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Editorial 
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Worship is,
in theory, at the center of Adventist theology. We emphasize the Sabbath, a temple in time set apart for
rest and worship. We have
traditionally defined our mission according to the Three Angels' Messages (Rev
14:6-12), which underscores whom we should (and should not) worship. And worship is a motif running through even our most
distinctive doctrines (e.g., the sanctuary, the great controversy between good
and evil). But even though worship
is at the center of our theology, is theology at the center of our
worship?
What is it
that determines what we do when we gather on Sabbath mornings? Do our worship services grow out of
carefully considered and deeply held theological convictions? Or, is Adventist worship a loose
collection of practices in search of a theology? Is what we do a truly incarnational gathering, uniting God's
Word and action with human need and circumstances? Or, is our worship just an awkward blend of inherited practices
and the pragmatic concerns of the day?
Worship
scholar, Robert Webber, suggested in an interview that "the major issue" facing Christian
worship today is that it has become "divorced from all theological reflection. Worship has therefore become subject to
the cultural narrative, and worship has been shaped more by the cultural
narrative than it has been shaped by the story of God."
What is the
narrative that shapes our worship?
Is it the story of God revealed in Scripture? Or, is it something else? And how can our worship ministry be more effective and
congruent with our deepest convictions and values? These are complex issues with no simple answers; but as we
dialogue together in this newsletter, we hope to at least begin asking the
right questions. And as we grow in
knowledge and grace, it is our prayer that in worship we might honor God more
fully and minister more effectively to both our congregations and the wider
world.
To continue
this discussion, we invite you read below and share your thoughts. We look forward to hearing your ideas.
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Worship Leading
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Learning from RelationshipsBy Ryan Bell
"Power
is in the relationships."
Though
I've known this to be true for a very long time, it's an adage I first heard
expressed by my fellow community organizers. We know that to make lasting
change in a community our strength comes not from what we know, but who we
know. Community change is not about ideology. It's about relationships.
It's
also something preachers know. When you stand up to speak to a congregation
from the scripture, it is not an academic lecture. To really speak to people's
hearts you need to have a relationship with them. You can't expect to connect
with people in a sermon if you've not been involved in their life during the
week.
Worship
leaders are perhaps more likely to miss this important point. Too often I've
watched worship leaders stand before a congregation, focused on their
musicianship, the theme of the day, and the technical details of the audio mix,
but forget about the people they're leading. Worship leaders are facilitating a
conversation between God and the congregation and to do that well, they need to
be connected to the people they're leading during the week. So, this week, as
your planning worship, ask yourself, what do I know about the people I'm
leading? What are they going through? What are they suffering from? What are
they celebrating? And as a community, what are we going through together? What
are the challenges we're working through as a congregation and how can we give
voice to those challenges in worship?
So stay close to the people you're leading in worship and see if
there isn't a marked increase in the connection you experience during the
worship service.
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Featured Media
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Scripted Versus Unscripted Worship By Maury Jackson
Reflecting
on Psalm 24, Maury Jackson addresses the challenges and benefits of formal
worship. He contends that true
worship is made possible by God's gracious breakthrough in our lives; and he asks,
"Can we not formalize this kind of experience and domesticate it for the
church?"
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Preaching
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People
of my age (middle-age) have to work hard at understanding the ethos and culture
of younger generations. When we do, we may discover some rich
insights about how they communicate and how to communicate to them. But,
they may also learn a few things from those with experience. Here is a
recent seminary classroom episode that yielded insights for people seeking to
communicate the gospel:
"I
am being told, these days, that words are dead and that moving images are the
best way to communicate with young people. Is this true in your
experience?" I asked my worship class. The students were, on average,
under thirty years of age. One student shared this response. "Yes,
that is true. For a Bible lesson in my junior high youth group, we made a
'man-on-the-street' kind of video which we showed to the young people.
They watched it with fascination."
"Did
you show them all the footage of the video you shot?" I asked.
"No,"
he said. "We originally had about fifteen minutes of footage. But,
we edited it down to about three minutes of carefully selected material.
If we had shown them the whole thing, they would have been bored."
More
and more of our young ministers are becoming adept at the use of film as a means
of sharing the gospel. Here are two insights about preaching that come
from this story:
 Continue this article on Facebook
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Leadership
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Practical Praise: Selecting A Minister of Music
Five Steps
to Selecting A Minister of Music
1. Begin your search
with a 30-day season of prayer.
2. Like the
prophet Samuel, do not limit your options (1Sam. 16:5-13). Examine both the most
and the least obvious choices for the position.
3. Discuss the
candidate's spiritual calling and musical talents then determine how both can
be used to fulfill ministry goals for your congregation.
4. Examine the
candidate's specific plan for music ministry at your church.
5. Request input
from other spiritual leaders and music team members before making a final
decision.
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| Worship Finances |
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There's a thief in the church!
(No, the church is the thief!)By Dave Gemmell
It seemed like a harmless act at the time; in fact I was
quite proud of my thrifty ingenuity. I discovered that instead of buying an
album at Tower Records I could purchase a blank cassette tape from K-Mart and
borrow an album from a friend and dub the songs onto the cassette. Not only did
I save several dollars I could actually play my cassette in my car (I suppose I
could have tried playing my albums but I the needle might skip every time I hit
a bump).
However my seemingly innocent act of frugality may have played
a small part in the downfall of Tower Records, the decline of K-Mart, and the
turning out unknown numbers of musicians into the street. Somehow the cosmic
effects of my tiny frugality never entered my mind as I made my first dub.
As a young pastor my frugal ways continued as I discovered
that I could get the lyrics and chords from my buddy and put them up on an
overhead projector and my only expense was the creation of the acetate slide-far
cheaper than buying worship books for everyone in church. As computers and
projectors came of age the creation of PowerPoint slides dropped the cost of
music acquisition to zero.
However my stinginess may have contributed to the decline in
hymnal manufacturers and an environment where churches don't honor the gift of
music enough to pay for it. Musical composers are asked to contribute their
works to the glory of God with no financial compensation.
As the years have gone by I wish to atone for some of my
sins by sharing some things I have learned along the way in copyright law[1], parenting three starving musicians, and looking at the 8th
commandment. Here's the basics:
Continue this article on Facebook
[1]Church
Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) is a leader in church licensing. They
offer an annual license for as low as $49. Here is their website: http://www.ccli.com.
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| Quick Tip
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Worship Planning from the Perspective of the Pew
In nearly
every worship planning meeting that I attend, I hear the same recurring
question: "What are we going to do
this Sabbath?" And as we discuss
the details of the service, this question inevitably reappears in various forms:
"How will we begin? What songs
will we sing? What will we do
next?" But if our purpose in worship
is to lead God's people in prayer and thanksgiving, then perhaps we are asking
the wrong questions.
Todd Johnson often offers this advice to his students at Fuller
Theological Seminary: As we think
through the order of a worship service, the key question should not be, what will
we as worship leaders do next but, rather, what do we want the
congregation to do next. What will they sing? What will they pray? What will they contemplate?
There are
of course many things that might prevent people from truly engaging with a
worship service. Perhaps a good
way to begin encouraging fuller participation is to rethink the questions that
drive our worship planning. Maybe
it's time to ask ourselves: "Are we planning worship from the our perspective or from the perspective
of the pew?"
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| Featured Resources
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- You won't want to miss the 7th annual Andrews University Music and Worship Conference (March 25-27, 2010), an inspirational and practical training event for pastors, worship leaders, church musicians, and lay leaders involved in worship ministry.
- Are you looking for original, contemporary Adventist worship music? Visit www.AdventPraise.com to find out how you can get songs by 25 different Adventist artists to use in your church.
- Church
Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) is a leader in church licensing. They
offer an annual worship music license for as low as $49. They also off church video licenses and services that provide sheet music for worship songs. For more info, visit www.ccli.com.
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Resources
