Worship Ministry: A Course In Overcomplication

Hey you, worship pastor guy! I have some questions for you. For all of us in ministry, actually. Has worship ministry gotten too complicated? Have we been working so hard to make it easier that we've inadvertently done the opposite? Do we need the BPM of every song to be robotically the same from start to finish? Those are just a few to whet your appetite. Keep reading for a thoughtful if not somewhat cynical examination of worship ministry in the modern era.

Worship Lyrics: Are Hymns Really Better?

I was talking to some new friends from our new church last night and was reminded during the course of conversation that there's still a false view out there about worship music in the Christian church that older means better, in terms of lyrical content.

What We Bring

A Few Thoughts On Worship - Part Three

Some questions may never be answered. Questions like, "how many stars are in the sky?" or "what ever happened to Judge Reinhold?" or "what is a 'Nicki Minaj' and how do we get rid of it?" - but one questions that no one thought would ever be answered will be answered, right here and right now. 

What is Worship Anyway? - Part Two

A not-so-brief introduction to part two...

What do you think of when you hear, or read, the word worship?

Go ahead and think about it, but not for too long! I want to know the first thing you think of. Well, I want you to know the first thing you think of.

Got it? Okay, now write it down, or type it into the comments, or tweet it at me, scrawl it on your palm with a Sharpie... whatever. It'll be useful later.

Worship Tips Part Two: Three Not-So-Simple Steps to Authentic Worship

Worship leaders walk a precarious line as the modern-day facilitators of sung worship.

Worship Tips Part One: 4 Worship Leading Questions the Bible Doesn't Answer

In my experience every well-meaning worship leader comes across questions about worship ministry from time to time which he or she finds difficult to answer from Scripture.

Very often, especially when Google is employed, we are able to find what are advertised as biblical answers to these questions, and almost just as often those answers are nothing more than the closely-held opinions of someone who is great at rhetoric, and maybe not as great at discerning between moral issues and matters of taste. Following is a sampling of these questions and what I believe to be more balanced answers for them.

1) What clothes should I wear?

The One Lesson Every Worship Leader Must Learn

Lists are a popular medium now for communicating information, so I have composed this comprehensive list of all one thing every worship leader must learn. 

Not that there aren’t other helpful, practical, or theological bits of information we could stand to learn, but this is the one lesson...

What is Worship Anyway? - Part One

Just a quick news flash – Last week, in the intro to this series, I told you the second entry would be in two weeks, but I changed my mind. This will be a weekly series until it’s done. 

[edit! we're way way way behind on this series, but I am still working on it, so keep clicking those links at the bottom of these as long as they are there]

We’re talking about worship here, and, as with any subject which has been plagued with misunderstanding and misinformation over a long period of time, we’re going to need to start at the beginning.

What is Worship Anyway? - Intro

Do you know how many Christian churches are active in America today? 

A reliable estimate is that there are roughly 350,000 religious congregations in America right now. Only about 12,000 of those are what are considered non-Christian. 

That 12,000 includes your Hindus, your Muslims, Buddhists and Satanists, Wicca, Scientology, and UFO cults, and anything else you can think of, all in just less than 5% of the total. 

Of course, Catholic and Orthodox also take about 24,000 away from the total. That leaves around 314,000 congregations that are considered Protestant or Christian (other).

Within the walls of those 314,000 congregations can be found, should one look, endless programs and activities which churchgoers busy themselves with, from the expected small group Bible studies, worship music concerts, and choir practices, to the not-so-expected, naïve, and somewhat misguided “holy yoga,” to the downright bat-guano-crazy dirt-bike-ramp-jumping-over-pastor-while-he-teaches gimmicks, poorly designed to lure the unchurched, all of whom likely laugh at the downright embarrassing lengths to which pastors will go to attract more tithing members. All that to say this: lots of churches are busy providing lots of programs and activities to lots of congregants, seekers, and reluctant husbands of churchgoing wives.

In light of these statistics one might come to the conclusion that American churches and churchgoers are pretty darn good at worship. Well, one would be wrong if one held the facts concerning how Americans classify engaging in religious activity up against worship as defined and practiced in the Bible. Fact is, good reader, we are failing, both miserably and dismally. I just couldn’t decide on an adverb. They’re both so descriptive and appropriate...

In this series of blog entries I will painstakingly, but humorously, attempt to run a virus scan and perform a cleaning on brains which have inadvertently downloaded a common form of Churchianity malware. I will predict the following three scenarios concerning how this series is received:

• Some of you will read through the series with your super-smart melon-heads nodding furiously in agreement, shouting “amen!” from time to time, causing your family to once again question your sanity. I applaud you, for you are astute far beyond your peers and perhaps should be writing this series.

• Others among you will flatly reject what I present in favor of your preconceived beliefs, which have been, like I said, accidentally “downloaded.” I pray for your souls! But seriously, please know I care deeply for you and would gladly buy you a triple grande caramel macchiato if you wanted to hang out with me. I am that desperate for friends.

• But a few of you – you know who you are… don’t be shy – you will read this series with open eyes and hearts and you will rejoice at the Scriptural truth wave flowing through and washing away the grime of that wishy-washy worship mindset. 

Please know, I implore you, I don’t think I’m some kind of pious Christian guru, gracing you with my amazing understanding of spiritual matters. Everything I know I have learned from others. I will include a list of references and influences at the end of the series, just so you know I’m not making this stuff up.

For this first entry I just wanted to give you some solid statistics and make you aware of the series, in hopes that you will return in two weeks to begin this journey with me. I will, during the series, present you with some more statistics that will likely sadden you and even cause outrage. Some of you with especially tender hearts will weep. I did when I discovered this truth. But for now, let me leave you with an encouraging message from Someone very special...

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.”

Jesus of Nazareth

To continue reading this series, What is Worship Anyway? Part One, click the link.

P&W

As a worship leader, I have come to separate all church music into two very broad categories. Understanding that there are many subcategories, I am confident that every song we use in church will fall somewhere in the spectrum beneath one of these two categories. 

My purpose for writing this is to bring to attention an issue which I have run across various times in my decade or so leading worship through music, and an issue which I have confirmed to be present for others in my field. So, I'll quickly share these two categories, and then talk a little about the issue I mentioned.

Before I reveal them, please understand that I am not speaking theologically with these categories. They have nothing to do with lyric content, but rather the overall feel and tempo of the song. So, with that in mind, here they are:

Cross Songs and Tomb Songs

What do I mean by Cross Songs and Tomb Songs. It's really simple. It's just a fresh way of saying praise and worship. But since the term "praise & worship" has been used for so long in conjunction with church music in general the two separate words have become fused and are used together to describe all music used in church, regardless of tempo or theme.

So, I chose these two category titles based on the fact that there are two major points in Christ's primary ministry to us, and those are the crucifixion and the empty tomb. The Crucifixion is the quintessential sad moment, while the empty tomb is possibly the happiest moment in history. The Cross Songs are those which are more mid to down-tempo, reflective, somber, worshipful. The Tomb Songs are those which tend to be more up-tempo, celebratory  praise songs. All church music can be placed under one of these categories. Sure, there are songs which seem to be near the middle, but all of them can fit into one of these two groups.

A few examples might be, Heart of Worship - Cross Song, Forever - Tomb Song, Mighty to Save - Cross Song, Everlasting God - Tomb Song.

Now that I have explained the categories, here is the issue I run into. I think we can all agree that both of these categories are equally important. Without the cross the empty tomb would have just been any empty tomb, never having been occupied. Without the empty tomb then the story of Christ ends on a cruel Roman cross. In the same way, the Church of Christ needs both types of songs. We need to praise, and we need to worship. We need to celebrate but we also need to reflect. Many worship leaders run into an issue where the pastor only wants Tomb Songs. They just want the church happy, happy, happy, singing loud, clapping hands, smiling wide. And to them those Cross Songs are something they see as a necessary but unsavory condition to appease worship leaders who tend towards the mid or down-tempo songs. Of course, it goes both ways, but most gifted and experienced worship leaders understand that, while they may not prefer one category, both are necessary, because... well, that's our job.

We need to learn to communicate with our pastors these truths, and we need to be patient and loving in the process. And that goes for every area in which we might differ from the pastor, like maybe when that super reflective, somber, serious song ends and you purposefully leave some silence for reflection, and suddenly, within a nano-second, there's a pastor on a microphone with his ever cheery tone moving the service along. That's who they are, and it's every bit as appropriate as the way we are. It's just poorly timed, sometimes...

There is a great need for loving dialogue between worship leaders and their pastors and I am the first person I know who needs to take this advice to heart! What are your thoughts on the issue?

A Few Thoughts On Worship - Part One

A.W. Tozer said, concerning worship: "Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us."

Now, I am not sure where this quote comes from, but I believe that Tozer is here referring to our corporate worship services, and specifically the music we use as a venue for worship, rather than worship as a lifestyle or our service to God and others as worship.

What Tozer is calling for is some introspection on the part of those responsible for organizing and facilitating corporate worship through song. This goes just as much for other media venues such as drama and video, but sung worship is much more common, so we'll leave the others out for this discussion.

Worship leaders, team members, what are we striving for? Are we striving to please God, to offer up a sweet-smelling aroma of worship as we stand before the Bride of Christ to lead the way to His throne - to His feet - or are we striving for something less?

We'll explore this topic further in my next post...

Step One: Denying Self - a.k.a. "Set a Course for the Cross"

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after (go with) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23

I'll talk about denial in this post, and if all goes as planned I'll tackle taking up our cross and following Him in subsequent posts.

Jesus would end up resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. That was inevitable for sure, but that was to be the outcome of His obedience; obedience even unto death on the cross.

For His destination, as He stood and wept looking over Jerusalem, knowing that the vast majority of those dwelling in that city would reject Him; as He rode into that same city, presenting Himself as the King of Israel to the joyful shouts of "Hosanna" by many of the same people who would, only five days later, spit at him and blaspheme His Name (as He bore their sins); as He ate His final supper with His disciples, instituting a new covenant and a new meaning for those ancient toasts; as He passed through the Garden of Gethsemane, praying and sweating drops of blood... yes, His destination was most definitely the cross.

He knew, and we know, that Calvary was where it would all end. Though, as ends go, it was most assuredly not the most final of ends. No, not for Him, but for what else died with Him on that cruel tree.

Sin.

Which brings us to Luke 9:23.

Those of us who desire to go with Him to be where He is are to, 1) deny ourselves, 2) take up our cross daily, and 3) follow Him.

See, from the moment of His conception by the Spirit, and really from eternity past, He was only going one place. And that is where He calls us to go.

To deny ourselves is essentially to place His will and His desires for us above our own will and our own desires. Or, to put it another way, to replace our will and desires with His. This denial begins with our initial repentance as we are born into the Faith and continues until we breath or last. Paul describes this denial well in Romans 12:1-2.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Just as Jesus presented Himself willingly, denying His will to live, His will to bypass the cross if it was at all possible, we must also willingly present ourselves as a sacrifice for Him who sacrificed Himself for us.

But unlike Christ we are generally called to be living sacrifices. See, He doesn't call us to lay down on the altar and slash our throats, nor does He beckon us to nail ourselves to a cross and die there. He calls us to willingly and daily strap ourselves to the horns of His altar and let His holy fire burn away our iniquity, just as it would with the substitutionary lamb within the old covenant. And as we are well aware, it doesn't feel good.

It doesn't feel good because fire, by its very nature burns. But, fire has another function.

Fire purifies.

And that is where we end today. I pray that today you and I both will deny ourselves, as we allow Him to purify us, however uncomfortable it is. It is not only our reasonable service of worship because it is His will that we do so. It is also for our good, because He cares for us.

"The Cross cannot be defeated for it is defeat."
-G.K. Chesterton