Grace on Display

Successful Corporate Worship

Ever wonder what the definition of a "successful " Sunday morning looks like for a worship leader?  Believe me, I think about it all the time.  Here is Bob Kauflin's definition as given to a group of band leaders and production staff at Mars Hill Church in Seattle:

I started by saying that only God ultimately knows what’s going on in people’s hearts. But we’re called to be faithful. So I shared that I begin by making sure I have a clear and biblical goal - to magnify the glory of God in Christ. It’s not to have a great musical experience, to pull off a flawless presentation, or to pump people up. We should want people to walk away with a clearer view of the Savior, with more love for him in their hearts, and with a greater desire to obey him in all of life. With a clear goal, I then plan to achieve that goal. So I pick songs that are filled with the gospel and biblical truth and appropriate expressions of response. I plan to say something that will help people understand why we’re singing. I arrange the songs so that the music is a servant to the words and not the main focus. During the meeting, I try to remain aware of how the congregation is engaging with what’s going on. If I sense that people aren’t involved or responding, I do what I can to direct their focus to the works and worthiness of God. If I do all those things, I think I’ve had a “successful” time of corporate worship.

So, when you leave Sunday morning (or afternoon, depending on which service you attend), what makes the morning a success or failure for you?  Are there Biblical passages that support your definition of a "success?"

Lessons from Fatherhood

Now that I have a 7 month old I've realized a few things about myself and about God.  If you do not have a child this is not to say that you can't understand these things.  I am merely slow-witted and need visualizations to understand, but here they are, and I'm thankful to God for revealing them to me:

1. I can't tell you how much I enjoy it when people dote over my daughter.  They will kiss her cheeks, hold her hands and feet, and talk to her as if she were the most special child in the world.  She in return smiles, laughs, giggles, and squeals with delight.  My reaction is to smile, and laugh as well, for when people take delight in my child it brings honor to Becky and me.  In the same way, it is right to have Christ and His work on the cross (death, burial, resurrection) as the central theme of our worship.  The general theme of the New Testament regarding worship and the Trinity is that the Holy Spirit empowers us to treasure and worship Christ, which in turn brings honor to the Father.  Just as I am honored and overjoyed when people display affection for my daughter, God the Father is honored when we worship His Son.  Furthermore, Bethany is a sinful child, the product of a sinful father and mother.  How much more should we glory and delight in the perfect Savior, Emmanuel, who came to take away the sins of the world, and who perfectly reflects the holiness, love, righteousness, and compassion of the Father!
2. As I look at my little daughter (growing less and less little every day!) I am reminded that she is becoming a reflection visibly, behaviorally, and spiritually of my wife and me (not that her salvation is based upon her mother and me, but that her understanding of God comes from us).  As she grows her character and values reflect the character and values of her parents.  Some people say that she looks just like me.  Others say that she is the spitting image of her mother.  I'm hoping for the latter for her sake, but selfishly I want people to know that she is my daughter by looking at her.  In the same way, the character of our worship ought to reflect the character of God.  The way that we worship should say something about God.  We sing, pray, preach, teach because one of the primary ways God has revealed Himself is through words.  We focus upon the work of Jesus Christ because He is the image of the invisible God, and because He is the most incredible revelation of God ever.  God is orderly, and so our services are not chaotic, but ordered.  Pagan religions incorporate immorality and debauchery into their worship because the gods they worship are immoral and debauched.  Our God is holy and so we prepare our hearts, confessing sin that our worship would not be marred or unacceptable.  Furthermore, we come to God on the basis of the work of His Son so that we don't rest in ourselves but we repeatedly declare our need and dependence upon His Spirit throughout the course of the worship service.  This is true personally as well as corporately.

I thank God for His patience with me as I seek to understand and learn these truths about Him, and I'm thankful for how He uses all things to point us to a better understanding of Him.

What are some things that God is doing in your life?  What has He taught you through your kids, nephews, nieces, students at school etc...?