Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Worship is… Acknowledging the Universal Church

Dear Worshippers,

We continue our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the eleventh value, Acknowledging the Universal Church. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders have adopted 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.

When we gather to worship we join our praise with the church across all generations and all continents. This perspective is important as it helps us to understand that the kingdom of our God is much larger than our local expression of such. The Nicene Creed, written in the 4th century A.D. puts it this way: “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” What catholic means in this context is the true Christian Church of all times and all places. With this definition in mind we offer that worship is… Acknowledging the Universal Church. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, but here are the ones we have adopted for inclusion in the philosophical document:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. Romans 16:16

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb." Revelation 7:9-10

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Notice how the first passage says “to him be glory in the church…throughout all generations.” It does not say churches, but singular church. There is one church throughout all generations. This is very significant as we gather for worship. We are joining many who have gone before and will come after us.

This next verse acknowledges that there are many local expressions of the church. We are one body with different gatherings. When we come together we should remember there are others doing the same thing all over the world. Our love for the other churches should be obvious.

The “great multitude” here is the church triumphant. Their group is made up of people from every nation, tribe, people and language. They are unified in their praise of our God as they stand before His throne in heaven. Gathered from across time and space, we will worship with them eternally.

The “great cloud of witnesses” again acknowledges those who have gone before. For the writer of Hebrews, that was a particular group. For us, that group would include the writer of Hebrews, his audience, and all those who have been counted in that number since then. One day we too will be counted in that cloud by those who come after us.

The song that come to mind is “When the Saints Go Marching In”. My grandmother used to sing that. I can vaguely remember her playing the accordion and belting out “Oh, Lord, I want to be in that number…when the saints go marching in.” What a privilege to in faith accept the redeeming work of Christ and turn from our sin, thus enabling us to be counted in that number, who, across time and space will worship Jesus, the head of the church.

Stay tuned…NEXT WEEK…Worship is…Humility.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Worship is… Recognizing the Priesthood and Ministry of all Believers

Dear Worshippers,


We continue our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the tenth value, Recognizing the Priesthood and Ministry of all Believers. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders have adopted 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.

Contrary to those who prefer churches where worship feels more like a performance by those on stage, we desire to be a worshipping body, with each person engaged in the drama that is corporate worship. Danish philosopher–theologian SÇ¿ren Kierkegaard spoke of worship as a drama and criticized the noninvolvement of many in his own church. He “insisted that in true worship the members of the congregation are the actors, the ministers and [other worship leaders] are “prompters” and God is the audience.”*

In the most earnest sense, God is the critical theatergoer, who looks on to see the lines that are spoken and how they are listened to…The speaker is then the prompter, and the listener stands openly before God. The listener, if I may say so, is the actor, who in all truth acts before God.

With this drama in mind we offer that worship is… Recognizing the priesthood and ministry of all believers. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, but here are the ones we have adopted for inclusion in the philosophical document:

Love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:31

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. I Peter 2:9

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:7-16

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. I Corinthians 14:26

This follows the previous value, engaging the whole person, intentionally. We are commanded to love the Lord, and part of the way that finds expression is to love others. As we declare our praises together, our preference for one another is one of the most significant things that can communicate the love of God. In our services of blended worship, traditional and contemporary are brought together in an attempt to give every worshipper a voice for their praise. While you may not like one song, there likely will be something else that you will. In that moment you have the opportunity to embrace God’s heart by preferring others, instead of yourself.

Each of us brings something unique to the life and ministry of our church, and accordingly to the worship service. God’s desire is that we would each find our place in that body of believers and use our talents and gifts to minister to Him and to others. We each have a role to play in this drama as the kingdom of priests that will bless the Lord and His people as we discover and exercise those abilities while pursuing unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God.” [Ephesians, see above]

One of the best examples of this ministry in corporate worship is when we pray in small groups. This gives an opportunity for each worshipper to make a unique contribution to the experience. While not everyone will desire to pray, some will. The requests that are shared also give some the opportunity to express, gifts of mercy or helps. Others may speak wisdom into a situation in conversation after the service has concluded and we are enjoying “The Fellowship of Faith”.

“That the church may be strengthened.” That is how the last passage ends. The point of the priesthood and ministry of all believers is this. Let us listen to the “prompters” and each of us strive to find our role in the great drama of worship that plays out every time we gather. May God be pleased with our “performance.”

Stay tuned…NEXT WEEK…Worship is…Acknowledging the Universal Church.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

*Don Hustad, Jubilate II, p. 315

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Worship is… Engaging the Whole Person

Dear Worshippers,

We continue our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the ninth value, Engaging the whole person. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders have adopted 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.

When you even begin to consider the why of worship all you have to do is consider the beauty of God which we focused on last week. Worship is the epitome of other-centeredness, partly because it should consume the entire worshipper in the act of adoration. Archbishop William Temple said it this way.

Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of the will to his purpose-and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for …self-centeredness.

The way we are choosing to put it is, worship is… engaging the whole person. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, but here are the ones we have adopted for inclusion in the philosophical document:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? I Corinthians 14:15-16

There is more to a person than what can be seen, but the intentions of those unseen things, heart, soul, mind, conscience, imagination, will are demonstrated through that which is seen, the body. When we worship, scripture clearly shows that both the seen and the unseen parts are to be engaged or active.

So what about the unseen portion in particular. In contemporary thought, the soul of a person is often regarded as the combination of the intellect, the emotions and the will. These are to be engaged in worship as we can see in the first passage, but what about the spirit. As Paul shows us in the second passage, there is something else at work here.

Worship is more than singing songs, and praying prayers, it is engaging the spirit. Worship really begins in the spirit of a person, as they are invigorated and brought to life by God’s Holy Spirit. This is made clear in the lack of understanding mentioned by Paul. Not everyone understands this aspect of worship. I am not talking about tongues in particular, but the activity of the Spirit in general. It simply will not be understood apart from the work of the Spirit in the spirit of a person. [This distinction is not easily understood, but clearly spoken of in Job 7:11, Isaiah 26:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 and Hebrews 4:12.]

Let us worship God with our spirit, soul and body.

Stay tuned…NEXT WEEK…Worship is…Recognizing the priesthood and ministry of all believers.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott