Category: Ministry

Ministry

In Case You Ever Wondered . . .

Chris

YouTube is an amazing tool on the internet. Not only does it showcase commercials, homemade video messages, and various other videos, it is a vast platform to spread a message. I ran across one of these messages while looking for a TV spot to open this Sunday’s sermon.

Sometimes we wonder why the doors of our church only let visitors in once. Why don’t they come a second time? Is it something we’re doing, or not doing?

This video, by the Beyond Relevance guys, is a peek into the answer to that question.

Christian Living, Ministry

Are You Developmentally Challenged?

Chris

Okay, okay. I’m not trying to belittle any true challenges or struggles people face today. Please, don’t send any hate mail.

The question posed here has to do with your continual growth, both personally and professionally. Are you growing? How are you facilitating that growth? Do you even believe that you need to grow?

You’ve probably heard this adage: “You cannot truly sit still. You are either moving forward or backward.” It’s been applied to our Christian walk, our relationships, and our professional lives. But do we take it seriously? Do we live like this statement is true?

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Ministry

Worship at Christmastime

Chris

We have crossed into December, and the countdown to Christmas is officially underway in our house. Our tree was standing for over a week without ornaments until last night. It’s a prelit tree, but it looked a little odd with the middle section blacked out for several nights in a row. That’s one of the issues you run into when you have a lot of ornaments that plug in. Last night we finally added the ornaments.

My wife has found time to add little things all around the house. She bought some new LED candlelights online for each of the windows. Some faux brick cardboard lines the walls of a sitting room, trimmed neatly with puffy white “snow” and all of our stockings. And we hung some paper snowflakes from the kitchen ceiling.

This Sunday, though, I get to do something I rarely have the opportunity to anymore: lead worship. It probably seems silly that a guy who wrote a book on worship suddenly finds himself out of the role. But part of the role I do fill now, as assistant pastor, requires filling in where other needs are, since we have a number of worship leaders in the church.

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Ministry

Laws of Worship Leading | Dynamic

Chris

When was the last time you attended or listened to an orchestra? I think I’ve only had the privilege of attending a professional performance twice in my life thus far. (I’m guessing the high school orchestra doesn’t really count.)

The first time, I remember that we were so close that I couldn’t really see the stage at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, MN. I can recall being inside the building, though. The Fall of 1994 was the last, attending the performance as part of a collegiate music theory course I enrolled in that semester. This time we were up on the third tier in the theatre house, looking down on the stage and the vast audience below us.

I realize that for most of us, attending a symphony performance is a bit of a stretch. Why is it, though, that we who seek to lift our songs to praise to Almighty God overlook the musical masters who sought, rather often, to do the same?

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Ministry

Laws of Worship Leading | Inspiration

Chris

Most of us openly acknowledge that each congregation is different for a variety of reasons.  One of those difference that causes a multitude of problems is also one of the driving sources of conflict when we discuss the topic of worship.  This is the element of Style.

Even within a single church body style often varies from ministry to ministry, even beyond the scope of worship.  We teach Biblical truths differently from children’s church to youth group to the adult Sunday message.  Some of us use PowerPoint; some preach extemporaneously while others read their sermons; drama or video clips might be employed, or they might be considered distracting.  You’ve likely heard that the message is more important than methods used to communicate it.  As long as your message aligns with Biblical truth, the methods aren’t necessarily of importance.  Basically, you can cling to and make use of your own Style so long as you remain true to the Inspiration.

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Ministry

Laws of Worship Leading | The Foundation

Chris

When we approach worship from a musical standpoint, which I take some time developing in Worship Theory, we open a sort of Pandora’s Box. At first it looks simple and easy, but in reality there are far more complications that arrive at choosing this one box and opening it, than if we had chosen a different route.

One reason for this is that the facets of music are truly innumerable, and the depth to each is nearly unfathomable. For almost as long as man has walked the earth, he has striven to express himself through music. Over the course of milennia, this has served to both deepen and broaden what music is.

When we as worship leaders stop to ponder what we’ve walked into, it should both humble and frighten us. Unfortunately, it rarely has a chance to stir either emotion for us. We’re too busy doing what we do to stop and consider what other implications there might be as we throw our hats into the musical realm.

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