Purpose Statement:
Worship is form of expression and communication to God from believers. It is therefore personal and individualized while remaining solidly truthful and pleasing to God.
Four Principles For Worship:
- Worship should be God-centered. (Col 3:17, Ps. 95:6, Rev 5:12)
- Focus of songs should be on God.
- Worship should be truthful. (Rom 11:33-36, Ex 20:16)
- Songs should be doctrinally and biblically sound.
- Content should be valued over form, though neither can be devalued.
- We should avoid seeing a certain style as “better” than others.
- Song lyrics and content should be valued above the song’s musicality.
- Worship should be a personal experience. (various Psalms)
- Worshippers should feel comfortable to express worship in their own way.
- Songs should not be overly controversial, as only the Gospel should be a stumbling block.
- Worship leaders should strive to provide a worship environment free of distraction.
- Songs should be familiar, or made familiar, to the worshippers.
- The leaders should be skilled in the role in which they serve.
- Musical style should be relevant and familiar to the worshippers.
I wrote this three years ago, as a guideline for our worship team at my old church. I think it’s a rather concise statement of my beliefs on the nature of corporate worship. I thought I’d post it here as an example of what I believe on the subject, as well as to get feedback.
These guidelines certainly won’t shrink your congregation.
(Only half-joking: all candidates for megachurches I have ever attended have been *very* careful to implement points #1, #3, and #4. #2 is also important, but is arguably the subject of most legitimate denominational splits.)