Ready or not, Sunday is coming. Most worship leaders, teams, and churches are able to execute the rhythm of weekly gatherings. They can choose songs, schedule a team, and move through a rehearsal well enough to lead during the Sunday service. This is no small feat - especially for those serving, leading, and overseeing as volunteers. Regardless of church size, I often find something amiss - there is a lack of clarity, vision, and direction around corporate sung worship and the worship team.
I think this may be why so many worship leaders, teams, and churches are carbon copies of what we see online, and in the CCLI Top 10 songs. We sense the clarity, vision, and direction of these churches, writers, and worship leaders, and in an attempt to create that in our own unique contexts simply copy and paste. But when our corporate gathering becomes so outwardly referenced (rather than Scripturally rooted, and contextually appropriate) we lose clarity, vision, and direction.
This is why I advocate every worship leader, and church writes a philosophy of worship. A Spirit-led, prayerful, formation of guideposts and markers that will anchor the direction of the corporate gathering, and sung worship of your church.
Creating a philosophy of worship helps you weigh the songs you introduce, train worship leaders, shape the culture of the team, and the corporate gathering and keep you steady when loud voices attempt to move you in an unhelpful direction.
In creating a philosophy of worship that serves your context, here are a few questions I think are helpful as you study, think, pray, and write:
What does Scripture say about worship?
What are the mission, vision, and values of our church? How do they inform our gathering?
What are distinctive, non-negotiable for our team, our leaders, our songs, and our service?
How does what we do as a gathered church fuel, impact, and influence who we are as we are sent out on mission?
Need help fleshing out a philosophy of worship for your church? Send me an email here.