Why Should We Worship Jesus? (Part 4)
Worshiping Through Jesus
Though we bought the serpent's lie that we can be our own god and live for our own glory, we remain worshipers. As such we are sometimes inwardly focused toward ourselves and the "me" syndrome. But because Jesus lived the perfectly sinless life of unceasing worship, his life, death, and resurrection alone can reconcile us to God. Therefore, only through the power of God can we be made worshipers instead of idolaters and glorify Him. Romans 6:4 teaches that our worship includes a new life lived to the glory of God and patterned after the life of Jesus: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should also walk in newness of life." (KJV).
Worshiping Like Jesus
Not only do we worship through Jesus, we must also worship like Jesus. Jesus lived a life of perfect glory and thus we can look at everything in His life - from the ordinary to the extraordinary - as born out of a life of ceaseless worship that glorified God. Jesus' life destroys any notion that worship is a sacred thing we do at a special time or place. Cutting our grass and cleaning our dishes can be as sacred and God-glorifying as raising our hands in church. Jesus himself modeled this. He spent roughly 90 percent of his earthly life doing chores as a boy and working a carpentry job as a man. All of life is to be lived as ceaseless worship. I Corinthians 10:31 reinforces these statements with this: "Whether therefore ye eat, drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (KJV) I Corinthians 6:20 also supports a life or worship: "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (KJV).
Worshiping Jesus
Through the worship of Jesus Christ alone there is joy, freedom, holiness, and life. Only by worshiping God our creator are we free to enjoy creation by rightly eating, drinking, sleeping, playing, working, laughing, loving, weeping, marrying, parenting, living, and dying to the glory of God. I am a Christian because I want to be happy and, after trying lesser things, I am convinced that my desires are from God and can find their satisfaction in Him alone.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Why Should We Worship Jesus? Part Three
Why Should We Worship Jesus? Part 3
Example of False Worship
According to the first two commandments there is only one God, and that God alone is to be worshipped (Exodus 20:1-10). Martin Luther once said that we break the rest of the commandments only after we have broken the first two. I believe that what he meant is that if the one true God is my only God, and I worship only that God, then I will not end up committing idolatry by worshipping my job (and not taking a Sabbath), worshipping my anger (and becoming violent), worshipping sex (and committing adultery), or worshipping success (and coveting what other people have).
The opposite of worship is idolatry, or the worshipping of something or someone other than the one true God of the Bible alone. In fact the theme of worship versus idolatry is in some ways the theme of the entire Old Testament. Before I touch on some examples of false worship, here are some questions we may ask ourselves to understand if we have idols in our lives:
Some men worship automobiles and houses and spend all of their time and money to renovate them while neglecting time with God and the people He has called them to love, such as their wife and children. Some women worship their beauty and spend so much of their time, energy and money on their looks that they are prone to neglect God and others such as their husband, children, and friends. Others are prone to worship their favorite band and even spend hours every day online gathering the latest news, downloading the latest songs, tuning in to the latest interviews, buying the latest merchandise, and even traveling around the country and world to catch the latest concert.
Do you worship modern technology? Smart phones have revolutionized the world during the past five years and millions of people all over the world - actually hundreds of millions now - are so consumed with emails, text messaging, and social media websites that they no longer can find time to read their Bibles fifteen minutes a day or pray daily. Are you more worried about what happens daily with those on your "friends" list than you worry about your interaction today with God? It may be time to log off and plug in to the Creator.
Finally, do you participate in our culture's worship of naked crazy-making? In Paul's day, he accused some people of worshipping their stomachs as their god, and in our day it appears that our god has simply moved a short distance south. Americans alone spend more money each year on pornography than country music, rock music, jazz music, Broadway plays, and ballet combined. We spend more money on pornography than we do on professional baseball, basketball, and football combined! Clearly, perversion is a major American pastime and a ten-billion-dollar business.
The annual rentals and sales of adult videos now top four billion dollars annually. Eleven thousand porno movies are made every year, twenty times the number of mainstream movies made by Hollywood! The porn industry now claims over 30 percent of all video rentals in America. Nationally there are over 3,000 strip clubs. On the Internet, the top word searched is "sex", with "porn", "nude", "Playboy", and "erotic stories" also in the top twenty. Seventy percent of porn traffic occurs between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. while people are sitting at work unable to focus on their job because the god of Eros continually beckons. The top research priority in the pornography business is getting good quality porn to a cell phone or mobile device so that everyone can feed any twisted desire anytime and anywhere.
By their graduation date, students will have watched fifteen thousand hours of television, compared to only twelve thousand hours in the classroom. While watching television, they will see fourteen thousand sexual references every year, with only 165 of those occasions mentioning birth control, self-control, abstinence, or mentioning anything about the risk of pregnancy or STDs. Undeniably, people are worshipers and will worship someone or something. Thankfully, Jesus came to enable us to worship the Creator instead of the creation.
Stay tuned for Part 4 !!
Example of False Worship
According to the first two commandments there is only one God, and that God alone is to be worshipped (Exodus 20:1-10). Martin Luther once said that we break the rest of the commandments only after we have broken the first two. I believe that what he meant is that if the one true God is my only God, and I worship only that God, then I will not end up committing idolatry by worshipping my job (and not taking a Sabbath), worshipping my anger (and becoming violent), worshipping sex (and committing adultery), or worshipping success (and coveting what other people have).
The opposite of worship is idolatry, or the worshipping of something or someone other than the one true God of the Bible alone. In fact the theme of worship versus idolatry is in some ways the theme of the entire Old Testament. Before I touch on some examples of false worship, here are some questions we may ask ourselves to understand if we have idols in our lives:
- Who or what do I make sacrifices for?
- Who or what is most important to me?
- If I could have any thing or experience I wanted, what would that be?
- Who or what makes me the most happy?
- What is the one person or thing I could not live without?
- Who or what do I devote my spare time to?
Some men worship automobiles and houses and spend all of their time and money to renovate them while neglecting time with God and the people He has called them to love, such as their wife and children. Some women worship their beauty and spend so much of their time, energy and money on their looks that they are prone to neglect God and others such as their husband, children, and friends. Others are prone to worship their favorite band and even spend hours every day online gathering the latest news, downloading the latest songs, tuning in to the latest interviews, buying the latest merchandise, and even traveling around the country and world to catch the latest concert.
Do you worship modern technology? Smart phones have revolutionized the world during the past five years and millions of people all over the world - actually hundreds of millions now - are so consumed with emails, text messaging, and social media websites that they no longer can find time to read their Bibles fifteen minutes a day or pray daily. Are you more worried about what happens daily with those on your "friends" list than you worry about your interaction today with God? It may be time to log off and plug in to the Creator.
Finally, do you participate in our culture's worship of naked crazy-making? In Paul's day, he accused some people of worshipping their stomachs as their god, and in our day it appears that our god has simply moved a short distance south. Americans alone spend more money each year on pornography than country music, rock music, jazz music, Broadway plays, and ballet combined. We spend more money on pornography than we do on professional baseball, basketball, and football combined! Clearly, perversion is a major American pastime and a ten-billion-dollar business.
The annual rentals and sales of adult videos now top four billion dollars annually. Eleven thousand porno movies are made every year, twenty times the number of mainstream movies made by Hollywood! The porn industry now claims over 30 percent of all video rentals in America. Nationally there are over 3,000 strip clubs. On the Internet, the top word searched is "sex", with "porn", "nude", "Playboy", and "erotic stories" also in the top twenty. Seventy percent of porn traffic occurs between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. while people are sitting at work unable to focus on their job because the god of Eros continually beckons. The top research priority in the pornography business is getting good quality porn to a cell phone or mobile device so that everyone can feed any twisted desire anytime and anywhere.
By their graduation date, students will have watched fifteen thousand hours of television, compared to only twelve thousand hours in the classroom. While watching television, they will see fourteen thousand sexual references every year, with only 165 of those occasions mentioning birth control, self-control, abstinence, or mentioning anything about the risk of pregnancy or STDs. Undeniably, people are worshipers and will worship someone or something. Thankfully, Jesus came to enable us to worship the Creator instead of the creation.
Stay tuned for Part 4 !!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Why Should We Worship Jesus? Part Two
Why Should We Worship Jesus? Part 2
What Worship Is
Worship is living our life individually and corporately as living sacrifices to the glory of a person or thing. Please pay close attention to the following concept as it is key in building a case for what worship is. A couple sentences ago I tied worship to the glory of a person or thing. This connection between glory and worship is clear in verses such as Romans 11:36 - 12:1, which says, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (NIV)
In this section of scripture Paul connects a number of vital truths regarding worship. First, we hold a person or thing in a place of glory. Second, we then worship that person or thing. Third, our worship of that person or thing we hold in glory is done by means of making sacrifices. You may be asking yourself, "Why do you insist that I worship anyone or anything in my life?" Or, "Why do you insist that I should start now?" The answer is this: the Lord, through His written word (the Bible), requires our worship. If you have any doubts about this please read the following scriptures: Exodus 34:14; Psalm 22:27, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 45:11, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 86:9, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 99:5, Psalm 132:7, Matthew 4:10, John 4:23-24, John 9:31.
Glory means weightiness, importance, priority, or that which is our greatest treasure, deepest longing, and fountain of hope. In a functional sense, what we hold in the place of glory is in effect our real god. Whether we realize it or not we can and do hold various people and things in a position of glory and then worship them by making sacrifices. Because we have limited resources (time, energy, money), we must allocate those things to what we consider most important or glorious to us - and in doing this we make sacrifices to our functional god. Whatever we hold in the position of highest glory is by definition our god(s). Practically, worship is making sacrifices for what we are living to glorify.
Also, the biblical word for worship is sometimes translated "sacrifice". This insight is helpful because what we make the greatest sacrifices for reveals what we truly live to glorify and worship. Ouch! I know these are strong, sober words. But they are truth and I myself, while writing this, am forced to take a critical look at my own set of priorities in life and how I perceive worship from the perspective of someone called to music ministry. Let us dig a little deeper. . . Let us look at some real-world examples of this concept of glory and worship. If we eat and drink in excess, we are worshipping our stomach and sacrificing our health. If we sacrifice relationships with God and people for a hobby (sport, music, craft), then we are worshipping that hobby. If we are giving our bodies to sexual sin, we are worshipping sex and/or another person whose glory is our highest aim, sacrificing holiness and intimacy with God in the process. In short, we give our time, energy, body, money, focus, devotion, and passion to that which we glorify most - and we make sacrifices to worship that person or thing. Because we were made for the express purpose of worshipping God, everyone is a worshipper. The only difference is who or what we worship.
As we work through this series of discussions on worship please feel free to share these thoughts with others in your music department. I believe this type of honest, self-critiquing study is benefiting and necessary to the spiritual health of all church music departments. I will also be the first to admit this understanding has become real to me only after learning the hard way, through trial and error. And by stumbling, making mistakes and rising again to press forward in Jesus' name. Stay tuned for part three of this series, when we will discuss examples of false worship.
What Worship Is
Worship is living our life individually and corporately as living sacrifices to the glory of a person or thing. Please pay close attention to the following concept as it is key in building a case for what worship is. A couple sentences ago I tied worship to the glory of a person or thing. This connection between glory and worship is clear in verses such as Romans 11:36 - 12:1, which says, "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." (NIV)
In this section of scripture Paul connects a number of vital truths regarding worship. First, we hold a person or thing in a place of glory. Second, we then worship that person or thing. Third, our worship of that person or thing we hold in glory is done by means of making sacrifices. You may be asking yourself, "Why do you insist that I worship anyone or anything in my life?" Or, "Why do you insist that I should start now?" The answer is this: the Lord, through His written word (the Bible), requires our worship. If you have any doubts about this please read the following scriptures: Exodus 34:14; Psalm 22:27, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 45:11, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 86:9, Psalm 95:6, Psalm 99:5, Psalm 132:7, Matthew 4:10, John 4:23-24, John 9:31.
Glory means weightiness, importance, priority, or that which is our greatest treasure, deepest longing, and fountain of hope. In a functional sense, what we hold in the place of glory is in effect our real god. Whether we realize it or not we can and do hold various people and things in a position of glory and then worship them by making sacrifices. Because we have limited resources (time, energy, money), we must allocate those things to what we consider most important or glorious to us - and in doing this we make sacrifices to our functional god. Whatever we hold in the position of highest glory is by definition our god(s). Practically, worship is making sacrifices for what we are living to glorify.
Also, the biblical word for worship is sometimes translated "sacrifice". This insight is helpful because what we make the greatest sacrifices for reveals what we truly live to glorify and worship. Ouch! I know these are strong, sober words. But they are truth and I myself, while writing this, am forced to take a critical look at my own set of priorities in life and how I perceive worship from the perspective of someone called to music ministry. Let us dig a little deeper. . . Let us look at some real-world examples of this concept of glory and worship. If we eat and drink in excess, we are worshipping our stomach and sacrificing our health. If we sacrifice relationships with God and people for a hobby (sport, music, craft), then we are worshipping that hobby. If we are giving our bodies to sexual sin, we are worshipping sex and/or another person whose glory is our highest aim, sacrificing holiness and intimacy with God in the process. In short, we give our time, energy, body, money, focus, devotion, and passion to that which we glorify most - and we make sacrifices to worship that person or thing. Because we were made for the express purpose of worshipping God, everyone is a worshipper. The only difference is who or what we worship.
As we work through this series of discussions on worship please feel free to share these thoughts with others in your music department. I believe this type of honest, self-critiquing study is benefiting and necessary to the spiritual health of all church music departments. I will also be the first to admit this understanding has become real to me only after learning the hard way, through trial and error. And by stumbling, making mistakes and rising again to press forward in Jesus' name. Stay tuned for part three of this series, when we will discuss examples of false worship.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Why Should We Worship Jesus?
Greetings to all my friends in blogland! Today I am very excited to kick off the first in a five-part series titled, "Why Should We Worship Jesus?" Last month it came to me that as participants in various types of music ministries, we often use the word worship interchangeably with other terms. For example, worship service, worship music, a time of worship, etc. But exactly why should we worship Jesus? And how does worship affect each of our respective ministries? Come along with me as we explore worship and how it is vital to our calling.
Why Should We Worship Jesus? (Part 1) by Nathan Kesler
What Worship Is Not
We will define what worship is but we must first define what worship is not. This is because there is a tendency among some Christians to define worship too narrowly and thereby overlook the fullness of what worship is according to scripture. First, worship is not something solely by Christians or "spiritual" people. Rather, because everyone was made to worship God, everyone is in fact a worshiper whether or not he or she has any religious or spiritual devotion.
Second, worship is not merely a style of music. In conversation I often classify Christian music by genre. For example, I refer to albums by Hillsong as 'contemporary praise and worship', an album by Selah as 'traditional praise and worship', a Gaither Homecoming album as 'southern gospel' and a Ricky Dillard album as 'black gospel'. But in reality a song from any genre of Christian music is essentially worship music - only arranged and presented in different venues and contexts. If you have been involved in church ministry for any length of time you undoubtedly have witnessed spirited debates between those promoting one style of Christian music over another, usually in the context of corporate singing. Sadly, such conflicts can reduce the concept of worship to little more than a style of music or preferred kinds of instrumental accompaniment. When the Bible speaks of worship, it does include God's people gathering to sing praises to God (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16), but worship is also something much bigger than simply singing or musical tastes.
Third, worship is not something that is connected to a time and place. In John chapter four there is a discussion between Jesus and a woman who is uncertain of where and when worship is to occur. Jesus responds to her by stating that worship is an ongoing, unbroken life of communion with God empowered by the Holy Ghost and informed by the truth. Therefore, while worship does happen in specific places at specific times, such as Sunday services at a church building, worship is not limited to any time or place. Rather, worship is to exist as a ceaseless lifestyle of God's people in every time and every place.
Fourth, worship is not something that starts and stops. Church worship services may start and stop but the worshipful life of a Christian is to continue unceasingly. As has been said, if you will not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him one day a week.
Stay tuned for my next post in this series. Now that we have discussed what worship is not we will discuss what worship is.
Why Should We Worship Jesus? (Part 1) by Nathan Kesler
What Worship Is Not
We will define what worship is but we must first define what worship is not. This is because there is a tendency among some Christians to define worship too narrowly and thereby overlook the fullness of what worship is according to scripture. First, worship is not something solely by Christians or "spiritual" people. Rather, because everyone was made to worship God, everyone is in fact a worshiper whether or not he or she has any religious or spiritual devotion.
Second, worship is not merely a style of music. In conversation I often classify Christian music by genre. For example, I refer to albums by Hillsong as 'contemporary praise and worship', an album by Selah as 'traditional praise and worship', a Gaither Homecoming album as 'southern gospel' and a Ricky Dillard album as 'black gospel'. But in reality a song from any genre of Christian music is essentially worship music - only arranged and presented in different venues and contexts. If you have been involved in church ministry for any length of time you undoubtedly have witnessed spirited debates between those promoting one style of Christian music over another, usually in the context of corporate singing. Sadly, such conflicts can reduce the concept of worship to little more than a style of music or preferred kinds of instrumental accompaniment. When the Bible speaks of worship, it does include God's people gathering to sing praises to God (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16), but worship is also something much bigger than simply singing or musical tastes.
Third, worship is not something that is connected to a time and place. In John chapter four there is a discussion between Jesus and a woman who is uncertain of where and when worship is to occur. Jesus responds to her by stating that worship is an ongoing, unbroken life of communion with God empowered by the Holy Ghost and informed by the truth. Therefore, while worship does happen in specific places at specific times, such as Sunday services at a church building, worship is not limited to any time or place. Rather, worship is to exist as a ceaseless lifestyle of God's people in every time and every place.
Fourth, worship is not something that starts and stops. Church worship services may start and stop but the worshipful life of a Christian is to continue unceasingly. As has been said, if you will not worship God seven days a week, you do not worship Him one day a week.
Stay tuned for my next post in this series. Now that we have discussed what worship is not we will discuss what worship is.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Hello to all my music ministry friends and acquaintances. First I would like to apologize for my lengthy absence since my last post. Truly I have been through a season of difficulty, self-examination and change (with the help of the Lord). I would like to echo Paul as stated in Philippians 3:13-14: "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (KJV).
Today I would like to touch on the passion we all share as Christians who have been called to some aspect of music ministry - whether it be vocal, instrumental or the leadership of such ministry. Ephesians 4:1-3 is my focus for today and it reads: Verse 1: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Verse 2: with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love." (KJV).
For the sake of this discussion let us consider our respective music ministries as the spiritual vocation we have been called to in this text. Ephesians 4:1 in the NIV says, "As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." If Paul had not thought it important for us to walk worthy he would not have appealed to us in this manner. In verse two Paul proposes we do this by exercising lowliness, meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love - endeavoring to keep unity and peace.
In other words, by being humble, gentle, patient, understanding and peaceful. We could fill volumes discussing applications of these precepts as they pertain to our lives and our music ministry callings. For today though let us turn our focus inward and examine the application of the aforementioned attributes as they pertain to service within the walls of our churches.
Ask yourself these questions: When I attend a music/vocal rehearsal what is my demeanor? Do I strive to create a positive, joyful atmosphere? Do I give my team the impression I know it all? Do I come across as a microphone hog? Would others feel my instrument/voice is usually louder and overbearing as compared to the others? Do I end up singing the majority of song solos? And ultimately if I wasn't a leader in my department would I desire to serve someone just like me?
I will be the first to admit during the past twenty-two years of involvement in church music ministry I have been guilty of such behavior at times. Thankfully the Lord has taught me maturity over time and allowed me to minister in a variety of denominal settings and culturally diverse venues.
Ask yourself: Prior to ministering in church services do I spend time in prayer and spiritual meditation? Is my mind focused and determined to enter into the presence of a holy God by offering my sacrifice of praise and worship? For that matter, what is my motive behind taking a place behind an instrument/mic? Do I give less effort if I am ministering before a congregation of ten people or ten thousand? And ultimately am I living a life worthy of this musical calling He has placed in my heart?
Once we have examined ourselves let us humbly bring these questions of personal introspection to our church's music departments. Encourage each member of your music department to examine themselves and to be accountable to Jesus. Finally, allow Jesus to continue being the center of our music ministries. As the Colorado Mass Choir titled an album, "God Gets the Glory".
Today I would like to touch on the passion we all share as Christians who have been called to some aspect of music ministry - whether it be vocal, instrumental or the leadership of such ministry. Ephesians 4:1-3 is my focus for today and it reads: Verse 1: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Verse 2: with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love." (KJV).
For the sake of this discussion let us consider our respective music ministries as the spiritual vocation we have been called to in this text. Ephesians 4:1 in the NIV says, "As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." If Paul had not thought it important for us to walk worthy he would not have appealed to us in this manner. In verse two Paul proposes we do this by exercising lowliness, meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love - endeavoring to keep unity and peace.
In other words, by being humble, gentle, patient, understanding and peaceful. We could fill volumes discussing applications of these precepts as they pertain to our lives and our music ministry callings. For today though let us turn our focus inward and examine the application of the aforementioned attributes as they pertain to service within the walls of our churches.
Ask yourself these questions: When I attend a music/vocal rehearsal what is my demeanor? Do I strive to create a positive, joyful atmosphere? Do I give my team the impression I know it all? Do I come across as a microphone hog? Would others feel my instrument/voice is usually louder and overbearing as compared to the others? Do I end up singing the majority of song solos? And ultimately if I wasn't a leader in my department would I desire to serve someone just like me?
I will be the first to admit during the past twenty-two years of involvement in church music ministry I have been guilty of such behavior at times. Thankfully the Lord has taught me maturity over time and allowed me to minister in a variety of denominal settings and culturally diverse venues.
Ask yourself: Prior to ministering in church services do I spend time in prayer and spiritual meditation? Is my mind focused and determined to enter into the presence of a holy God by offering my sacrifice of praise and worship? For that matter, what is my motive behind taking a place behind an instrument/mic? Do I give less effort if I am ministering before a congregation of ten people or ten thousand? And ultimately am I living a life worthy of this musical calling He has placed in my heart?
Once we have examined ourselves let us humbly bring these questions of personal introspection to our church's music departments. Encourage each member of your music department to examine themselves and to be accountable to Jesus. Finally, allow Jesus to continue being the center of our music ministries. As the Colorado Mass Choir titled an album, "God Gets the Glory".
Monday, July 23, 2012
Don't lose sight of your department's role in the grand scheme of things
Hello, the title of this post is a little different... It may even seem contradictory. But in a few minutes you will understand where I am coming from in this post.
Yesterday I sat down with an older gentleman in my office to complete a business transaction. In casual conversation I learned he was a Christian and he told me which church he and his wife attend in Houston, TX. He was very animated and excited about his church and I complimented him on this. I always feel it important to convey to others your enthusiasm for your church; this is often the first step in that person wanting to know more about your church. After all if you are excited about going there, your excitement ignites curiosity in their minds to know more.
I continued to discuss this gentleman's church building project, size of the congregation (around two thousand), and many other facets of this work. When I questioned him about his church's music program he explained they only sing acapella and there aren't any instruments utilized in his church. I am familiar with Christian organizations that do not use music in their services so this was not a shock to me. However I was surprised when I asked him their service times. He very happily let me know that his church conducts services seven days per week! I asked him more about this and he explained that in the early church services were held around the clock and sometimes spontaneously - and his congregation feels that by conducting services every day of the week, all members have ample opportunity to be in services. I could only agree to that.
What's the point of me relating this account to you? Here is what I realized and what I've been thinking about the past day or two: this man's church is well-attended, is a huge organization with churches in numerous countries, and does not utilize music in their services. Furthermore they hold services seven days per week. If this man is very excited about his church and is inviting others, maybe us musicians/singers/worship leaders need to step back and realize that not every one of our Sundays must be 'perfect' from a musical standpoint. I know there is a habit to get pulled into the performance mindset for Sunday or midweek services - after all, we only provide much music for one or two services per week and we want everyone in the congregation to feel God's spirit and respond to the Holy Ghost. So we have a tendency sometimes to over think each worship service, each song, every aspect of every service. When you compare all the music we provide for each of our services vs. the Christian who attends a church with no music or very little, and you still see that Christian growing in Biblical knowledge and understanding, you are forced to realize that as minstrels/worship leaders we just need to focus on ushering in the presence of the Lord into our services -- and not be over focused on who sings the verses to this song, or which pianist is playing for this song....
Please understand I am not advocating sloppiness or a lazy approach to our ministry -- only reminding you to realize that God doesn't *need* any one of us to accomplish his work -- we only are allowed to assist in ushering the presence of God into our services. And since this is the case, why be preoccupied with having a perfect studio sound when we should be worshipping and praising God with our whole hearts (not our performance facades) as we sing? After all, God inhabits the praises of His people - let's set the atmosphere for God to show up! Let us refocus on what is important when we minister to our congregations.
Yesterday I sat down with an older gentleman in my office to complete a business transaction. In casual conversation I learned he was a Christian and he told me which church he and his wife attend in Houston, TX. He was very animated and excited about his church and I complimented him on this. I always feel it important to convey to others your enthusiasm for your church; this is often the first step in that person wanting to know more about your church. After all if you are excited about going there, your excitement ignites curiosity in their minds to know more.
I continued to discuss this gentleman's church building project, size of the congregation (around two thousand), and many other facets of this work. When I questioned him about his church's music program he explained they only sing acapella and there aren't any instruments utilized in his church. I am familiar with Christian organizations that do not use music in their services so this was not a shock to me. However I was surprised when I asked him their service times. He very happily let me know that his church conducts services seven days per week! I asked him more about this and he explained that in the early church services were held around the clock and sometimes spontaneously - and his congregation feels that by conducting services every day of the week, all members have ample opportunity to be in services. I could only agree to that.
What's the point of me relating this account to you? Here is what I realized and what I've been thinking about the past day or two: this man's church is well-attended, is a huge organization with churches in numerous countries, and does not utilize music in their services. Furthermore they hold services seven days per week. If this man is very excited about his church and is inviting others, maybe us musicians/singers/worship leaders need to step back and realize that not every one of our Sundays must be 'perfect' from a musical standpoint. I know there is a habit to get pulled into the performance mindset for Sunday or midweek services - after all, we only provide much music for one or two services per week and we want everyone in the congregation to feel God's spirit and respond to the Holy Ghost. So we have a tendency sometimes to over think each worship service, each song, every aspect of every service. When you compare all the music we provide for each of our services vs. the Christian who attends a church with no music or very little, and you still see that Christian growing in Biblical knowledge and understanding, you are forced to realize that as minstrels/worship leaders we just need to focus on ushering in the presence of the Lord into our services -- and not be over focused on who sings the verses to this song, or which pianist is playing for this song....
Please understand I am not advocating sloppiness or a lazy approach to our ministry -- only reminding you to realize that God doesn't *need* any one of us to accomplish his work -- we only are allowed to assist in ushering the presence of God into our services. And since this is the case, why be preoccupied with having a perfect studio sound when we should be worshipping and praising God with our whole hearts (not our performance facades) as we sing? After all, God inhabits the praises of His people - let's set the atmosphere for God to show up! Let us refocus on what is important when we minister to our congregations.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Moving My Music Department Forward - Musician / Vocalist Helps
Hello to all my friends out in blogland! Just this past Sunday I called a meeting with my musicians and talked over several things that I feel we could benefit from working on. I believe reading what I am dealing with may benefit you and your approach to your musicians. Or if you are a musician it may give you pause to think about how you interact with the other musicians in your music department.
Here are the topics I covered in this meeting:
1. Musicians - if a singer(s) begin singing in a service and you do not know the song, there is nothing wrong with not playing your instrument during that song. What we were experiencing was well-intentioned musicians jumping in on songs they did not know, and inadvertently creating more musical chaos than positive contribution. Now I do not say this in a negative way, as my musicians all have good intentions (I have a great group I am privileged to work with) and only try to help by supporting the singer(s) with their instrument. However my message to them was this: if you don't know the song, don't play. The only exception I distinguish is the drummer (if your drummer is proficient enough it really helps most songs to have tempo and percussion involved) and the keyboarder (that is me in my department). So in my case I was talking to the bass player, electric guitar player, and saxophonist.
2. Each drummer has an assigned service to play - do not pressure the other drummers to play if it's not your service - this may sound elementary but I deal with young and zealous drummers (I have three of them) and many times they feel the need to play the drums at all times. :0) To solve this situation I have assigned each drummer a service they are the main drummer for. The only reason a drummer should be playing in a service that's not 'theirs' is if the designated drummer for that service is either absent or praying at the altar.
3. Each musician should be attempting to improve theirself outside of church services - I am working with my bass guitar player to locate an instructor to give him music lessons now. I encouraged my drummers to ask around for someone they may learn from in our community, and I myself have been talking to some musicians from a local church to identify someone I may learn from. Many church musicians make the mistake of thinking they only need to study their instrument during church services. This is fundamentally wrong; does a politician only practice giving speeches while behind the podium addressing a nation? Does the professional baseball player only practice swinging the bat while in a game?
4. During the week prior to a music/singer practice, I email out links to my musicians and singers of the songs we will be covering in our next rehearsal. They are usually Youtube links. I ask each singer and musician to listen to these music links diligently in order to familiarize their selves with the songs. That way by the time they show up to our rehearsal they are already familiar with the songs and possibly have even picked out their vocal parts. The musicians are already familiar with the intros, cuts/breaks, and moving parts to the song. In the past I have emailed out such links only to find my musicians/singers did not even take the time to listen to the songs prior to the rehearsals! This is very frustrating to me, as I put time and effort into distributing this information pre-rehearsal. So in this meeting I kindly asked all singers/musicians to make time to study my emailed song links.... Being a part of this church music department requires time at home (think homework) studying..... We will not just show up to rehearsals or church services and attempt the throw everything together in a sloppy fashion. God deserves our best!
I hope the above topics may benefit you in your music department. Do not be afraid to raise the bar of expectation for your singers and musicians!
Here are the topics I covered in this meeting:
1. Musicians - if a singer(s) begin singing in a service and you do not know the song, there is nothing wrong with not playing your instrument during that song. What we were experiencing was well-intentioned musicians jumping in on songs they did not know, and inadvertently creating more musical chaos than positive contribution. Now I do not say this in a negative way, as my musicians all have good intentions (I have a great group I am privileged to work with) and only try to help by supporting the singer(s) with their instrument. However my message to them was this: if you don't know the song, don't play. The only exception I distinguish is the drummer (if your drummer is proficient enough it really helps most songs to have tempo and percussion involved) and the keyboarder (that is me in my department). So in my case I was talking to the bass player, electric guitar player, and saxophonist.
2. Each drummer has an assigned service to play - do not pressure the other drummers to play if it's not your service - this may sound elementary but I deal with young and zealous drummers (I have three of them) and many times they feel the need to play the drums at all times. :0) To solve this situation I have assigned each drummer a service they are the main drummer for. The only reason a drummer should be playing in a service that's not 'theirs' is if the designated drummer for that service is either absent or praying at the altar.
3. Each musician should be attempting to improve theirself outside of church services - I am working with my bass guitar player to locate an instructor to give him music lessons now. I encouraged my drummers to ask around for someone they may learn from in our community, and I myself have been talking to some musicians from a local church to identify someone I may learn from. Many church musicians make the mistake of thinking they only need to study their instrument during church services. This is fundamentally wrong; does a politician only practice giving speeches while behind the podium addressing a nation? Does the professional baseball player only practice swinging the bat while in a game?
4. During the week prior to a music/singer practice, I email out links to my musicians and singers of the songs we will be covering in our next rehearsal. They are usually Youtube links. I ask each singer and musician to listen to these music links diligently in order to familiarize their selves with the songs. That way by the time they show up to our rehearsal they are already familiar with the songs and possibly have even picked out their vocal parts. The musicians are already familiar with the intros, cuts/breaks, and moving parts to the song. In the past I have emailed out such links only to find my musicians/singers did not even take the time to listen to the songs prior to the rehearsals! This is very frustrating to me, as I put time and effort into distributing this information pre-rehearsal. So in this meeting I kindly asked all singers/musicians to make time to study my emailed song links.... Being a part of this church music department requires time at home (think homework) studying..... We will not just show up to rehearsals or church services and attempt the throw everything together in a sloppy fashion. God deserves our best!
I hope the above topics may benefit you in your music department. Do not be afraid to raise the bar of expectation for your singers and musicians!
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