Corporate Worship

Encouraging Response

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“A lot of people don’t know this… but it is possible to be emotive in corporate worship, and still be a Baptist.” That is how I encouraged and challenged? Our church to engage with Psalm 134. This psalm was both our call to worship and the name of the song we were about to sing that morning:

“Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the Lord!

May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth!”

Some churches, denominations, cultures, and people groups are naturally emotive in the way they participate in corporate sung worship. Some are naturally more reserved. While I do not believe there is a moral high ground, as I wrote last week, I do believe that it is right and good that the truths we sing move us - and that we encourage our people to be moved.

If you would like to encourage your people toward responding in worship, how might you do that - you know, without poking fun at their denominal affiliation like yours truly? Here are a few things to consider:

Look around the room

Ask people not just to look at a screen, or at a hymnal, ask them to look around the room. We sing to God, yes, but we also sing to one another. Look at the faces of your brothers and sisters, sing to them, sing on their behalf.

Speak these words aloud

Whether the songs are new and unfamiliar or people feel they ‘aren’t really singers.’ Encourage people to at least speak the truths we sing aloud. Our words have power, and we need to proclaim truth not only have it sung around the room.

Open our hands

For some people, any physical posture in worship feels uncomfortable. I have encouraged people, even if they are uncomfortable raising their hands in worship, to open their hands - even if they are shoved in your pockets, will you open them as a posture of surrender, openness, and receiving?

Raise our hands

Lifting up holy hands in worship is a posture we see throughout Scripture, but can feel too odd, uncomfortable, or vulnerable for many worshipers. Why do we raise our hands? In victory - Jesus victory over Satan, sin, and death. In surrender - realizing that we can no longer fight. In dependence - upon God for our very breath. In faith - allowing our physical posture to aim and reinforce what we desire to be true of our hearts and lives.

Don’t just tell people to respond. Encourage, invite, model, maybe even be cheeky, and give them a loving rebuke. But help them see why we do what we do. I have often found people eager to respond, they have been waiting on permission, waiting on an invitation.

If this was helpful, you may also appreciate Postures In Worship.

Emotions In Worship

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Should we encourage our people to be emotive in corporate worship?

Should we be encouraged when our people respond emotively in corporate worship?

Worship flows continually from the inward place of heart and soul. Because we only see the outside, we judge as those who can only use external measurements to determine authentic, genuine worship. Even the ways that we view these external demonstrations of worship have been culturally conditioned. Shaped by the values of our theological stream, our country of origin, the specific local body, and our families of origin. But God sees the heart. God weighs the motives. God is intimately acquainted with the overlooked corners of every individual.

While outward expressions may not be an accurate indicator of true worship, I think it is right and good that the truths we sing and celebrate move us physically and emotionally. I believe that for at least two reasons:

  1. God is worthy of our worship - whole-bodied, undignified, self-giving worship.

  2. Because our songs and expressions of praise are not just for ourselves, but for our brothers and sisters. When we gather, we sing to God, yes, but we also sing to one another. When I struggle to believe what is true, I am often held up by the borrowed faith of the family of God. When we live in relationship with one another, we know our family's stories, struggles, and joys, and know that these songs emerge from a hard-fought place.

Should we encourage our people to be emotive in worship? Perhaps. But maybe more importantly, we should encourage our people to be selfless in worship - to consider that their response and engagement is not just for them, not just for God, but for one another. That is the real encouragement.

Sunday Spiral

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Some Sundays feel like heaven. Everyone shows up on time and is prepared, the set list is connected and cohesive, there are no technical issues, the congregation is present and engaged, we feel free as we lead and serve, and God seems nearer than usual. It is glorious, beautiful, soul-stirring.

Other Sundays feel like hell: the team is scattered and disjointed, you wonder if your body was possessed when you built the liturgy and set list, rehearsal is consumed with technical issues, the congregation is indifferent, you stumble over your words, can’t wait to walk off the platform, and wonder if God has somehow left the room. Commence the Sunday Spiral.

Leading worship is vulnerable, serious, and important. If we value this sacred responsibility, it can be easy for us to feel completely derailed when a morning falls apart. So how do we avoid a Monday morning resignation, and stop the Sunday spiral?

See that you are safe. Your identity, my identity is not in what we do. Therefore, even if I fail at a task, my identity, value, and worth is not in jeopardy.

Lay down what you are carrying. The good, the bad, the ugly - if you faithfully stewarded the moment, team, and people of God to the best of your Spirit-led abilities, then ask for the Spirit’s help to not internalize the shame or condemnation that the enemy wants to plant in your heart and mind.

Do some diagnostic work. Was this a one-off? Or are there consistent issues in the culture, preparation, and dynamics of a team or the morning that are beginning to emerge?

Take advantage of feedback loops. How can you help shepherd your team through that moment, and their own Sunday Spirals? Are there things that need to be worked through so that you can avoid that situation in the future?

Do not go it alone. If you are spiraling, articulate that to a trusted person - not necessarily so they can assure you that ‘I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,’ but so that you do not have to bear your burden alone. Ask them to listen, ask them to pray, and ask them to be present.

Lead again. Discipleship is the long game, and part of our discipleship and sanctification is being accomplished through our leading, serving, volunteering, and obedience to follow Jesus in our vocation and with our responsibilities as worship leaders, so lead again.

The Influences Of History

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One of the clarifying realities I was able to articulate from reading Worship and the World to Come (Glenn Packiam) is that my own history both in church and beyond have shaped my theological convictions. I think this kind of recognition allows me to loosely hold my own preferences, to be less defensive, and more charitable toward brothers and sisters whose history has also shaped their theological convictions.

But history also shapes the modern Church.

Our church is in the process of affirming a new statement of faith, and to that end, our elders have preached through the various tenets of the proposed statement of faith. Much of the conversation we have as a staff team around secondary issues - is how the church has historically wrestled and resolved their own questions. This can be a comfort: Christians have believed, celebrated, and affirmed these specific truths for generations. Smarter Christians than me have given their lives to read, study, embody, and articulate these truths. But this can also become an excuse: Christians have believed, celebrated, and affirmed these specific truths for generations. Therefore we can rest in their understanding rather than grapple with our own.

Hear me, I am speaking of second-tier issues. I make no claim that we should diverge from the historic church in orders of first importance. Those truths which all followers of Jesus - regardless of denomination - must hold in true faith and that would be defined as historically orthodox. I am speaking of second-tier issues - those things which brothers and sisters can hold loosely with a variety of conviction and expression, and still be in fellowship with one another.

Similarly to acknowledging that no one is neutral, and that everyone carries their own preferences, when we can acknowledge the visible and invisible ways history has shaped us, our people, our denomination, and our churches, we can honor that which is worthy of honor, and we can lean into the sanctifying work of semper reformanda.

Recommended Reading [Part 7]

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These are the most recent books I’ve finished that speak to our shared tasks as worship leaders, but also to the aim and direction of our worship hearts as Christ followers. I hope they will serve and encourage you in your journey:

Reformed Worship - Jonty Rhodes

I come from a reformed tradition, and this book has been helpful in articulating the truths that shape the design and intention behind worship in general - and corporate worship specifically. But even if your background or current ministry experience is different - this short book is worth your time.

On Worship - H.B. Charles Jr.

I love a book with short chapters! While I was reading this book, I had it on hand all the time - because rather than scrolling my phone during spare minutes, I would read a chapter or two. I also appreciated that H.B. has broken this book into three sections: Understanding Worship, Participating in Worship, and Leading Worship.

Worship And the World To Come - Glenn Packiam

This book was fascinating - although a bit academic because of the doctoral-level research this book required. Packiam explores ‘Christian Hope in Contemporary Worship,’ looking at various traditions, song choices, language, and styles to help worship leaders and pastors better articulate a fully-formed vision of Christian hope in our lives, songs, and services.

Land of My Sojourn - Mike Cosper

The local church is beautiful and brutal. It does not take long to see and experience firsthand the ongoing sanctification when you commit yourself to the local expression of faith. This means we will be hurt, but we will also be healed. Mike uses his own story and experience to give language - to clear a path - for those who are trying to navigate their way through pain and grief as we seek to be obedient to Jesus.

Recommended Reading - Part 1 | Recommended Reading - Part 2 | Recommended Reading - Part 3

Recommended Reading - Part 4 | Recommended Reading - Part 5 | Recommended Reading - Part 6

Disentangling Preferences

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I have preferences.

You have preferences.

The people we lead and serve have preferences.

That is not good or bad, it just is.

But often we don’t realize how significantly our preferences shape what we desire until something doesn’t go the way of our, well, preferences.

Whether it is over song, style, volume, liturgy, or aesthetic, how might we avoid starting another ‘worship war’ in our own churches? Here are a few things to consider:

Acknowledge that we all have preferences. You, me, our team, our church, our leaders - we can celebrate, honor, and acknowledge without being dismissive or condescending towards those preferences which are different.

Realize that no one is neutral. All of us have been shaped in our lives and faith by countless influences - these are places of deep memory and impact.

Develop a philosophy of worship. Our corporate gatherings matter, and we should take seriously the songs we sing and the way our gatherings form our people. That is why I want every aspect of the gathering to be intentionally shaped. But an unexpected benefit of intentionality is that it allows us to articulate a deeper truth to our people if/when there is pushback. Why do we do the things that we do? Our own leadership will be easily swayed if there isn’t something of significance anchoring the decisions we make on and off the platform.

Use preferences as an opportunity to fight for greater unity. We can consider one another more highly than we consider ourselves when we choose to die to our preferences, for the sake of a brother or sisters preference.

Identify my own preferences. More than just acknowledging that preferences exist - what are my preferences? If I was the only person I needed to consider, how would that shape the liturgy and flow of a service I built? How would it impact the style of songs - and the specific songs I choose? What elements would I include weekly? This is an exercise I need to do regularly so that I am able to disentangle my preferences from Gospel. To help me appreciate that I am a servant to the Lord and His people in a specific context, at a specific place in time. My job is not to make little versions of myself - to enforce my own preferences on a people. My job is not to make people more like themselves - to allow their preferences to dictate all that we do. No, my job is to help create a space where people can become more like Jesus.

What would you add?

Whose Face Are You Looking For

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For better (and sometimes worse) as worship leaders, we have the best seat in the house: looking out on our brothers and sisters in Christ as they sing to God and to one another the truths that animate our faith.

We see the faces of those we love, and those we find hard to love. We see the joys and sorrows of stories shared and burdens borne together as the people of God. These are the interactions as a worship leader that fuel our own worship and devotion, that unite our hearts to fear God’s name and unite our hearts to His people.

But from our vantage point, we can also see those who look like the live-action version of the flat-eye emoji.

Arms crossed.

Scowl.

Refuse to sing.

Staring through you.

Those are the faces that have made me want to stop mid-song and sentence and say “You know I can see you, right?”

And why do they always seem to sit in the front row? Ha!

While I am conscious of the fact that I am leading the people of God, when those faces fall into view, I have to intentionally remind myself: whose face am I looking for here?

Whose face do I desire to see?

Whose gaze is on me - not just on my external activity, but down to the ground of my being, who sees me, knows me, loves me, through and through?

In these moments I am tempted toward fixation: what do I need to do to make that person change their face or posture? I am tempted toward spiral: why do they hate me?

But rather than fixate or spiral, I am learning to pray with the Psalmist:

“You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”” Psalm 27:8

19 May: Liturgy + Set List

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  • HOLY HOLY HOLY

    Call to Worship: Psalm 16

    One of the reasons we gather is to set the Lord before our eyes again. To be reminded that for all who are in Christ, our lives are held secure in His perfect life and work. Let’s sing about who he is and what he’s done:

  • THE SOLID ROCK

  • WHAT YOU SAID

    Scripture tells us that the foolishness of God is still wiser than the wisdom of man. God is good, but sometimes it does not feel like He is good. Because He is more than we could understand. I think the disciples felt similarly as they saw the resurrected Jesus - don’t go, stay, we want to hold on to you! And Jesus says, it is better that I go, because when I go I will send to you a Helper - the Holy Spirit who will convict of sin, comfort you in your affliction, remind you what I have said, be the sign, seal, and guarantee of your salvation. This morning is Pentecost Sunday, where we remember and celebrate the sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell the life of every believer. We are going to take a minute now to thank God for His Spirit, I will read these words, and then together we will pray:

Almighty God, on this day, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation:

Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Pentecost Prayer, the Book of Common Prayer

Sermon: 1 Timothy 3:1-13

  • ABIDE

  • HOLY IS OUR GOD

Benediction

Private Devotion | Public Worship

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If you serve a church, particularly in a visible capacity like preaching or leading worship, people often wonder if the ‘end result’ they witness is the entire effort. They do not realize that the most visible aspect of our job is - or should be - the smallest portion of our job. Certainly there are innumerable practical, musical, and pastoral details we navigate each week in preparation for a Sunday service, but that is not what I hope to address today.

What I want to encourage you - what I want to preach to myself - is that our private devotion should outpace, outstretch, and outlast our public worship on the platform. We can be so easily tempted to believe that what is visible is what truly matters. Leading corporate worship is not unimportant! It is precisely because it is so important that is must be fueled by private devotion.

If all of my time, energy, effort, and presence with the Lord is ultimately being spent for the purpose of executing a Sunday gathering, then my worship quickly becomes thin, brittle, and performative. If I have not been present with and to the Lord from the secret place, then I can become tempted to selfishly hoard my worship, rather than seek to serve when I am on the platform.

This does not mean that I need to light a candle, and block out two hours every day to sing to the Lord. Although, if you have the space and capacity to do that, why not?! But because every moment is poised with an invitation to once again turn my attention and affection to Christ, I can be privately devoted to the Lord in every area of my life.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,

    that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

    and to inquire in his temple.” - Psalm 27:4

Familiarity Leads to Presence

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The first time I led worship in an Anglican service, I was glued to the printed liturgy - I didn’t know the order and did not understand the rhythms and movement of the gathering. Anytime I have been asked to play or sing at a wedding, I stare at the program as if I am looking at a flight tracker in the airport - as though each element will be changed and updated in real time.

When I am unfamiliar or uncertain, I find it very difficult to be present to the Lord, present to His people, and present to what He might be doing in this moment.

I wonder if you might feel the same. When the order of our service and liturgy change weekly, when we add in something outside of the normal rhythms of our gathering, and when we are unfamiliar with the music, it becomes increasingly difficult to be present to anything other than simply executing whatever right before you.

But when we are familiar, we are freed to be present. When our minds know a melody, when our fingers find the chords without looking, our eyes can be lifted to the people, rather than the paper. Our hearts can be attentive because they are still rather than churning.

So why not find more regular rhythms in your gathering if it means you can listen and speak from a greater degree of presence to the Lord and His people? Why not spend a little bit more time learning and internalizing that song before introducing it to the congregation? Why not spend a little longer lingering - a little longer rehearsing, a little longer being present?

Awe

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Awe [noun]

1: an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime

2: archaic

a: DREAD, TERROR

b: the power to inspire dread

Would awe describe sung worship within our churches? Not about the music, the execution, the band, or creativity, but in the way that the people of God see and respond to God as we gather?

In Jesus, we are invited to ‘…with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ Hebrews 4:16, but sometimes I wonder if this confidence can quickly shift to being casual, flippant, and irreverent.

Many low-church traditions do an excellent job of articulating and celebrating the immanence of God - the reality that God is knowable and near. Many high-church traditions do an excellent job of articulating and celebrating the transcendence of God - the reality that God is above and completely other than His creation. Either of these realities can - and should - inspire our worship and devotion, but so few traditions (much less Christians) equally grasp these truths.

One of the themes that has emerged from my recent reading has been how living post-Enlightenment means that our world - and therefore our minds and daily lives - are emptied of wonder. What use is wonder when we have knowledge, understanding, and explanation for so many things? Agreeing to the spiritual - and therefore mysterious - reality of our world can often be seen as an intellectual cop-out. A failure to work toward a knowable resolution. But perhaps wonder and knowledge do not need to be on opposing sides, but can in fact hold hands in the way we approach God as the people of God.

Our people inhabit a wonder-less world, are we leading them toward the transcendent reality of God as we gather?