Blog #007 – Say what?

The committees that write worship pastor job postings need to be sure they
write what they and mean what they write. Too often they are filled with
thoughtless banalities.

A listing posted this requirement: “The ability to play guitar and/or
keyboard and vocal singing are preferred.” Vocal singing - Is there some
other way to sing beside with your voice? With your hands possibly, but that
would be signing – which is really close.

One church lists its desired worship leader to possess “a blue-collar work
ethic” – Wikipedia – “blue-collar worker: a member of the working class who
typically performs manual labor and earns an hourly wage.” Peter’s
interpretation: along with all the other duties of a music minister/worship
pastor, this person will clean toilets and vacuum, service the church bus,
and repave the parking lot - all with the benefit of getting to punch the
clock, leave “work” at work, and have union representation in contract
negotiations.

One congregation’s vision statement: “…to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with every person everywhere….” Wow, an ambitious statement for a single
congregation – every person everywhere? That’s a lot of people in a lot of
places!

It’s curious how many congregations today describe themselves as
“inter-generational.” When one church was asked how they expressed this in
corporate worship, they replied that the worship pastor goes over to the
children’s ministry wing after completing the “worship set” in the main
service to lead the kids in their time of singing before their Bible lesson.
Hmmm.

A well-intending congregation with a huge heart for God is looking for a
worship leader who leads “…so that… worship breaks out with joyful,
beautiful, meaningful unified worship in every stage and age of our church
groupings and meetings….” Worship “breaks out”? So, like, on Monday morning
all the folks who worshiped together Sunday just start spontaneously singing
the same song in the same key at the same time no matter where they are?
OK, I get what they’re trying to say: “we want to connect with God, not be
the audience for your concert ministry, God-focused though it may be.”  But
please, say what you mean and mean what you say.

God is specific and intentional when he talks about “worship” in the Bible.
He uses words that refer to bowing down - both physically and as a metaphor
(a picture) of willful surrender.  The Hebrew “bowing” phrases in Exodus
4:31, 12:27, 34:8; 2 Chronicles 20:18;  Nehemiah 8:6 translate literally
“bowing down, he[they] bowed down.” The first “bow” states a literal action.
The second “bow” is a metaphor, resulting in “he[they] bowed down and
worshiped.”*

There are many modern usages of “worship” which contribute to the many
misconceptions of biblical Christian worship. Here are some synonyms for
“worship” from Princeton University’s online dictionary:
• to idolize: love unquestioningly and uncritically or to excess;
venerate as an idol; "Many teenagers idolized the Beatles"
• to show devotion to (a deity); "Many Hindus worship Shiva"
• the activity of worshiping
• to attend religious services; "They worship in the traditional
manner"
• a feeling of profound love and admiration

None of these captures the biblical concept. The crucial issue is to avoid
transplanting wrong meanings for “worship” when we read Bible passages on
the topic. When he published the first English translation of the Bible from
the original Hebrew and Greek texts in 1536, William Tyndale used “worship”
to mean “to bow in obeisance.” He explains this in his ”Prologue to Exodus.”

Obeisance is an older word meaning to bow down in willful submission. So in
Genesis 24:26 Abraham’s servant, in response to God’s provision while
searching for a wife for Isaac, “bowed low and worshiped the Lord.”
Literally it’s, he “bowed low and bowed down.” Tyndale saw that the servant
bowed down physically to show willful surrender to God’s sovereign
provision. He bowed down and worshiped.

The God of the Bible equates “worship” with willful submission to him. He
does not equate it with artistic expression, an emotional or aesthetic
experience, or mindless recitation of religious poetry or Scripture itself.

Our challenge today is to remain true to God’s idea of worship as we see it
in Scripture and to avoid being pulled in by the tentacles of the “worship
industry.”

*I recommend “Worship: Obeisance to Christ through participation with Christ
– An Action Guide” by Dr. John Hubley at http://www.mindheart.com/

Blog #006 Celebrating New Life

Greetings Friends!

Sorry we missed the post last week.  But we have a really good reason. We were in eastern Washington state meeting our new granddaughter. She's absolutely beautiful. (sneak peek below) She and mom and big sister (17 months old) and daddy are adjusting well. We are so blessed to have been able to be there and to help out in the first few days of this new life and the next adventure for this young family.

New life and the next adventure ... We believe that's what worship is all about: celebrating new life in Christ and the next adventure God has for us.

Worship theologian Robert Webber writes this comment, "Worship is a celebration. It is a celebration of the event of Christ-his death and resurrection. To celebrate Christ, not my devotion to him, frees me from having to create or invent my worship. Both preaching and the Lord's Supper celebrate Christ and through them Christ is given to me. Consequently, I am spiritually nourished by what God is doing for me through the Scriptures and the Communion Table." (Worship Is a Verb: Celebrating God's Mighty Deeds of Salvation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing, 1992), 9

When congregations become embroiled in a "worship war" it's probably because they have forgotten to remember their primary reason for gathering - to celebrate what God has done for them in Christ's death and resurrection and to look ahead with eyes of faith to the Christ-likeness He is calling them to pursue.

Let's remember to not forget!

Blog #005 – Engaging the Congregation with God

The local church music ministry exists to assist the congregation to engage with God. It serves two groups of people.

The Team
One group is the music ministry participants themselves. Ministering to the team involves training them in biblical worship, encouraging their obeisance to God (bowing down in surrender), walking with them through the ins and outs of life, and developing their music vocabulary and skill.

The Congregation
The other group is the congregation – the people who gather to glorify God and be built up as the body of Christ. Whatever the style of music, the kinds of instruments used, or the number of people involved on stage, the task of the music ministry is to assist the congregation to engage with God.

The Congregation Wins
A church’s music ministry cannot give equal emphasis to each group. Both need attention but one will get more time and effort than the other. But it’s not either/or: it’s both/and. So here are the choices of priority:  Team/congregation or Congregation/team.

Here’s a comparable picture: when children’s programs like Sunday School, AWANA or Pioneer Ministries are run well, the focus of the workers is on the children. The program director equips and encourages her workers in their ministry, but the primary focus is on the kids.

It’s our position that the worship team ministers to the congregation, assisting them in engaging with God. Team members will, of course, be nurtured both musically and spiritually. But the priority of the effort will be focused on helping the congregation do what God has called them to do – bow before Him in complete surrender. 

The end comes first, the means second.

What do you think, team/congregation or congregation/team?

Blog #004 - To Pay or Not to Pay

Let’s talk about money and motivation.

Does the personal motivation of the worship band member matter to the worshiper? If the band member is doing the job well, wholeheartedly, humbly, responsibly, we don’t think it matters if they are motivated by money or by personal spiritual passion. The typical churchgoer does not question the motivation of musicians who play on sound tracks to the videos or background trax used in church. The motivation of these studio musicians does not affect our ability to worship.

Paying the core musicians (in the typical US church - bass, drums, lead guitar, maybe keys) is a way to ensure precise and consistent quality in the foundation of the music. Incorporating adequately skilled volunteers who sing or play various instruments allows involvement of folks from the congregation at large. With good leadership, the addition of volunteer musicians won’t detract from the solid musical core.

To be a paid musician doesn’t mean he or she has to come from outside the church community. The paid musician could certainly come from within the congregation. He or she might be a respected, talented member of that church. If a musician needs to be recruited from outside the church, it may give the opportunity to draw the artist toward a beginning or deeper relationship with Christ.

Remuneration, whether it is for someone within the church or someone recruited from elsewhere does at least three things: 1) It shows respect to the musician for their years of training and practice; 2) It shows honor and appreciation for their talent; and 3) (and probably most pragmatically) it reserves their time - they likely could be playing any number of places and paying them locks in their commitment to serve with you.

What do you think?