Justin Taylor writes this on his blog at Between Two Worlds.
"A mature Christian is easily edified."
Chip Stam cited those words by Harold Best in the first video I linked to earlier. Those words have been rolling around in my heart and mind for the past couple of days.
Easily edified.
Isn't that a wonderful goal--a sign of good mental health and genuine obedience of faith?
Read the rest here....
Read More......
Showing posts with label Removing distractions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Removing distractions. Show all posts
Friday, June 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
On our face before God
Part 3 to the previous post, on removing distractions in worship. This time, an extended quote.
"It's so important to me that my church family meet with God and worship Him. I work all week to help enable that....
It's terrifying to face a congregation who probably has not thought much about worship yet and know it's your job to help them experience God. I am humbled every single week. If I could, I would lead worship laying on my face because I am so amazed that for some reason I am leading the church to worship Almighty God. That is holy ground to me. Worship leaders have everything they do become for public consumption and comparison and that is so very hard - and many times heartbreaking. (If I had read most of these comments as a younger worship leader I would have been tempted to quit - I could never ever live up to your expectations of me) The bottom line for me is that I want to worship together. I will make mistakes. I will pick songs that annoy you. I will talk too long sometime (did you listen? perhaps God was speaking to you?). I will not look cool and yes, over and over again no matter how hard I try, I will forget the words. I'll be leading the band, paying attention to sound, seeing people in the congregation reading their bulletins and making faces, try to stay worshipful, remember the words, and I will lose my train of thought. I will desperately want you to worship with me, not judge me or even "conmsume" in the worship service, not just watch. Whether we sing a hymn, or the newest worship song, I will want us to encounter God together.
When we come to worship we all share in a mutual responsibility. Do you know what I've observed after standing on the stage leading others for more than 22 years? We have the best worship when the church worships. Period. Perfection, new songs, great worship leader - all of these are extras. When we are focused passionately on God, we have great worship. One guitar or a full band, this is the recipe.
I know there are skills needed to lead more effectively. I work on that continually. PRAY for your worship leader!
Read More......
"It's so important to me that my church family meet with God and worship Him. I work all week to help enable that....
It's terrifying to face a congregation who probably has not thought much about worship yet and know it's your job to help them experience God. I am humbled every single week. If I could, I would lead worship laying on my face because I am so amazed that for some reason I am leading the church to worship Almighty God. That is holy ground to me. Worship leaders have everything they do become for public consumption and comparison and that is so very hard - and many times heartbreaking. (If I had read most of these comments as a younger worship leader I would have been tempted to quit - I could never ever live up to your expectations of me) The bottom line for me is that I want to worship together. I will make mistakes. I will pick songs that annoy you. I will talk too long sometime (did you listen? perhaps God was speaking to you?). I will not look cool and yes, over and over again no matter how hard I try, I will forget the words. I'll be leading the band, paying attention to sound, seeing people in the congregation reading their bulletins and making faces, try to stay worshipful, remember the words, and I will lose my train of thought. I will desperately want you to worship with me, not judge me or even "conmsume" in the worship service, not just watch. Whether we sing a hymn, or the newest worship song, I will want us to encounter God together.
When we come to worship we all share in a mutual responsibility. Do you know what I've observed after standing on the stage leading others for more than 22 years? We have the best worship when the church worships. Period. Perfection, new songs, great worship leader - all of these are extras. When we are focused passionately on God, we have great worship. One guitar or a full band, this is the recipe.
I know there are skills needed to lead more effectively. I work on that continually. PRAY for your worship leader!
Read More......
Saturday, February 28, 2009
On removing distractions...
This is part 2 to the previous post, about things "worship leaders" do that distract/annoy people.
Read More......
I want to focus tightly on admonition for the music guy himself, the one leading the singing. This isn't about one's own heart-preparation, pastoral perspective, etc.
I'm just looking here how we can remove distractions we don't need to have. Besides some stuff in that blog that I can't ever imagine happening in a reformed church (prob'ly because I don't get out much), these pitfalls should be noted and avoided. (Again, at HBC our 'band' faces forward -- so some of the distracting things mentioned don't happen here.)
Speaking
-- too often and too much, breaking the flow of the set
-- speaking the next line of the song as we're about to sing it (even though they can see it on the screen)
-- inauthentic speech (using title of next song as comment/intro, talking that doesn't seem truly driven by the moment, scripted-sounding prayer)
Preparation
-- doesn't know the songs well
-- typos on the screen
-- starting the service late!
-- opening the service with low energy
-- poorly rehearsed key changes
Deportment
-- talks to cong as if we're at a high school pep rally or rock concert
-- telling people what to do ("everyone raise your hands") This one is really a matter of understanding the church's culture. In our fellowship they want almost no such direction ever.
Musicianship
-- repetition without purpose
-- poor transitions, no flow between songs
-- mumbled singing/poor diction
-- poor use of mics during singing
Character
-- lives one way, but turns on the "godly" on Sunday morning
I'm just looking here how we can remove distractions we don't need to have. Besides some stuff in that blog that I can't ever imagine happening in a reformed church (prob'ly because I don't get out much), these pitfalls should be noted and avoided. (Again, at HBC our 'band' faces forward -- so some of the distracting things mentioned don't happen here.)
Speaking
-- too often and too much, breaking the flow of the set
-- speaking the next line of the song as we're about to sing it (even though they can see it on the screen)
-- inauthentic speech (using title of next song as comment/intro, talking that doesn't seem truly driven by the moment, scripted-sounding prayer)
Preparation
-- doesn't know the songs well
-- typos on the screen
-- starting the service late!
-- opening the service with low energy
-- poorly rehearsed key changes
Deportment
-- talks to cong as if we're at a high school pep rally or rock concert
-- telling people what to do ("everyone raise your hands") This one is really a matter of understanding the church's culture. In our fellowship they want almost no such direction ever.
Musicianship
-- repetition without purpose
-- poor transitions, no flow between songs
-- mumbled singing/poor diction
-- poor use of mics during singing
Character
-- lives one way, but turns on the "godly" on Sunday morning
"I hate it when my worship leader..."
Read this with discernment, but there are good lessons for us to learn and mistakes to avoid. See here.
Read More......
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