Worship is…Mission Focused

Dear Worshippers,

We continue our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the fourth value. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders are considering as core values of our worship are necessarily music-oriented. Actually none of them deal with elements at all, but rather with the essentials of worship. They are more the why than the what of worship, if you will.

Last week I mentioned new brand of The Christian and Missionary Alliance “Living the Call Together” and the way it communicates who we are. It is explained with four concise phrases: Ordinary people. Empowered by an extraordinary God. Multiplying communities of Christ. Around the World. Those last two phrases really capture the Mission focus of this movement. That focus must be reflected in our worship. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, here are the ones we are recommending for inclusion in the philosophical document:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

You may recall that the latter verse was one of the verses that was used for the last value, Spirit empowered. There is a very pointed purpose in that empowering, completing the task that Jesus gave those first disciples and continues to assign today to everyone called by His matchless name. The empowering of the Spirit is not as much for our good as it is for the glory of our God.

The revealing of that glory to the world in this age started with Jesus command to us, which we call The Great Commission. We often think about the word “go” as being the primary operative word, but we need to be careful not to miss “make disciples”. Jesus did not say make converts, but disciples. The process is very different, the latter being a process not a pinpoint moment. Our worship should aid that process in every way, and be a significant part of it.

But there is at least one other aspect that I want to highlight. At the beginning and the end of this passage are two things we must not forget as we focus on mission: power and presence. Jesus says, “All authority…has been given to me…and surely I am with you always”. We must demonstrate to the world the power and presence of Jesus to the world in relationship. We can tell people about Jesus, but living out His mission focus requires that we show them Jesus. He lived out His mission flawlessly, we do not. Still let us give ourselves over to the One who wants to focus our worship on the mission He has given us to accomplish.

Jesus, may our individual lives of worship be mission focused, so that when we join together in our corporate worship it will be mission focused as well.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott