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Praise & Worship Trainwreck… Part 1
Try to stay on track...
I’ve led corporate praise and worship, in one forum or another, for 20 years. It doesn’t seem to matter much how simple or complex, how seeker-sensitive or presence-driven, how contemporary or traditional, they all have one thing in common: spectacular trainwrecks.
If we pay attention, these embarrassing implosions will yeild up a treasure trove of valuable insights and applicable conventions to help us dodge the bullet in the future. If we don’t pay attention, we can count on a desasterous repeat… sometimes again and again and again.
Having learned this lesson the hard way… I pay attention. Still, there are new lessons to be learned. This week:
I started leading worship for a small group, meeting in a family home. The setting is informal, simple and presence-driven. I generally practice at home on a small, hollow-body electric guitar (out of respect to the neighbors since I live in an apartment), then play my acoustic guitar at the actual meeting. I also play with really light picks (think: a piece of paper in the shape of a guitar pick) and decided that I needed the extra volume that a heavier pick would afford… so I switched out my picks.
I don’t really consider myself a guitar player… I picked it up without any lessons when I was in my late-20′s. So, while many guys my age have been playing guitar for 30 years, I’ve only got about 8. And since my primary purpose in learning was to facilitate small-group praise and worship, I really just chord along and play rhythms. Good enough for what I do… but not outstanding.
Begin knowing that our group leader tends to be warm and our hosts tend to be cold… so an oscilating fan was brought in to bridge the gap. ..
Whoosh… all of my carefully laid-out charts went sailing into the corner behind the couch.
Of course, as any guitar player will tell you, switching to a heavier pick is not the cakewalk that we novices would suppose. I had to continually adjust my grip on the pick to keep it in my hand… dropped it once.
All of this was exacerbated by the fact that I was trying to transpose 2 songs by sight…
And for the coup de gras, my darling little daughter, age 3, decided that the best place for her was right behind me on the couch… dancing, squealing, licking my head (not joking) and finally jumping down. In the last maneuver, she grabbed the neck of my guitar to swing down and knocked all 6 strings out of tune…
All in all, not my most brilliant moment.
After it was over, Paul, who leads our group, said to me, “Let’s get together on Friday… bring your guitar.”
Looks like I’m finally going to get guitar lessons….
Small Group Worship
I don’t want to seem like a snob but I really think that small groups miss a tremendous opportunity to deepen the spiritual life of their community if they neglect to worship together…
The thing that should seperate our “community” groups from the kind of gatherings that happen at pubs or ballfields is the invited presence of God…
Now, don’t misunderstand me on this point: God is everywhere. He’s at the ballfield when coworkers gather to play co-ed softball. He’s at the pub when buddies congregate to watch the big game…
But there are a few circumstances where the Bible describes a different kind of presence… a special sort of manifestation. Two of these special circumstances come immediately to mind:
When believers get together. We see this in Jesus’ own words in Matt 18:
For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.
I can’t think of a better way to describe our efforts to build community through small groups than this… coming together in Jesus’ name. Whether our primary purpose is fellowship, Bible study, prayer or outreach… Jesus blesses us with his presence when we gather in his name.
The other special allowance of God’s presence is in worship… We know that God is enthroned upon the praises of his people… He reigns there… Rules there. When Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, he indicated that it was both present now and coming soon. I believe that the present Kingdom comes when God’s people worship. Check this out:
In the Old Testament, there are two “locations” described as God’s throne: the mercy seat (between the cherubim on top of the Ark of the Covenant) and in heaven. The only people with access to God’s presence were the Chief Priest and the angels. In fact, Isaiah 66 puts it this way:
“Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.”
Remember the stigma surrounding feet in middle eastern cultures, a footstool (even a kings footstool) is a pretty ignoble furnishing… much less impressive than a throne for sure…
But in our praise and worship, God makes a throne upon the earth as well… He dwells here and is present in a way that was previously only possible in heaven… Where, incidentally, he is surrounded by worship and praise of the angels. In worship, we literally build a throne on earth for God to sit upon… a temple for his presence to dwell in…
My wife and I moved to Colorado in 2007, consumating a 12-year odyssey that began in southeast Texas and dragged us through Detroit and Dallas. We wanted to be here near the mountains, in the beauty of God’s creation. We were never as comfortable anywhere else. When we came to Colorado, it was as if our hearts had come home.
I imagine that it’s like that for God… when he is praised, he comes home. Like the fresh mountain air, praise surrounds him and in that atmosphere, he settles in and begins to move in ways that only he can.
Don’t you think that’s worth a little effort on our part?
Worship On Purpose
The idea of “purpose-driven” Christianity has gotten a lot of attention in recent years… In some churches, the administration of every program asks “why are we doing this?” at weekly staff meetings. But even in the midst of all of our collective navel-gazing, I wonder if we haven’t overlooked the very heart of the question… especially when it comes to the reasons and expressions of worship.
I wonder if we’re asking the right questions…
What forms of artistic expression can be used to worship and minister? Are the limitations biblical, cultural or just negligent?
What is the purpose of an artistic gift? How are these abilities different from our spiritual gifts? How are the two similar?
How can the church encourage artists to maximize the impact of their ministry? Do artistic gifts have a purpose in advancing Christ’s kingdom?
I’ve wanted to create a venue for encouraging these discussions, sharing resources and establishing community…. This is the beginning.
In the weeks ahead, I hope to begin linking this site to resources for biblical artistic worship. If you have resources like original music, drama or photographs, drop me a note so that I can get you added.
As the site develops, look for news, featured artists and ministry helps. If you are an independent artist, band or writer, contact me to be included.
