Values and Principles of Worship, revisited

There’s actually more to what we did, and what I believe, than what I put in that last post.  I’ve incorporated those ideas further into this outline, and rearranged some of the old ideas as well. Expanded thoughts are below the cut.

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.

Three Principles For Worship:

  1. Worship should be truthful. (Rom 11:33-36, Ex 20:16)
    • Songs should be doctrinally and biblically sound.
    • Lyrical content should be valued over form, but with neither being devalued.
  2. Worship should be God-centered. (Col 3:17, Ps. 95:6, Rev 5:12)
    • Focus of songs should be on God.
      1. Songs should be unique to God’s character
      2. Songs should not focus on the singer or his response – they should be the response.
    • Songs should not be overly controversial, as only the Gospel should be a stumbling block.
  3. Worship should be a personal experience. (various Psalms)
    • Worshippers should feel comfortable to express worship in their own way.
      1. Worship leaders should allow for differing levels of physical response to worship.
    • Worship leaders should strive to provide a worship environment free of distraction.
      1. Songs should be familiar, or made familiar, to the worshippers.
      2. Musical style should be relevant and familiar to the worshippers.
      3. The leaders should be skilled in the role in which they serve.
      4. Worship leaders should not “perform” – it is not a concert.

Continue reading Values and Principles of Worship, revisited

Values and Principles of Worship

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:

  1. Worship should be God-centered. (Col 3:17, Ps. 95:6, Rev 5:12)
    1. Focus of songs should be on God.
  2. Worship should be truthful. (Rom 11:33-36, Ex 20:16)
    1. Songs should be doctrinally and biblically sound.
    2. Content should be valued over form, though neither can be devalued.
      1. We should avoid seeing a certain style as “better” than others.
      2. Song lyrics and content should be valued above the song’s musicality.
  3. Worship should be a personal experience. (various Psalms)
    1. Worshippers should feel comfortable to express worship in their own way.
    2. Songs should not be overly controversial, as only the Gospel should be a stumbling block.
  4. Worship leaders should strive to provide a worship environment free of distraction.
    1. Songs should be familiar, or made familiar, to the worshippers.
    2. The leaders should be skilled in the role in which they serve.
    3. 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.

Bible Study: Acts 1-2

The question: in Acts 1-2, what are the apostles feeling and fearing now that Jesus is gone? How do they react?  This is a long one, so I’ve hidden some of it behind a “more” tag.

The initial reaction to Christ’s resurrection seems to be that the political victory they have desired has now come (1:6) but instead they are told that the political power was not yet coming (1:7) – instead, they would receive the Holy Spirit and become the witnesses of Christ to the world (1:8).   We can see that m any of Christ’s followers, while seeing him as a teacher, also saw him as their (potential) political and military leader as well, expecting him to restore Israel to its former power and glory, expelling Rome and its armies, and freeing the nation.

For many then, this must have come as a huge disappointment, perhaps disillusioning them to the other teachings of Christ. And so the initial fallout starts – first with the political zealots who saw Christ as a purely political leader. Those who remained at this point had to shift their focus away from all of that onto the spiritual implications of what they were told. They were to receive power, this Holy Spirit, and they would use this power to bear witness of his deeds and words to the world. Of note is that Christ immediately covers all ground here – he starts with Jerusalem and Judea, the provinces near where he was, where many of his followers had been or came from. He starts by saying in your own houses and neighborhoods, then goes to Samaria – geographically close, but culturally very different – and then adds “and to the end of the earth.”

He has just taken these people out of their comfort zones. He’s said that the power they now have will take them to places they’ve never been, to places they don’t want to go, but would still be there and working even in their own homes.  This would have different effects on different people, and thus I suspect that the apostles and his other followers all reacted differently to the news. Someone like Thomas was probably trying to process what it meant, what he would have to do, while Peter was thinking of where he would go. But what’s interesting here is that the first thing they do after hearing this news is not to talk about it, or immediately go act on it – instead, they return to the place where they have been staying, about a mile away, near Jerusalem, and the remaining apostles (along with about a hundred other Christ followers) meet in an upper room and elect a new apostle.

Continue reading Bible Study: Acts 1-2

Random thoughts

So Rachel just jumped up another 3 notches in my book. Apparently she’s become a fan of Battlestar Galactica just a few short weeks after I did. I seriously am hooked on that show.

Broke out Civiliaztion II again, played a couple rounds, forgot how fun that game can be. Now if only I can find my Civilization 3 disc… or maybe I’ll just spring for Chronicles…

And in the Reiser trial, Hans Reiser was found guilty of first degree murder.  I’m still thinking too many things don’t fit for this to be as cut-and-dry as it seems, but, the jury seems to think he did it. Hopefully his kids end up okay.

Bright spots

The Suns looked and played like champions tonight. Can they come back from a 0-3 start? It’s unlikely, but a guy can dream, right? Shaq, Bell, and Diaw all played  world-class basketball. It was fun to watch.

Been listening to a lot of different music lately, stuff that I haven’t listened to in a while. It’s been kind of a pick-me-up, just hearing some of that old, familiar music. Jars of Clay, David Crowder, Jennifer Knapp. Also on the more high-energy side, Sonata Arctica, Machinae Supremacy. Anyway, its good to keep variety in your playlist.

Also, I got to talk to Heathir for the first time in… a while. It was good getting to talk to her again, I’ve missed her.

I’ll hopefully be posting a new study in the next day or two, after I get to talk to Brian. It’s been a kind of busy couple days, and I’m fighting off an irritating cold, so I haven’t been writing much. See you all soon.