The Corporate Gathering Forming One Another

There is perhaps nothing the modern, Western, American loves more than personal rights and freedoms. We love our independence and the idea that we are self-made, capable of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, and are self-sufficient. Is it any wonder that this kind of cultural value embeds itself in the local Church as well?

When our lives are marked my individuality, why would we desire to…

…give of ourselves in service?

…die to our preferences?

…be inconvenienced?

…consider others more significant than ourselves?

…attend church when we don’t feel like it?

The corporate worship gathering is - in large part - for the spiritual formation of God’s people. And forming people spiritually is forming them counter to the currents of our individual culture.

One of the reasons we gather is to be reminded that we are a part of a story bigger than ourselves. That we belong to the family of God, made up of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language on the planet. This is a family that stretches throughout time, and history and will last into eternity. This family has existed before us, and will continue once we return to the dust. When we gather, we are once again caught up into the larger story, and find our place as one member of the body. The corporate gathering is not just for the individual, it is for the family.

And as the family gathers, we each contribute as many members of one body, as the Apostle Paul reminds us:

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” - 1 Corinthians 12:14-27

As members of this body we represent Christ to one another as a kingdom of priests:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” - 1 Peter 2:9

“and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” - Revelation 1:6

One of the ways we represent Christ to one another is by putting on…

“…as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Colossians 3:12-17

All of this is why we should not neglect…

“…to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:25

We are forming the community, and the community is forming us.

October 10: Set List + Liturgy

• THIS IS AMAZING GRACE

Call To Worship: To all who are weary and need rest

To all who mourn and long for comfort

To all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares

To all who fail and desire strength

To all who sin and need a Savior

This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of

His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the

Friend of sinners, welcome.

[10th Presbyterian Call to Worship]

My theology tells me that you are not here by mistake, my accident, or by fate. You are here because God has purposed it to be so. The One who spoke the universe into existence is speaking now through His Word, through His Spirit among His people. And we gather to listen to His voice, and to respond. Let’s listen and respond together:

• HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US

Scripture tells us that it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. But confession and repentance are not always things we do well as followers of Jesus. But if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, the starting point for confession and repentance for you is not guilt, or shame, or condemnation. The starting point is the deep love of God. Let’s since this next song as a prayer of confession, a prayer of repentance, a prayer of dependence, while remembering that the starting point is always the deep love of God.

• LORD, I NEED YOU

Sermon: Ephesians 4:11-16

Martin Luther said God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does. I think the same is true with our spiritual gifts. God does not need us to accomplish what He purposes in His Church and in His world. But He gifts us to participate with Him in the work of co-laboring to build up and mature His Body. We look to Christ the One who condescended, took on flesh to ransom us. We serve in response to the way God in Christ has first served us.

• COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

• BE THOU MY VISION

Benediction: Ephesians 3:20-21

The Corporate Gathering As Counter-Formation

Nashville has a lot of churches. I once heard someone describe churches in Nashville like gas stations: one on every corner. And truthfully, this description is not inaccurate. When my wife and I were getting ready to move to Nashville we had a few churches that we wanted to visit. Before we moved, I spent time watching set lists and sermons from the church we ultimately called home. I remember being impressed that this particular church had a number of gifted worship leaders on staff and quickly had arranged them in order of my personal preference. But something interesting happened as we began attending the church. My ordered list of worship leaders inverted.

I think this is because what I read as ‘slow’ or ‘bland’ online, I saw clearly as loving and pastoral in person. Matt Smethurst speaks to this reality when he said, ‘In a world forming us to be addicted to spectacle, healthy corporate worship will often feel simple and slow. That isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of countercultural strength.’ Although our home church in Nashville was by no means a loops and lasers kind of production, my mindset was the same: impress me.

Whether you are currently leading and serving in an environment that is simple and stripped back, or with high production value, we do ourselves and our congregations a disservice when we think ’spectacle’ rather than ‘slow.’ Spectacle is more concerned with week-to-week execution, slow is more concerned with spiritual formation. Spectacle short-sightedly asks the question ‘what is the best thing for this moment?’ Slow asks the question, what do we need to do now to form our people over the next twelve months, five years, fifty years?

The culture forms individuality, the corporate gathering should form a people.

The culture forms personal preference, the corporate gathering should form those who consider other more highly than self.

The culture forms personal authority, the corporate gathering should form people who surrender their own will, die to self, and follow Christ.

The culture forms a view of personal assets, the corporate gathering should form people who know all we have is gift and grace, entrusted by God, stewarded by us, and ultimately belongs to Him.

The culture forms people to think first of self, the corporate gathering should form people who first seek to serve.

The currents of culture are strong. But the Gospel is stronger. How can we as worship leaders ensure that the way we lead is counter-formational?

The Corporate Gathering As Spiritual Formation

Every church on the planet has wrestled through more than a year of COVID restrictions, shutdowns, and online church. Our world has changed, and continues to change. As churches and leaders continue to navigate what ministry looks in 2021 and beyond, questioning the purpose of the corporate gathering should continue to shape the decisions we make, as well as the way we lead and serve the people of God. If we can safely and comfortably consume all of the spiritual content necessary for the maturity of our faith online, why would we meet in person? But do we believe that attending church is about more than consuming spiritual content?

Scripture certainly seems to think so… When we gather together, God is uniquely present with His people (Ps 22:3, Matt 18:20), we are reminded of the family to which we belong (Eph 2:19, 1 Pet 2:10), we are mutually built up and edified (Eph 2:11-12, Col 3:16), we grow in love for one another as witnesses to a watching world (Eph 4:3, Jn 13:35), we grow in strength for our mission (Eph 3:14-18, Matt 28:19-20), and so much more. All of this points to the reality that the corporate gathering is not as much about consuming spiritual content as it is about being formed spiritually - discipling the people of God. We are not just singing songs, not just hearing sermons, not just chatting with friends, we are slowly being formed as a people again and again, over and over, week after week, year after year.

Everything is formative (James K.A. Smith, lays out this idea beautifully in ‘You Are What You Love’). Part of being human is being formed and shaped in subtle and significant ways by an endless array of relationships, history, work, free time, social media, news, and our culture. Standing in contrast to the currents of cultural formation is the corporate worship gathering. In the corporate worship gathering we are re-formed, reoriented, as we recenter the entirety of our lives around the person and work of Christ. In the gathering we are being reminded of who Jesus is, what He has done, who we are, and who He has called us to be. We are being invited to behold Him once again, and to live in response to Him by laying down our lives as we are sent out on mission to love and serve Christ and His world.

As worship leaders, pastors, and church leaders we must see the corporate gathering as one of the most essential components of spiritually forming God’s people in their mission, in their understanding of the Scriptures, in their theological development, and in the cultivation of affections and desires for Christ. This is not a work that we can undertake alone, the deep, long-lasting spiritual formation of God’s people is only possible by the empowering work of His Spirit. But if we are to see our corporate gatherings spiritual form a malformed people, we must see a bigger vision, and be patient as we partner in the long, slow, deep work of discipleship.

Songs As Prayers

Our songs are doing more than filling space before a sermon.

Our songs are forming us, shaping us, giving us language.

Our songs speak to us and speak for us.

Our songs instruct us as little pieces of portable theology.

But our songs are also prayers.

Prayers that say:

‘This is what I believe!’

‘This is what I desire to believe!’

‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!’

Our songs are confessions of sin, and professions of faith.

Our songs remind us of who we are, and who God has always been.

As worship leaders we must choose songs with wisdom and discernment.

As congregations we must sing out - not mumble - these prayer songs.

We must sing our prayers like we believe they are true.

We must sing our prayers like we are trying to believe they are true.

‘The one who sings, prays twice.’ - Augustine

Prayer In The Corporate Gathering

Prayer is important for the individual believer as well as in the corporate gathering of a body of believers. But I have often experienced prayer during the church gatherings in two extremes: beautifully poetic, staggeringly long pastoral prayers, and casual transitions. There may be a time and place for each of these kinds of prayers, but if we are serious about discipling our people, we need to consider how to lead and incorporate prayer more intentionally than:

Dead space? Prayer!

Transitioning between elements in the gathering? Prayer!

Changing a CAPO? Prayer!

Not sure what to do or say next? Prayer!

While there are many types of prayer, when thinking about the corporate gathering, I consider two primary categories for prayer: individual and corporate. How are we making space for both individual prayer - encouraging people to speak and listen to God personally, and directly as one member of the Body? And how are we using prayers to unite our hearts, profess our faith, and confess our sin together as the Body (corporate prayer)?

Here are some types of individual and corporate prayer that I believe every local expression of the Body of Christ would be well-served to incorporate more frequently:

Prayer of Illumination. A prayer said before the reading and preaching of God’s Word. Inviting the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do, reveal Jesus to us by giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand, hearts to love, and lives to obey.

Prayer of Confession. While taking Communion we may encourage people to examine their hearts and confess their sin (as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11), but are we leading and encouraging people to acknowledge their sin, confess their sin, repent of their sin, and turn from their sin as a regular part of our gathering? I am often personally convicted of how I assume God’s grace and forgiveness, and do not feel actually learn to regularly confess of my sin to the One who stands ready and willing to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer of Lament. We know that the world is not as it should be, but we can be tempted to rush past reality of living in a broken world by saying, ‘But God is making all things new, it will be okay in the end, I should just trust Him…’ All of those things are true, but we can help our people learn to hold the tension of the already and not yet of this life of faith by acknowledging the world’s brokenness while at the same time resting and trusting in God’s good plan.

Praying Scripture. As our church has been in a sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent, each week I have read a handful of verses from a particular Psalm and prayed in response to what I have read. Taking God’s Word and praying it back to him in my own words - my hope is that this makes the connection for people that they too can read God’s Word and pray God’s Word.

Prayers of the Church. Using the Book of Common Prayer, the Valley of Vision, or resources like the Worship Sourcebook can be helpful resources to unite our voices in the room, to the voices of the Church throughout history as we pray corporately, and/or responsively to Truth handed down through the saints of old.

Written Prayers. It can be easy to slip into rhythms and patterns of prayer that say similar things again and again when you are praying extemporaneously. Maybe you could write a prayer specifically for the people you serve to pray with you, aloud, or simply by leaning in to actively participate in prayer as you read or pray.

What kinds of prayers have served your people well in the corporate gathering and beyond?

September 12: Liturgy + Set List

• ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

Call To Worship: To all who are weary and need rest, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares, To all who fail and desire strength, To all who sin and need a Savior, This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners, welcome. [10th Presbyterian Church]

The human heart is one prone to forget. So we mark days that have marked us to remember. One of the reasons the Church globally gathers on Sunday is to remember the day that Jesus rose from the grave. Every Sunday is a mini Resurrection Sunday, a mini Easter celebration remembering that Jesus was dead but now is alive. Yesterday we remembered it has been 20 years since September 11, 2001. A day that has marked us as a people, a nation, and the world in subtle and significant ways. It is good to remember. When we walk through these doors we remember that we live in a broken world and we ourselves are broken. We do not take a break from reality for an hour or so, we carry these remembrances with us and remember a deeper truth, a deeper reality - and that is that Jesus is alive, ruling, and reigning. Seated at the right hand of the Father. The One who created the universe sustains it by the word of His power, there is nothing that has ever happen that has surprised Him, nothing has threatened to topple His rule as King, and there is nothing so broken that He cannot redeem and restore, that He cannot turn for His purpose and plan, for His glory and our good. So we remember that Jesus is alive. We remember September 11th. We remember the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of our sin, and we remember that Jesus is alive, sovereignly ruling, and reigning. Let these songs be songs of remembrance, remembering the heart and character of our Savior and King.

• IS HE WORTHY

• GOODNESS OF GOD

Message: Ephesians 5:25-27

Christ cares and cared enough for His Church to lay down His life for Her - She may be bruised, but She has never been and will never be a lost cause. We are going to sing ‘Jesus Paid It All’ - and I want you to sing this as someone who has sinned, and someone who has been sinned against. And I want you to remember the blood of Jesus is enough to cover the sin you have committed, and it is enough to cover the sin against you. We sing not hoarding forgiveness, because the blood of Christ is not just for me, not just for you, but for His Bride. We sing as the sinner, the sinned against. We sing as the forgiven Bride of Christ.

• JESUS PAID IT ALL

• IN CHRIST ALONE

Shepherding Slides

My first ‘role’ in leading worship was running the transparency slides on a projector as my parents led worship. The church we were attending at the time was small, and this was the first time they had used anything other than a hymnal to display song lyrics. I learned so much during those days about the important role that lyrics play in enabling the people of God to sing and respond together. Thankfully, technology has progressed and churches today have more options at their disposal than a projector and transparency.

That being said, as creative and artistic people, we can often fall into the trap of looking for the latest and greatest - the newest technology, the best font choice, the live video work, the motion graphics, and moving backgrounds, the ‘look’ that is being created by churches we admire. Although I do not think there is anything wrong with appreciating a particular style, the question I want to propose is: how are our lyrics slides and videos screens helping or hindering the people of God to see, read, meditate, sing and respond to God together?

Lyrics need to be visible from multiple areas in the room, for those with great eyesight, and those who may be partially sighted - so the point size of our font is important. Changing the lyrics in enough time for people to begin to read and prepare to sing the next line is crucial - best practice is changing to the next slide on the third-to-last word of the current slide. Keeping phrasing and ideas together in the way they are being sung also helps the congregation follow smooth transitions, rather than feeling like there are stops, starts, and breaks that do not naturally exist in the song. My personal preference is to include no more than four lines at a time on a slide - this is enough to contain a full thought or idea, but not so much that you can lose track of where you are on the slide as you are singing.

While listening to a Doxology and Theology breakout session with Michael Bleecker, I heard him encourage worship leaders to intentionally ‘clutter our slides’ for the sake of leading and teaching people. He went on to describe how he will often provide brief definitions of words or phrases that are unfamiliar to our people, or Scripture at the bottom of the slides for easy reference.

Over the last five years, I have included Scripture at the bottom of each slide when I lead worship. This is a time-intensive investment early on, but it is both a challenge to my own process of song selection - if I cannot find Scripture that speaks directly or indirectly to what we are singing, we should probably not be singing it in the first place - it has been the thing that people have commented to me time and again about being helpful, encouraging, and heart-focusing during sung worship. Here are a few examples of what that has looked like for me:

How might you use lyrics, and projection to further communicate the truth and beauty of the Gospel? How might you make the most of every opportunity to more deeply disciple the people God has brought to your church?

Rubrics

They same communication is the key to every relationship. The same is true in the relationship between worship leaders and the congregation. I often find many rhythms of our church gatherings are communicated non-verbally, as the congregation grows familiar with the types of patterns that exist in your church. They learn when to stand when to sit when to sing, when to bow their heads, and when to leave. Knowing what to expect is helpful - especially for those new to attending your church, or even those new to faith - but knowing why we are doing something is more helpful. This is the purpose of rubrics.

A detailed description from Brian Chapell’s book ‘Christ-Centered Worship’ is valuable here:

“…rubrics are the little directions that appear in the bulletin or are voiced by the worship leader to lead the congregation through the conduct of worship.  The rubrics are not the major elements of the worship service, but rather are the instructive transitions that tell the congregation what to do and why.  Rubrics verbally tie together key aspects of the worship service, explaining their purpose and sequence in relation to the theme(s) of the entire service.  Skilled use of rubrics helps the worship service to make sense and move along with clarity, purpose, and attitudes appropriate for each element.”  pg 203

When you attend a worship service that feels disconnect or disjointed, there are two possibilities: one, those responsible for planning the service did not have a clear understanding or intention behind assembling the pieces for the gathering. Or two, a worship leader, pastor, or service leader has failed to connect the service for those attending through helpful rubrics.

Bryan Chapell again:

Without rubrics, a worship service is just a spill of spiritual vegetables (we know the individual pieces are good for us, but they have no apparent order or purpose).  With rubrics, a worship service becomes a gospel feast carefully prepared and sequenced to communicate the grace of God.  But this caution is needed: too many rubrics or rubrics that are too long distract from the meal.  They should enrich the courses designed for our spiritual dining, not compete with them.  pg 204

If we as worship leaders are going to begin to engage helpful rubrics for our congregations, we must first understand the why behind everything that we are doing.

Why do we sing?

Why do we pray?

Why do we gather?

Why is God’s Word preached?

Why are we singing this song?

Why are we including this aspect of our gathering?

Why is our service in this order?

Why are we using this reading or saying this prayer?

Why this and not that?

When we ask why, we begin to expose all of the ways we have been forming - or sometimes malforming - our people. When we learn to answer the why with something more significant than ‘this is the way it’s always been done,’ or ‘this is what we do in church,’ we can begin to articulate rubrics for our people in ways that help them move through the ‘courses designed for our spiritual dining…’

The Holy Spirit And Leading

Last week I wrote about listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our preparation. That being attentive to the Holy Spirit and leading spontaneously and speaking, praying, and communicating extemporaneously does not necessarily equate to being led by the Holy Spirit - that we can in fact be led by the Spirit in our preparation. But what about the corporate gathering? What does it look like to be led by the Spirit there?

It still looks like prayer. Union with Christ, communication with the Holy Spirit. Asking Him, seeking Him, inviting Him to do what only He can do - lead people to Jesus, convict people of sin, comfort people in their affliction, transform hearts and lives. For me, I will often leave more space in between verses, or a chorus, or in between songs as I ask the Spirit to speak to me, and I press in to hear Him.

It looks like observation. It can be tempting when we are leading worship to simply close our eyes and get lost in our own private worship world. But we are there to serve people by leading them in song. As you listen to the voice of the Spirit, listen to the voice of the people - watch them, pray for them, let their response or lack thereof shape the way that you communicate and lead. Not so much in a ‘give the people what they want,’ kind of way - but as a shepherd, leading and guiding them to see and respond to the Holy Spirit.

It looks like communication with your team and the congregation. In rehearsal practice and communicate to your team the moments where you may do something different than planned. I heard Charlie Hall one time talk about how preparing for moments of spontaneity with his team was like opening a window - everyone knew where those window moments would be in the song or the setlist, and they would approach together, open the window, see if the Spirit was using that opportunity to lead them in a direction different than they had planned. I have often found it helpful to communicate to the team something along the lines of ‘when we get to this point of the song, I think we will either go here or here…’. Maybe that’s repeating something we have already sung, maybe that is tagging something from another song. But communicating prior to being in the moment so that your band can be aware, and know how you’d like them to respond is important. Likewise, we must communicate with the person running lyrics - having options ready, and preparing them for where things may change, and any kind of verbal cues you may give to help them lead with you rather than trying to catch you. And finally, we must communicate with the congregation. Leading them through, rather than running out ahead and asking them to try and keep up. Verbal cues, inviting them to sing with you, inviting them to lean into the voice of the Spirit together.

We can be Holy Spirit-led in our preparation and in our leadership. But we can be neither if we are not Holy Spirit-led in our daily lives.

The Holy Spirit And Preparation

What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit?

Over the years many of my conversations with worship leaders would lead me to believe that most of us think being led by the Spirit equates to one thing: spontaneity in the corporate gathering. Now, I am not against spontaneity. I have led worship making subtle and significant changes to songs, or the way that I am communicating because of the Spirit’s prompting and leading at that moment. We never want to be so rigid that we tune out the still small voice of the Spirit. But we also need to stop blaming our lack of preparation and intention behind our choices and calling it being led by the Spirit.

I believe that before we can be led by the Spirit in the corporate gathering, we must be led by the Spirit in our preparation. And our preparation should always begin with prayer. Prayerfully reading the text for that service. Spending time reading the Spirit-inspired Word of God. Asking God to speak to you and lead you in your preparation. Pray these three prayers of preparation.

Another way that we can be led by the Spirit in our preparation is by playing through the setlist. Spend time singing to God through the songs that you have been led to select for the gathering. Not just during rehearsal with the team, not just to make sure you know all of the parts, but for you to be able to be present with God and to God as you sing. What does your heart want to say in those moments? What moments of the songs, or movement throughout the setlist do you need to lean into? How can you fill out the songs with Scripture, prayer, silence, or speaking to continue to lead and guide people as you yourself are being led by the Spirit?

Be attentive to the movements of the Spirit in your own walk with the Lord. The more we learn to listen and obey the voice of the Spirit in our daily lives, the more we will be able to identify His voice and leading in the way we prepare to lead and serve His people. Jesus says that His sheep know His voice. We cannot know His voice in our leading if we do not know His voice in our private lives. Cultivate hears to hear, minds to know, hearts to understand, and lives to obey His voice and leading and it will flow into the way that you prepare - in the Spirit - to lead His people.

One True Worship Leader

As musicians responsible for sung corporate worship, we consider ourselves worship leaders. Pastors, preachers, and teachers planning and executing a corporate gathering may also see themselves as worship leaders. As I have shared previously, I believe that every musician, vocalist, sound, and tech person should view themselves as worship leaders. But at the end of the day, there is one person by whom we all must first be led before we lead. And that is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is the true worship leader in our preparation and in our leadership of the people of God.

Yes, we choose songs and scripture, rehearse bands, and plan our transitions, but if we are not first, and continually being led, guided, directed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are just singing songs. And while music is powerful, and people may leave impacted by it, there is no lasting transformation without a Holy Spirit-revealed encounter with the living Christ.

‘When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.’ - John 16:13

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us in all truth.

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us to see and respond to Jesus.

It is the Holy Spirit that will confront and convict us of sin.

And it is the Holy Spirit who comforts His people.

There is one true worship leader in our gathering, and it always has been and always will be the Holy Spirit.