{"id":4478,"date":"2019-02-28T08:42:52","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4478"},"modified":"2019-02-28T08:43:24","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:43:24","slug":"the-pastor-as-worship-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-pastor-as-worship-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pastor as Worship Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever talk to yourself? \u00a0Sure\u00a0you do! That’s how the Psalmist begins\u00a0Psalm 103. He writes, “Bless the Lord, O\u00a0my soul: and all that is within me, bless\u00a0his holy name.” Then, as he brings this\u00a0powerful hymn to its conclusion, he\u00a0invites all creation to join in the celebration.\u00a0The poet is not only eager to\u00a0offer whole-hearted praise, he is eager\u00a0for others to join him.<\/p>\n

The Mandate <\/strong><\/p>\n

After becoming a Christian, C. S. Lewis\u00a0struggled with the issue of worship,\u00a0wondering why the writers of scripture\u00a0so adamantly call for believers to praise\u00a0the Lord. He later concluded:<\/p>\n

“l had not noticed \u2026that just as men\u00a0spontaneously praise whatever they\u00a0value, so they spontaneously urge us to\u00a0join them in praising it; \u2018Isn’t she lovely?\u00a0Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that\u00a0magnificent?’ The Psalmists in telling\u00a0everyone to praise God are doing what\u00a0all men do when they speak of what\u00a0they care about.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Worship, in fact, is not merely commended\u00a0by the Psalmists, it is commanded\u00a0throughout scripture. In his\u00a0book, My Heart’s\u00a0Desire<\/em>, David Jeremiah notes:<\/p>\n

“Worship\u00a0comes as a command, not a suggestion.\u00a0God tells Abraham where to make sacrifice\u00a0and what the sacrifice should be.\u00a0Worship comes not as the fruit of our\u00a0impulse, felt need, or creativity; it is the\u00a0specific command of God. Worship is\u00a0God’s idea.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Misconception <\/strong><\/p>\n

If worship is commended and commanded,\u00a0and if it is the supreme expression\u00a0of our values, how is it that this highest\u00a0of human activities has become so\u00a0meaningless in most churches? In his\u00a0book, Jubilate<\/em>, Donald Hustad writes:<\/p>\n

“We\u00a0cannot escape the probability that acts of\u00a0Christian worship are not meaningful to\u00a0most Americans in our day. This is demonstrated\u00a0by the fact that the majority of\u00a0people never participate in worship from\u00a0week to week, and also by…the criticism\u00a0of worship practices with which we are\u00a0frequently confronted.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The truth is, we suffer from a profound misconception of what worship\u00a0really is; most people go to church for\u00a0what they get from attending. But worship\u00a0is not about getting; it’s about giving.<\/p>\n

Worship is our unified, celebrative\u00a0response of thanksgiving to God for His\u00a0creative and redemptive acts in Christ\u00a0Jesus our Lord.\u00a0 Worship is giving, giving\u00a0honor and respect and praise to God.\u00a0That is why we gather on Sunday as\u00a0believers. We do not gather to give\u00a0respect to the preacher or those in\u00a0music ministry we gather to give honor\u00a0to the Lord.\u00a0 The message and music are\u00a0the stimuli that kindle the passion in\u00a0our hearts for worship.<\/p>\n

In recent years, leading worship in\u00a0the average church has been assigned\u00a0almost solely to those who minister in\u00a0music while pastors distanced themselves\u00a0from any responsibility with regard\u00a0to the spirit of worship. Consequently a\u00a0false dualism has resulted; for the musician,\u00a0worship is about singing; and for\u00a0the pastor it is about preaching.<\/p>\n

This imbalance has resulted in a\u00a0growing infatuation with various musical\u00a0forms and a diminishing interest in\u00a0“thus saith the Word of the Lord,<\/em>” with\u00a0the average believer well versed with\u00a0the sounds of praise but ill-equipped to\u00a0reflect \u201cthe beauty of holiness<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

The Measures <\/strong><\/p>\n

The recovery of biblical worship will\u00a0occur only when pastors become more\u00a0directly involved in developing a spirit\u00a0of sincere worship, both personally and\u00a0collectively. \u00a0In taking more seriously the\u00a0responsibility of leading my congregation\u00a0in worship, I have adopted several\u00a0practical measures.<\/p>\n

First, I remember that I am to worship\u00a0with the body of Christ. I can only\u00a0lead in worship if I myself am thus\u00a0engaged. So, I no longer sit or stand on\u00a0the platform during the prayer and praise\u00a0portion of the service, I stand on the\u00a0front row and experience everything with\u00a0the congregation. This keeps me from\u00a0focusing on who is or isn’t there and what\u00a0is or isn’t going on around me. I do not\u00a0review my notes while a song is being\u00a0sung or the offering collected. That is\u00a0extremely discourteous and distracting\u00a0to the musicians, and hinders me from\u00a0worshiping with them as they sing.<\/p>\n

While singing with the congregation,\u00a0I sometimes close my eyes and imagine\u00a0that I’m standing before the Great God\u00a0Himself, believing I am offering my song\u00a0of praise directly to Him. I’m not a hand\u00a0raiser as such, and do not attempt to\u00a0cultivate that with my folks. However, l\u00a0do believe we are too self-conscious\u00a0when engaged in public worship, and it\u00a0might do our people good to see some\u00a0physical and emotional expression of\u00a0worship from us.<\/p>\n

Second, I remain involved in planning\u00a0the worship event. I meet weekly\u00a0with the staff to discuss worship philosophy\u00a0forms and specifics.\u00a0 We work hard\u00a0at keeping things fresh and alive. We utilize\u00a0recent technological advances\u00a0such as visual and sound enhancement,\u00a0live drama or video clips, power point\u00a0and graphics, while retaining traditional\u00a0elements that offer a sense of continuity\u00a0and history.<\/p>\n

Our goal is not a Broadway style production,\u00a0nor to impress people with our\u00a0professionalism. We are simply attempting to harness emerging technology to\u00a0enhance communication. I keep informed\u00a0and involved, and take seriously the need\u00a0to be biblically and theologically correct.<\/p>\n

Third, l realize that the worship event\u00a0is incomplete without the proclamation\u00a0of the Word. As pastor, l work hard at\u00a0having something substantial to set\u00a0before my congregation. Further, I seek\u00a0to inform, incite, instruct and inspire my\u00a0hearers to worship “in spirit and in\u00a0truth<\/em>.” True worship is more about\u00a0being than doing, and they cannot possibly\u00a0do unless they know.<\/p>\n

Our greatest act of worship is submission\u00a0to God’s will and Word. I see\u00a0the preaching of the Word, not as disconnected\u00a0or separated from worship,\u00a0but as the core of what we do in worship.\u00a0I do not see the music as preliminary\u00a0and preaching as primary or the opposite.\u00a0The music ministry and the preaching\u00a0ministry are not in competition, but\u00a0converge to lead our hearts to a deepening\u00a0intimacy with God.<\/p>\n

Most important, l resolve to keep my\u00a0public worship real by cultivating my\u00a0relationship with the Lord through private\u00a0worship. “No man becomes suddenly\u00a0different from his cherished habits,\u201d and\u00a0no one, no matter how experienced, can\u00a0offer true worship without the reality of\u00a0a heart after God. Leading worship corporately\u00a0begins in solitude.lt is in being\u00a0alone with God, ultimately that the\u00a0degree of our worship is measured.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact\u00a0<\/em>magazine, September 2003.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Randy Sawyer Ever talk to yourself? \u00a0Sure\u00a0you do! That’s how the Psalmist begins\u00a0Psalm 103. He writes, “Bless the Lord, O\u00a0my soul: and all that is within me, bless\u00a0his holy name.” Then, as he brings this\u00a0powerful hymn to its conclusion, he\u00a0invites all creation to join in the celebration.\u00a0The poet is not only eager to\u00a0offer whole-hearted praise, he is eager\u00a0for others to join him. The Mandate After becoming a Christian, C. S. Lewis\u00a0struggled with the issue of worship,\u00a0wondering why the writers of scripture\u00a0so adamantly call for believers to praise\u00a0the Lord. He later concluded: “l had not noticed \u2026that just as men\u00a0spontaneously praise whatever they\u00a0value, so they spontaneously urge us to\u00a0join them in praising it; \u2018Isn’t she lovely?\u00a0Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that\u00a0magnificent?’ The Psalmists in telling\u00a0everyone to praise God are doing what\u00a0all men do when they speak of what\u00a0they care about.” Worship, in fact, is not merely commended\u00a0by the Psalmists, it is commanded\u00a0throughout scripture. In his\u00a0book, My Heart’s\u00a0Desire, David Jeremiah notes: “Worship\u00a0comes as a command, not a suggestion.\u00a0God tells Abraham where to make sacrifice\u00a0and what the sacrifice should be.\u00a0Worship comes not as the fruit of our\u00a0impulse, felt need, or creativity; it is the\u00a0specific command of God. Worship is\u00a0God’s idea.\u201d The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4478"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4480,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4478\/revisions\/4480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}