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?
I'll be contrary and say the ministry to the team comes first. It's only by a hair's breadth though. Here's my reasoning, which you are welcome to correct. For I may just as certainly be wrong as right.
ReplyDeleteIf we are to have the greatest impact possible as a community of faith, we must place a very high priority into making the greatest impact possible on the most strategic people possible. We must, in short, create a community of leaders and influencers. The mere presence of a person on a team indicates their willingness to get up off of a deck chair and become part of the crew instead of a passenger. Today's worship team member may be tomorrow's worship leader - or tomorrow's disciple maker or tomorrow's evangelist.
To approach it another way: in my estimation, the priority in ACT's summer ministries was discipling the team. You and I as pastors and worship leaders/artists are the end product of that priority - still having an impact today,long after our presentations have been forgotten by everyone but us.
Rick,
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The scale easily tips one way or the other. I didn't mean to imply that one was right or better than the other, although you noticed our preference d'jour. I think it's healthy to identify our biases so we can be more intentional about how we do corporate worship.
Jesus modelled a focus on the immediate team in that He taught and equipped the 12 and sent them out. In this teaching/equipping/ ministering, however, the greater focus was on how these 12 would serve / impact the rest of the community (not just believers, but the lost sheep as well). Teaching them was sometimes in public places and so those outside the team were overhearing the teaching and I think this was intentional. He was teaching them as He was teaching the 12.
ReplyDeleteHe also spent time ministering directly to others, but the equipping of the 12 seemed to be the means in which He articulated His message for the larger population, especially for the ministry to continue after the ascension.
Perhaps in order for worship ministry to foster worship in spirit and in truth, the priorities will shift back and forth from equipping leaders/artists to lead/model worship to leading/modelling worship directly to the congregation and to seekers who stumble in on occasion. Some days, it's about taking the 12 into the upper room. Some days, it's about letting the little children come and hang out. Some days, it's about going alone to the mountain top.
Instead of a pyramid structure of priorities, how about a bull's eye? outer ring: the world; 2nd ring: congregation; 3rd ring: worship team / staff; 4th ring: personal worship of God; 5th ring: Jesus. Each inner ring anchors our ability to reach the outer rings. And God can move our focus in and out of the centre as He wants us to and as we need to. Ex: we spend so much time on corporate worship that we neglect our personal time with God OR we spend so much time on the team that we forget about the corporate aspect OR spend so much time on the congregation that we don't get out of the Christan ghetto into the world.
Anyhoo, how you guys doing? Miss you guys. And grandparents! Cool beans. - Nicole
Nicole:
ReplyDeleteSo great to have your insightful comments. I especially like and agree with your "bulls eye" illustration.
Let me ask you, what is your primary goal of presenting a theatrical production? My guess is that ultimately it would be to change the thinking and affect the life actions of your audience. Yes, you're working with the actors and production staff, you're investing in individuals. But aren't you all working to achieve something together greater than you could individually?
Hmmmm....
Well, lately, it's to pay the mortgage. I got into theatre for many "higher reasons", but often we just need to pay the bills. In this economic climate, theatres are making decisions more and more based upon selling tickets than on the art. It is, after all a business.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, Theatre at its best is transformative for both the audience and those creating the performance (even the administrative staff). As a stage manager, my specific task is to minister to the cast and crew - to enable them to serve the production with their best efforts to create a magical theatre experience. At least, that's the goal. But sometimes it's more about babysitting, coaching, mothering, and kicking butt when they show up hung over from partying too much the night before. It's messy. It's ministry. It's being in the trenches and the pettiness and the brokenness of humanity together.
Often we don't see the forest for the trees. But I think it'd be a shame to miss the trees by concentrating only on the forest. It's both/and for me. It's like the mystery of the trinity or God's sovereignty/man's free will. We need to be about both, hoping in faith that by tending to one, we will also be influencing the other, remembering all the while that we may be called to plow, plant, water and harvest, but it's always God who makes that plant grow. Always.
Gee, can I write longer run-on sentences? Sheesh. Blog o rama!
ReplyDelete