Category: Ministry

Ministry

Law of the First Date

Chris

My latest book, Worship Theory, had a working title, The Laws of Worship.  As I considered what I was writing, the perspective I was writing from, and the fact that I have to admit that I don’t know everything, I ended up changing the title and cutting some of the content.  Some of that content were “laws” I try to follow and encourage others in when leading worship.

One of these laws can be entitled, The Law of the Dynamic, and it states “A worship service should employ and be a mixture of the different levels of music.”

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Ministry

Christmas Caroling vs. Worship

Chris

It’s that time of year again when worship leaders and pastors try to fit in the traditional Christmas songs that they believe need to be sung for those visitors or twice-a-year members who stop by the church during the month of December. Unfortunately, most of us cave to the pressure, or to our own relief at not having to “wait upon the Lord” for a worship set, and we fill our December Sundays with everything from “Joy to the World,” to “Away in a Manger” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain.”

I’ve come to believe that in doing so, we miss out on one of the greatest opportunities to introduce visitors and seasonal members into the presence of God. Maybe this is why they only come once or twice a year. If we give them the cookie-cutter songs that they have on um-teen CDs at home, hear in the malls, and are rerun over and again on the radio, why would they think church was worth going to? Continue reading “Christmas Caroling vs. Worship” →

Faith, Ministry

Defining Worship 3

Chris

We’ve looked at some different ideas about what worship is. Along the way, I made the statement that I have no choice but to take hold of a musical definition of worship. Then I tried to make that case a bit. But there is one more aspect of using a musical definition for worship that I’d like to share with you.

You see, I do not think it is the musical aspect, in and of itself, that is the key to worship. “Music is not worship itself, but music is a means of carrying our worship” (CeCe Winans, Throne Room , 48). I believe it has to do what music does to us, and what we do through music. We might think that music is just a background addition to our daily lives, but it is much more than that.

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