passages to consider meditating on if you are looking for some inspiration.
Revelation 5 and others passages in quotes throughout the book.
Thanks in advance to those who take the time to try this. If any other worship leaders try this let me know how it goes. The next step is to try writing our own musical idea that can be used like this.
Someone recently suggested that I should start posting about my approach to planning and leading worship. I love the concept, but I’m not sure I’ve got a whole lot of wisdom to impart. In Star Wars terms, I’m still a young padawan learner when it comes to worship leading. So all the glory to God for anything good that I share here, and for everything else, just remember, I don't presume to be an expert.
Prayer - the connection between God's power and our service
As worship leaders and teams it is critical that we approach what we do as servants seeking to glorify God and edify our congregation, not to perform or entertain. But even if we approach what we do as an act of service, it doesn't mean that everything we do is automatically glorifying to God or empowered by Him. Peter tells us that "Whoever serves must do so as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ"(1 Peter 4:11).
Okay, but how exactly do we serve with God's strength instead of our own? John Piper's explanation has been helpful to me. "We will not serve God by trying to put our power at His disposal for His good, but by doing what is necessary so that His power will be at our disposal for our good. And of course, God has appointed that His power be at our disposal through prayer" (John Piper, Desiring God). In an attempt to not do things in my own power, here are some ways that I try to incorporate prayer into leading worship.
Practical Application
Planning
Leaders, before sitting down at our desks and picking songs, deciding where communion goes in the service, finding scriptures to read, etc., we need to pray. I know that sounds obvious, but it is so easy for us to forget to do this; and even if we do pray, we can fall into a quick prayer of "God please bless what I've already decided to do." In 2 Samuel 5:17-25we see an example of God apparently putting His power behind whatever David had already planned, though only after David prayed. But in the next battle God had specific instructions for how David needed to proceed if He (God) was going to come in power. So as I pray and plan I keep both of these possibilities in mind, initially asking God to guide me, but also trying to remain sensitive throughout the process to anything that God might want me to do differently.
Rehearsal
For the last couple years I've tried to be very intentional about setting aside at least 15-20 minutes for us to quiet our hearts before the Lord and pray as a team before we rehearse music. I believe this is as important, if not more, than the time we spend rehearsing music. It has become a great time to share personal prayer requests and develop somewhat of a small group feel. I'm also trying to encourage more of a focus on praying for the congregation and pastor." This is a document that I created to give some suggestions about how to make use of this time and specific things to consider praying over. Paul Baloche's suggestion here about how the team can pray for the congregation is really good too.
Before the Service
Typically we gather in the pastor's office and pray for a couple minutes right before we begin the service, but something cool and different happened a few weeks ago. It was the first week on summer schedule so we intentionally delayed our start in case a bunch of people were late. Instead of praying in the office I just asked the team and guest preacher to gather in the corner of the sanctuary and pray there before we started singing. The congregation got quiet and it seemed like people were more ready to begin. One of the elders told me after the service that we should try doing that for a while, maybe it will help people be a little more prepared to enter into a time of worship (and maybe they'll think to pray for us too).
