My manuscript of mental meanderings

Whole life worship

Posted: July 4th, 2007 | Author: thechewer | Filed under: Bible, Ministry | No Comments »

As a worship (as in music) leader in my church I often think about what is “true worship” and also the context in which it occurs and how to foster it. It’s likely to be something I come back to frequently, so since this blog is kind of a big mind map for me (which you get to peek into) I thought I’d better get a starting point.

This is what I wrote recently in a letter expressing interest in some church jobs in California that might be available and just sharing a little bit about my attitude / approach to ministry.

My heart for ministry flows from my understanding of two things. Firstly, I understand that my greatest act of worship is to become everything that God intended me to be. This means that in my temperament, in my priorities, in the use of my gifts and talents and in my relationships with others I need to match them up to plumb line of God’s Word and allow His Holy Spirit to mold and guide me. In understanding that God delights in seeing His children become all He created them to be it is of no small satisfaction to be used by Him to do His work in the lives of others and to see them grow and develop. Secondly, I am overwhelmed when I try to comprehend the grace that God has extended to us through Jesus Christ. This in itself provides a compulsion to share that grace with others “as one beggar showing another beggar where food is”. In myself by no means do I have all the answers, but in faith I do know the One who is the answer.

To expand on this, if we understand Romans 12:1 to indicate that our life needs to be an act of worship then in effect pastors should all be “worship” leaders. Obviously I need to qualify this by saying that I DO NOT mean than all pastors should be able to lead singing or music, but let’s consider the role of worship “music” leader.

  • They are there to provide a context for worship. In as much as they may be worshiping themselves (leading by example) it is not as if the congregation can worship vicariously through the leader. In order for them to be worshiping they need to be doing themselves.
  • The music leader needs to be a servant leader. A servant in the sense that they are there to serve the people meaning they need to be aware of what the people’s needs and desires are and work with that (ie. if singing stirring hymns are what they’re into then let’s do that well) but a leader in the sense of purposefully pushing the envelope to challenge / encourage people in their faith (to continue on from the hymns example – why do they prefer hymns? Is it just tradition? What about people who may come into the church who do not connect to the music in the same way but are still seeking faith answers?).
  • It’s no point putting on a “good show” if your foundations are crumbly. By this I mean you may have an excellent band musically but the relationships between members may be dissonant (bad boy rock bands can get away with this but a worship team certainly can’t – longterm at least)

    • I think these three points could be expanded to include all pastoral ministry.

    Pastors, because they are paid to, will engage in various ministry and outreach activities, however they can’t do everything and even if they could it neglects the idea of Christ’s body working together to extend His kingdom. You cannot do Romans 12:1 vicariously.

    Likewise, the pastor needs to work with what’s available, meaning the gifts / talents / abilities that God has brought together (maybe for a reason??) at a particular congregation but at the same time he needs to have a sense of God’s direction for the church and an inkling of the some the steps required to walk in that direction. (or at the very least the first step).

    And finally, the value of fantastic programs, excellent facilities and increased attendance is significantly diminished if things are getting a little rotten on the inside. In this respect it is not so much WHAT we do, but HOW we do it which counts for more. For instance, I recall reading Bill Hybell’s (Willow Creek Church) dismay looking back at the early years of that church and somehow feeling a little responsible for a marriage break up of one of the staff members because of the driven work ethic encouraged by the church.

    LOL, but that’s all I have time for today. Tune in again soon :)

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