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Worship and Church Health
WORSHIP AND CHURCH HEALTH The worship service is the most important event in the local church, and the engine that drives all programming. Church health depends on what happens in that experience. If the worship service is deteriorating, growth in other ministries will be temporal and marginal. When all is said and done, dynamic worship services produce dynamic churches. Yet dynamic worship is not merely a church growth factor. Worship is the reason for the existence of the church. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10). Evangelism is "gossiping the gospel" to our families, friends, and neighbors. This boasting in the Lord is what worship is all about. We declare through the arts, symbol, and language what the Lord has done for us. Some people say that we should praise God for who he is, not because of what he can do for us. But this is an unfortunate distinction. We only know who God is because of what he has created and redeemed, in essence, what he has done. With this consideration, the local church is one of the best places for evangelism. This is where we proclaim Jesus Christ as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. — Kevin J. Navarro, THE COMPLETE WORSHIP LEADER. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001, p. 13. ISBN 0-8010-9116-0 [NOTE: This selection could easily be misunderstood. The author is NOT saying that singing is more important than preaching, or that a slick stage performance on Sunday morning is what drives the local church toward success in other ministries. Rather, he suggests that our proper understanding of and response to the God of creation and redemption will inform and fuel everything else we do as the local church. The author notes that the effective worship leader must be prepared in four main areas: theology, discipleship, artistry, and leadership.] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu |