Passing it On

There was a song we sang when I was a teenager by Kurt Kaiser called - Pass it On.  I think from all the Bible has to say about "generation to generation" we need to give serious thought to the importance of doing just that.  As we come off of Memorial Day celebrations, we need to remember and pass on that our ultimate freedom comes from Jesus Christ when He is allowed to come in to our hearts as Lord and Savior and give us freedom from sin's hold on our lives. We must remember that He is central to our worship.  Then, as Americans we have also been given the gift of freedom by our founders, who based our nation's founding principles on God's Word and guidance, another thing we must pass on from generation to generation.  And, of course not forgetting those who have given their lives so that we can continue to be free.  I found a writing that inspired me to think about "generation to generation" and I ended up completely re-writing it and adapting it to this particular time of remembering:

Generation to Generation

In a country which becomes a nation,
one hands down and another takes up
the heritage of mind and heart,
the legacy of faith, God, and country
left by those who have gone before
that we honor here at this place today.
Let us be faithful to build memories in our children,
of faith, God, and country lest they allow treasures to be lost
because they have not been given the keys.
We live, not by things, but by the meaning of things.
It is needful to transmit these passwords
from generation to generation.  (adapted, revised words from Antoine de Saint-Exupery by Michael J. Manley)

Building Up the Body When We Gather

When we gather for worship it is different than when we are in our private worship time.  Just the fact that we gather together for corporate worship indicates that in the midst of our worship, edification (the building up of the Body) takes place.  In fact, encouraging one another in the building up of the body is actually God working in our midst.  Prayer, Praise, and Proclamation should be done in such a way as to build up the Body.

When we gather together we encounter Christ in one another, meeting the Lord and engaging Him in worship.  Our work of worship must be seen as spiritual worship described in Romans 12: 1 and 2, which embraces the whole of life. 

We should not gather for worship as a means to an end - such as preparation for worship and witness in everyday life.  It should be about the wider worship of the congregation continuously repeating and rehearsing total self-surrender as a believer in our daily walk, our lives. When we minister to one another in love in the Body, we are seeing the Spirit's transforming power at work -  demonstrated right in front of us, which is an important way of worshipping and glorifying God.  The unbeliever in our midst actually potentially sees this also.

We should never separate the vertical and the horizontal in our worship when the church gathers.  We don't look at prayer and singing praise as the worship time and the teaching-preaching as the edification time. Paul's teaching encourages us to view all activities as both vertical and horizontal.  Ultimately, it all is for the glory of God!  mjm

Remembering and Worship

As we approach the Memorial Day holiday I am reminded of the importance of remembering those who went before us and blazed a trail of righteousness and freedom; both those who gave of themselves in the military and those Christian Soldiers who have been faithful in showing us, who are still here, the way of righteousness.

The word "remember" comes up in Scripture many times.  Of course having to do with worship first and foremost is Ex 20:8 - "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy."  It was important that a day be set aside purposely for Him.  And, there are many other "remembers" in the Word:

Remember My covenant - We are a covenant people and that should very much affect our worship.

Remember the Words of the Lord Jesus - "His words at home in our hearts" again affecting our worship.

Remember all His Works - Our worship should be a re-telling, rehearsal, a remembering all that He has                          done for us as we worship Him.

Remember His Commands - Worship can never  be separated from obedience.  

Remember your own evil ways, your iniquity - God wants us humble and always confessed up.  Confession is an important part of our worship, sometimes neglected in the evangelical church.

Remember Your mercy, O Lord - Thank the Lord we see that often and experience it as we confess.

Remember the poor - Our worship must move us beyond ourselves and beyond the walls of the church to minister to those in need, or it is likely not authentic worship.

There are many more "remembers", but I am going to stop with this last one.  In I Cor. 11:24 we see that remembering is so important that our Lord Jesus gives the church an ordinance, The Lord's Table, so that we will remember what He did and re-tell it in our worship.  He says, "Do this in remembrance of me."  We have much to remember and in remembering . . . much to be thankful for this Memorial Day.  mjm

At Home in our Hearts

Singing "Make my Heart Your Home" today reminded me again of the importance of that concept in both our personal-private worship and our corporate-body worship.  If there were such a thing as a worship meter, it would definitely show on the meter as to how much we were "letting Him be at home in our hearts."  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, . . . teaching and singing . . with thankfulness . . . to God." (Col. 3:16)  The Amplified Bible says,  . . ."have its home in your hearts and minds".  The New Living translation . . . "fill your lives".  The Message says,  . . . "have the run of the house.  Give it plenty of room in your lives."  For the sake of our worship life which is a precursor and preparation for eternal worship with the Father, we need to take an honest look and be honest with ourselves as to how much at home in our hearts we are allowing Him to be.

Our corporate worship is directly affected by our private worship.  It is not about a "style" of worship or a "style" of music, or a particular Preacher or Worship Leader.  Worship is about allowing Him to be at home in our hearts that He has the run of the house.  What is that - an obedient heart.  We can not have worship separate and apart from an obedient heart.  May we seek with all that we are to make Him completely at home in our hearts in complete obedience.  If we do, whoa and wow, what worship we will experience together in His presence!  mjm

Music Styles in Worship

Very carefully do I tread into this subject, because it is the hot button subject when it comes to worship.  Unfortunately, it's more than an actual style of worship which has caused the most division in the church. It is more about personal preferences in music style.

First, let me state a premise I believe from my own study and experience not only here in USA, but overseas as a music missionary, dealing with cultural differences.  The premise is that culture should not necessarily inform our music as a church, but we must be sensitive to engaging the culture with the music of the church.  There is a difference in the way we approach this according to that premise. 

Just as God is no respecter of persons or cultures, so He is no respecter of music styles.  He does not love Bach over a Zimbabwean song or Indian song or traditional hymn over contemporary praise and worship.  

Harold Best says, "It is only a secular or paganized culture that chooses to divide people on the basis of their artistic preferences and choices.  It is a spiritually connected culture that takes cultural differences, works through the tensions that they may create, and comes to the blessed condition of mixing and reconciling them and of stewarding their increase and growth."  

If we say, "Not my style, not my cup of tea", are we really saying, "Not my kind of people"?  This is anti-biblical and goes against the teaching of the function of the Body of Christ in the church.  Is there music that is inappropriate for worship?  Of course.  But, it is because some particular music is bad, poorly composed or has bad connotations, rather being a particular style.  We serve a creative and diverse Creator.  He will base His judgement on faith or its absence or whether our worship is authentic or inauthentic worship.  He looks on the heart and as the Word says, "He has put a song in our hearts and on our lips".  May we sing it with all that we are for His glory - no matter what style it is.  mjm

I (We) Need Thee

The beginning of both private - personal daily worship and regular corporate (body of Christ) worship is our acknowledgement of our need of the Lord.  As seen in Isaiah 6 as in many other places in scripture, we see that when we truly see God objectively, we can not help but bow before Him admitting our deep need for redemption and the living of the redeemed life in Him.

We need to agree with Him about our need for salvation in Christ Jesus with a daily giving thanks for His redeeming grace being a part of our consistent worship.

But, we make the mistake of stopping there.  It must go beyond that with the realization that it is impossible for us to live out the Christ-following life apart from His resurrection power at work in us.  It is only in his power and by his grace that we are able to live the days and moments of our lives.  We don't live in our own power anymore than we would have salvation apart from Him.  Our worship is initiated by Him and the beginning of our part of worship is responding by saying in effect, "Lord, I need you."  "I am nothing without you."  "I am a man of unclean lips" in great need of a Savior and Sustainer.  And, praise the Lord, HE IS FAITHFUL!!!  I love how Psalm 5:3 sets the table for our daily worship - "O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch." (ESV)  "In the morning You hear my voice, O Lord; in the morning I prepare [a prayer, a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for you to speak to my heart]. (AMP) "Every morning you'll hear me at it again.  Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend." (MSG)  Let's be sure we begin every day with Him.  Because, that and that alone is what will ignite our worship as the Body of Christ when we gather to gather for the purpose of giving glory to Him in our worship together.  mjm

A Worship-Driven Church?

One of the greatest theologians and authorities on worship of the 20th into the 21st century is Robert Webber.  He did much to biblically inform worship as we move into the postmodern world and culture.

He indicated that the church would be a worship-driven church in response to biblical principle and postmodern culture.  There would be a great concern for Biblical truth.  A respect and connection to the history of the whole church would be more important.  And at the same time, there would be obligation to contemporary context.  There are several propositions that are understood in the worship-driven church that make it viable and relevant in a postmodern world.

First and foremost, worship is the primary work of the church and is a worshipping community.  The mission of the church in evangelism, missions, social action - all the work of the church - is a natural outgrowth of its worship.

Second, the worship-driven church notes that worship and truth are one and the same.  Worship must be scripturally driven with the Word read, sung, preached, and reflected upon in worship.  Worship must be biblical and not just need-driven.  "In worship the Father is praised, the redeeming work of God the Son is thankfully remembered, the Spirit is invoked to gather us, instruct us, touch us, and heal us." (R. Webber)

Third, the worship-driven church admits that worship hands down truth from generation to generation.  We are connected to some 2000 years of history with brothers and sisters in Christ from whom we learn.  We are like a tree with many branches all sharing the same trunk and roots.

Fourth, the worship-driven church experiences transformation of life in worship.  It is God's action and our response with our lips and work of praise by living transformed lives that become a witness to God's saving grace experienced in worship.

We are saints before God who find our identity in worship where God's great mission of salvation for the whole world is proclaimed and enacted to God's glory!  mjm

A New Day for Worship

During the last 40 years Praise and Worship has moved from the fringes to the main stream in church worship.  It won't be replaced, but as we enter the post-modern period of history there are signs that other movements are coming and they look hopeful.  Many changes have taken place in worship in these last years, but it appears that even deeper and possibly more important changes are to come. These past "modern" years valued knowledge.  Indications are that the "post-modern" era values experience.  The modern era promotes individualism, but the post-modern era promotes community. Modernity values observation while post-modern values participation.  Text versus image, and logic versus story.  

This change in culture has the potential of driving us to a more authentic worship expression that is for the whole body of Christ being much more intergenerational in nature.  Leonard Sweet uses the acronym EPIC to describe post-modern worship: Experiential, Participatory, Image-driven, and Connected.  

This can potentially be good news for the church.  The post-modern worshipper seeks an experience of God, participates wholeheartedly, and sees great value in the community of believers.

As far as worship, this opens new doors for intergenerational worship experience by the body and also opens an opportunity to use all kinds of music, traditional, modern, classic, folk, global, new, old, local, and foreign.  We will be able to experience high art and folk expressions side by side.  Many different, meaningful combinations can be used to deepen the worship experience of the Body.  Glory!