Vertical vs. Horizontal Church

I want to share with you an excerpt from an article written by James MacDonald that succintly describes the importance of the vertical concept in church ministry and the importance and priority of worship.  Our Senior Pastor read this in staff meeting and I was almost on shouting ground.  Please read Ephesians 3: 17-21 as background.

"The other day I had on my desk 30 recent books written about the church of Jesus Christ. One word describes them all:  Horizontal. Pretty covers, catchy titles—one theme. They are filled with practical counsel: How to understand your audience, how to impact the people around you, how to influence them, how to win them, how to assimilate them; what they need, what they want, what we think, what they think. And yet, most of them are based on a fatal flaw: They have reduced the Church of Jesus Christ to a man-centered, human-needs-driven, manipulate-able organization—a horizontal thing.

Here's a word you need to have at the forefront of your thinking: vertical.  Somehow we've lost this in the church. We’ve replaced the Biblical idea of the church with the idea that the church is supposed to be about the horizontal—about us.

Before the purpose of the Church was ever soteriological (about salvation), it was doxological (about praise). Ephesians 3:20 says: "To Him be glory in the Church through Jesus Christ now and forever more." Everything we do has to resound with the fame of the name of God's Son. When that happens, everything else falls into place.  Evangelism, discipleship, community impact, ministries of compassion, these things are by-products of a church that is passionately consumed with the glory of God. Vertical is a powerful concept that you need to have at the forefront of your thinking about the work of the Church of Jesus Christ.

The best reasons to be fully engaged in your church won’t be found by looking around, but by looking up! We begin obeying Christ by applying the great commandment to love God—the summary of the vertical relationship (see Mark 12:28-31). When we’ve got that clear, we can tackle the loving neighbor, horizontal thing. Let’s keep the two commands clear and in proper sequence! That’s vertical church. Look up!"  Amen, Let's look up!!! mjm

Concentric Circles of Worship

What happens when you drop a pebble or stone into water?  You have concentric circles moving out from the place of the stone.  Watching the hurricane for two days I guess made me think about concentric circles as we have watched on TV the concentric circles around the eye of the hurricane.  

In a very real and tangible way, there are concentric circles of spirit and Spirit moving out from the eye of our personal and public worship.  Or, moving out from the place of the "stone" (chief cornerstone) of our worship.

I am afraid we don't stop and think about the fact that the way we authentically worship our Lord affects those around us both in our private lives and in our public worship.  For years I have experienced some ridicule or been made fun of by children or teenagers or, quite frankly, adults who just don't get worship.  Because of God's Word and my own personal experience with Him, I can not worship without full blown passion coming out.  And, I think sometimes because we are misunderstood we tend to hold back our true worship.  

We must remember who worship is for.  It is for Him; not for those around us.  Now, should we do things with decency and order as Scripture commands?  Of course.  But I always come back to Psalm 40, which basically says that those of the world who don't understand fully yet, need to see me worshipping Him in the midst of the messiness of life.  Then, they will see and put their trust in Him!  Whose worship are you influencing with the natural concentric circles of worship surrounding your life???  mjm  

Longing for God's Presence

In thinking along these lines, I remembered the old Dick Baker song I used to  sing, "Longing for Jesus".  If you could ask God for anything at all, what would it be?  There would probably be a lot of different answers to that question.  

In Exodus 33:7-23 we find Moses meeting with God and he is given the opportunity to ask God for anything he might want.  Interestingly, Moses didn't ask for anything material.  It seemed Moses' desire ran much deeper, something on a higher plane, something beyond even himself, something spiritual and eternal.  We find in this passage Moses had two basic requests:  "Show me Your way," and "Show me Your glory."  In v. 13, "Now therefore, if I have found favor in Your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight." And then in v. 18, "Moses said, 'Please show me your glory'."  This tells us a lot about the heart of Moses.  Jesus said, "for the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart" (Matt.12:34).  These two requests poured out of Moses' heart because this passion and desire was stored up in his heart.  

We also see in those passages the "why" of Moses' requesting those two things.  "That I may know You" and "that I may find grace or favor in Your sight."  That "know" carries the meaning of, "progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You" and "perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly that I may find favor in Your sight."  Can you imagine just for a minute how worship would be in our churches if every worship leader, that is worship leading choirs, worship teams, etc., and every worshipper had that same kind of longing and passionate desire?  Can you even begin to imagine what our worship would be like when the people of God gathered?  May we come to such a longing and desire as this.  And may we then see God make Himself known among us!   mjm

Steve Lentz - A Tribute and Memoriam

One of our worship leading choir members went home to be with the Lord yesterday afternoon.  Steve believed he was separated out to serve as a worship leader.  He took it very seriously.  He was quiet, but he was always there.

In the twenty-fifth chapter of I Chronicles we find insights into the philosophy and musical practice of the Chief Levite musicians.  "Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, psalteries and cymbals . . . the number of them who were trained in singing to the Lord, all who were skillful, was 288."

Notice that the decree was that the musicians be separated out for service.  They were separated to serve.  Each was a workman who ministered according to his talent and ability to serve.  The Hebrew word naba translates "prophesy" in the KJV and means "to speak or sing by inspiration".  The same word is used by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  They sang and played under the influence of Jehovah.  They were not merely performers; they were ministering servants.  They were making music for God and for His glory.  It was God's music performed by God's  set apart musicians.  They were the presenters of God's message through music.  That is serious business.  God obviously takes it serious.  Because of that, Steve Lentz took it very seriously.

In fact, Steve would plan out of town trips around Worship Choir rehearsals, and leading worship with the choir on Sundays.  Many times he did this.  He was faithful to his calling.  He didn't consider himself a volunteer, but one who was called.  O Lord, give me a choir-full with that heart.

We will miss his spirit among us and his example for us, and yet his legacy lives on.  Thank you, Lord, for giving us Steve Lentz to minister along side for these few years.

Sunday Comes Every Seven Days

Every seven days we as worship leaders and worshipping prayer warriors get to see the gathering of all of God's people - young people, older people, saints, seekers, and worshippers.  There would be some who come for fellowship and maybe others who walk through the doors with heavy burdens too deep to share.  They come hoping that something in the worship will help them or minister to them.  Many of them don't know that all they need is Him! 

Every Sunday holds the potential of its being someone's big day in their spiritual journey.  It may be music, prayer time, or sermon that God uses to speak to them.  Our worship both as worship leaders and in the pews is sometimes used to draw others into an experience with Him.  We must never take that lightly.  We need to prepare and pray that God the Spirit will be loosed in their lives and accomplish His will.  

I dare you to pray for those un-named persons who will need a touch from God this Lord's Day as you gather to worship.  Many times we get to see God work His work and His miracles in the lives of those who come.  We should look forward to it, anticipate it, expect it when we gather every seven days.  What a blessing to be a part, through worship leading or praying, so that others can also experience Him.  

By the way, are you experiencing Him in both your personal-private worship and in the gathering of God's people every seven days?  If you are not, it would be difficult to help others and pray for others.  Our own personal devotional, worship life must be kept humming if we want to be a blessing to others.  mjm 

Christ Alive - Implications for Worship

It is a fact that Jesus is alive and that He continues His story in the worship of the church.  

Because He is alive, His manifest presence is in our worship.  We don't just come together on our own.  We don't gather to worship a memory or a "dead" statue. When we gather as the church, we celebrate a living Presence among us.  We don't have to fulfill some formula or create something on our own in order to be rewarded by His presence.  He is Lord of our worship and Master of all, gathering together His own and orchestrating their praise to the Lord God.  

In some ways, our singing is more His than ours.  We can confidently take our place as worshipers among our brothers and sisters in Christ with joy unspeakable and confidence that Jesus, the chief worship leader, has already taken His place.  

In the manifest presence of Christ we can have a sense of awe and a sense of relaxation at the same time.  Since He is in control rather than us, there is the potential for us to "rest" in Him.  We can be disciplined and free at the same time in our worship.  And, because  Jesus lives, we can overcome.  Living in a world that can overwhelm us with its pain, songs of victory in the resurrected Christ make us more alive in our inner person and give us a constant spirit of thankful, victorious praise.  That will certainly set our hearts and minds in a good place for both our personal and corporate worship.  mjm  

A New Journey into His Presence

Praise the Lord!  Our Worship Leading Choir began a new year and a new journey into His presence tonight with fourteen new folks by our sides.  What a blessing!  

The journey to Emmaus found in Luke 24 gives us insight to our journey into worship. Please read the story in Luke. There are worship scholars who say this passage gives great insight to early Christian worship in which God's presence is manifest.  The Emmaus Story is a pattern for our experience of God's presence.

Step one in our journey into God's presence is when we are on the way, much like entering His gates with thanksgiving.  We prepare as we come together in God's presence. There is that preparation thing about worship again.  And we gather with thanksgiving and praise.

Step two of our journey into God's presence continues as we hear the Word of God in our hearts through the singing and preaching of the principles of God's Word.

Step three of our journey continues  as we remember and rehearse our salvation and relationship with Christ through a more intensive and intimate experience of responding to God's Word and presence through worship around the Word, and/or worship around the communion table.  It is the remembering in a way that grows us in knowing Him in a more intimate relationship and communion.

Step four of our journey continues as we go out, joyfully telling others of what Christ has done and living only to serve the resurrected Lord and King!

The Emmaus Journey is our journey into His presence.  Both our personal and public worship is a journey into the very presence of God. May we grow in that awareness.  mjm

Thoughts from the Previous Two Blogs

Too many times we come to corporate worship unprepared to worship.  We haven't taken time to pray in such a way that we come to worship with two things from the "outer court".  We should pray sufficiently to where we are able to come with an attitude of gratitude - with thanksgiving.  And, we should have prayed in such a way that we come with a great expectation of encountering the living God together as a congregation.  Do we really want to presume to speak directly to God when we are not really prepared to be in His presence?  

And then as we enter the "throne room" of the presence of God, singing and speaking words for Him alone, we should be careful as to not distract other worshippers.  Once we have acknowledged each other's presence, then we need to come boldly into His presence and focus on Him through prayer, music, and the Word.

May we grow in our mind-set and understanding that worship is not for us, it is for Him.  May we always come expecting a "God-encounter."  If we don't encounter the living God, drawing into His manifest presence in a way that glorifies Him and changes us, it is not worship as God designed it to be.  May we be faithful to pray for this for all of the First Family.  mjm

O.T. Tabernacle/Temple Model of Worship

Psalm 100 and the Old Testament tabernacle/temple worship model give us the following thoughts:

Enter . . . His Gates with Thanksgiving.  We should always come to worship with a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude for all of God's provision and faithfulness.  An attitude of gratitude should precede our worship.

Enter . . . His Courts with Praise.  As we move into the inner court of worship we have come with thanksgiving and now enter into praise.  We glorify, bless, magnify, acclaim and honor Him.  We see that praise creates an atmosphere for the presence of the Lord (Ps. 22:3).

Enter . . . His Worship with Adoration.  By the blood of the lamb, we are able to enter into His Worship expressing our love relationship with God.  Entering the Holy of Holies, in His Holy presence we now worship Him intimately, setting our minds on the things above.  He reveals His truth, will and purpose for our lives as our full focus is on Him.

Enter . . . His World in Obedience.  After the sacrifice of praise and worship has been made and God has revealed Himself, as in the Old Testament, the priest would offer a challenge within a blessing or benediction.  We move into the outer court and into the world to reveal to others all He has revealed to us; living out our faith in ministry to others.  

This is the basis of our theme as a worship-leading choir at First Baptist Church, Rockwall.   We will focus on this model as we lead worship and minister in His name this coming year.  mjm