Preparation

I was listening to a podcast from Willow Creek Community Church. If Bill Hybels is preaching, I always listen. If someone else from their team is preaching, I usually listen. If there's a guest, I sometimes listen. This particular week they had a guest. I was intrigued by Bill's introduction, so I decided to listen to Dr Gary Burge, New Testament professor at Wheaton College. I'm glad I did. No need for me to revisit the sermon here, you can just listen for yourself. But there was one tiny phrase he used that I'd like to unpack: "Preparation shapes celebration."

Interesting, eh?

I thought of how I prepared a celebration recently--for our 25th wedding anniversary. I didn't have much of a budget, but I had some time. So I spent about a month putting it together, probably requiring more than 40 hours of my time. If you know us personally, ask Jackie about it. She'd love to tell the story. For our purposes here, though, I just want to tell you that the length of time, the depth of thought, and the attention to detail in my planning led to an amazing celebration. (Did I mention I had a very, very small budget?)

And I thought of some other celebrations I wish I'd prepared better. A birthday party here, a banquet there. My lack of significant thought, my decision not to dedicate a great deal of time, and my disregard for details is now embarrassing to remember. 

Perhaps you can identify with me?

Then another thought emerged--one of terminology. While I was serving as Pastor of Worship Arts at Memorial Baptist in Frankfort we decided to stop calling our mid-week get-together practice and started calling it preparation. Semantics? I don't think so. Consider the differences.

Practice is about accuracy. Preparation is about attitude.
Practice is about repetition. Preparation is about inspiration.
Practice is about rehearsing. Preparation is about worshiping.

And the more we were able to move from practicing on Wednesday nights to preparing on Wednesday nights, the more our preparation affected our celebration.

Sundays weren't just right, they were dynamic.
Sundays weren't just "tight," they were free.

It made a huge difference.

In other places I've served briefly--without the luxury of shaping the language of a ministry--I have simply encouraged people to practice more than music; practice worshiping... which has helped us prepare better... which has helped us celebrate better.

What do you think? Is your weekly preparation shaping your weekend celebration of Jesus?

Is Testimony really THIS powerful?

I have had two responses to the testimonies I've heard in worship services. Perhaps yours have been the same.

a) Moved. Afftected. Inspired. Often accompanied by tears.
b) Frustrated. Distracted. Bored. Always accompanied by disappointment.

And so, as a worship designer, I have been reticent to include testimonies unless I heard them ahead of time and, if at all possible, they were on video. I can imagine how controlling and arrogant that sounds. Inasmuch as it is, I confess to you and repent.

There have been two passages of scripture that have challenged me in recent days, and which make me think maybe I (we?) should reconsider how and how often we use some sort of testimony in our worship celebrations.

First, in John 12 some folks are crashing a dinner party in Bethany because Jesus is there. No surprise, right? I imagine that was a fairly normal thing, which explains why Jesus often "withdrew" to get alone with His Father. The surprise came for me in verse 9: "Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead."

People came to see Jesus, sure, but they also came to see Lazarus... to hear the story. Can't you hear them? "Dude, what was it like to be dead, then alive?"

And honestly, isn't that was everyone's testimony is? It is sharing what it was like to be dead, then alive! If not a testimony of salvation--from spiritual death to abundant life--than in any particular part of our journey where Jesus has rescued us from our dead lives and raised us to new life. And if people would come to hear Lazarus point them to Jesus, perhaps they would come to hear those in our churches point them to Jesus too.

There's another passage that I first noticed when digging into the worship song "Overcome." It's in Revelation 12, verse 11. Oh my. The word "and" here is just astounding to me!
   They triumphed over [the accuser]
       by the blood of the Lamb
       and by the word of their testimony;
   they did not love their lives so much
       as to shrink from death.

Really? The blood of the Lamb is surely all we need for salvation. But triumph came through the blood of Jesus AND the words of testimony. Holy cow.

Powerful, isn't it?

So I have a renewed desire to dig til I find testimonies, to find ways to use them, and to watch for how God will use those words...for triumph, for making much of Jesus.

How about you? Are there some specific ways you include testimonies in your worship gatherings?

A Major Regret

I'm about halfway through my ministry career--Lord willin' and the creek don't rise.

Looking back, I have only a few regrets. Some are too personal to share in this medium. Some are too common to even mention. But there's one I'd really like to pass along.

Too many of the services I've planned (must be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500 by now) have not had Jesus as the primary, over-arching, meta-narrative.

Shoot, I've even planned services about communion that weren't enough about Jesus. 

He is what makes all the difference, you know. It is the power of Jesus that breaks the power of addiction. It is the power of Jesus that rescues marriages. It is the power of Jesus that gives hope to the hopeless. It is the power of Jesus that saves.

So if you are in charge of, or part of planning the worship gatherings at your church, please consider every service to have two themes--whatever the sermon is about and Jesus. If the sermon is about Jesus, even better. But please don't plan so thematically that the theme seems like a bigger deal than Jesus. Nothing is. And if it looks that way to the worshiper, you've just fashioned a new-fangled golden calf.

This first really struck me when I was part of planning worship for a long season when my team had no clue what the sermon would be about. We just decided it would be a great time to sing about Jesus.

It has been ramped up over the last couple of years as I've sought to "make much of Jesus" in more and more ways--in conversation, in writing, in private personal times, and in planning/leading worship.

And the more I make much of Jesus, the more I'm convinced both the object and the subject of our worship should be our Triune God.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, Ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Here's a newer song (not all that new, by today's standards--written in 2007) that does a great job of making much of Jesus. If you're not in a super-contemporary worship context you might consider introducing it:


Jesus Saves

Hear the heart of heaven beating
Jesus saves Jesus saves
And the hush of mercy breathing
Jesus saves Jesus saves
Hear the host of angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
And the sounding joy repeating
Jesus saves

See the humblest hearts adore Him
Jesus saves Jesus saves
And the wisest bow before Him
Jesus saves Jesus saves
See the sky alive with praise
Melting darkness in its blaze
There is light forevermore in
Jesus saves

Freedom's calling chains are falling

Hope is dawning bright and true

Day is breaking night is quaking

God is making all things new

Jesus saves

He will live our sorrow sharing
Jesus saves Jesus saves
He will die our burden bearing
Jesus saves Jesus saves
It is done will shout the cross
Christ has paid redemption's cost
While the empty tomb's declaring
Jesus saves

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Jesus saves Jesus saves
Are the saints who shout together
Jesus saves Jesus saves
Rising up so vast and strong
Lifting up salvation's song
The redeemed will sing forever
Jesus saves

CCLI Song # 5059278
David Moffitt | Travis Cottrell
© 2007 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
First Hand Revelation Music (Admin. by The Loving Company) (Admin. by The Loving Company)

Heaven on Earth?

We all long for it. We all look forward to it. Most of us plan on being a part of it.

But is there anything we can do to make it happen now?

To be more blunt, when we pray “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” do we really mean it?

My pastor had been teaching us about heaven for several weeks. One of the things that I learned—and that I’d never really considered before—is that in many ways life in eternal heaven will be like it is now. We will work, but without distress. We will be in whole, intimate relationships with people, and we will worship perfectly.

N. T. Wright commented, "The great multitude in Revelation which no man can number aren't playing cricket. They are worshipping. sounds boring? If so, it shows how impoverished our idea of worship has become."

Back to this world... take a minute to imagine a life lived according to Romans 12:1 worship where you “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”

I’m learning heaven will be the fulfillment of that verse. Because of God’s mercy, those whom Christ knows will offer our whole self (body, mind, spirit) as 24/7 sacrifices. We really will be holy. We really will be pleasing to God. And our whole lives will be worship.

Of course we’ll gather for worship too, joining the eternal song of the angels. 

Can you fathom it? After a period of time working with people we love deeply, and with whom there is absolutely no impedance to those relationships, we will gather around the Lamb of God—in His perfect, personal presence—and without boundary between us and Him, we’ll sing, knowing for the first time how deeply true these words are:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Lord God, Almighty

So what can we do now to make our temporary home more like our eternal one?

Integrate faith and life.

Completely.

Worried about work? Live out your Master’s teaching in the workplace.

Kids driving you crazy? Apply the teachings of Jesus about following Him.

Afraid of what the doctor will say? Be filled with the love of Christ; it casts out fear.

Internal insecurities? Relentlessly pursue an understanding of what it means to be God’s masterpiece, made in His image.

Scared at school? Live like you are on the winning side. You are.

Home. School. Work. Health. Eternity. 

Integrate your faith into them all. 

After all, we might as well be as heavenly oriented as we can. It is only a matter of time.

Should worship be more than music/preaching?

Psalm 145:1-4 reads:

I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever. 

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another;

they will tell of your mighty acts.

Interesting, isn’t it, how many of the songs Jesus sang don’t mention singing? 

One of the greatest challenges of our day is contained in this same Psalm: “One generation will commend your works to another.” I'm convinced one answer to this challenge, generationally, is to broaden the elements of our worship services to include more than just music and preaching. The task of the older generation is to “commend” or we might say “communicate” the magnificence of God and His works to the next generation.

Consider how parents talk to children, how older folks talk with younger folks. We choose our vocabulary and our gestures—indeed all of the tools of effective communication—so the younger generation can grasp what we long to teach them.

In our day 4-5 generations gather to worship at the same time and in the same place. We must ask: are our “older” generations using every means of communication possible to make sure our “younger” generations receive the life-changing truths of God and His works? 

One of the most exciting ways to do this is to use creative means of communication: stage décor, storytelling, video production, drama, dance, lighting, etc.

Regardless of the size of the congregation, more and more folks are using creative teams to develop and implement these resources.

How will you use all of the senses God instilled in His creation to declare His greatness? How will you develop a team of servants—whether paid or unpaid—to glorify God and edify His people?

If your church would like some help with this, my Worship Coach consulting ministry might be able to serve you. Shoot me an email (RodEEllis@aol.com) or call/text me at 502.229.0114.

Help for the musically divided church

I know many, many churches have moved beyond the "worship wars" concerning stylses of music. Hallelujah!

But I also know there are tens of thousands of churches trying to walk the line of a blend that keeps everybody happy. I'm not criticizing that choice, and I am not endorsing that choice. I simply want to offer 5 tips for how to make the "line" less divisive.

1) Choose worship music from an attitude of service and submission. If you are hearing folks request either specific titles or general styles of songs that they want to be part of their worship gatherings, use them. It doesn't have to be the next Sunday, but find a way to include those songs/styles. If you are hearing about "good old hymns" then look for a repackaged version. I just found one (Nothing But the Blood - III) that really connected where I'm leading right now. Check it out here.

2) Point people to Jesus and the words instead of to sounds and styles. One of my mentors used to introduce new and old songs with the phrase "great set of words." I've adopted his approach often. If the song is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" you can say it is a "great set of words" about one of the most comforting truths that runs throughout the scriptures. Or if the song is "One Thing Remains" you can say it is a "great set of words" about one of the most comforting truths that runs throughout the scriptures. While different segments of your congregation might connect with the sounds and styles of those two songs, everyone can connect with the Biblical truth of God's faithfulness.

3) Use up-to-date sounds with old-time songs. In addition to the sample I gave you in #1 above, I have a whole list of repackaged hymns on my website. There are lots of styles of repackaging--from Passion to Vineyard to Hillsong to LIfeway to contemporary Christian artists. (and more) Find the styles/sounds that resonate with most of your folks.

4) Experiment with new music. Try using contemporary songs from different streams of contemporary music. Broaden the variety of new songs. If you've only introduced Chris Tomlin (which would be understandable!) add some others to the mix. Look to sources like KLove, PraiseCharts, and SongSelect for a sampling that crosses some of those style lines.

5) Focus on spiritual formation between Sundays. The more conversations you can have about the Biblical reasons for the choices you're making, the more people can buy into a vision based on God's word than into their (our) own preferences. If you don't have biblical reasons for the choices you're making, perhaps it's time to visit that before attempting anything else on this list. If you'd like some help thinking through those dynamics, it would be my honor to partner with you through Worship Coach consulting.

What about you? Do you have other suggestions to share?

Songs You Might Want to Check Out

I am not whole-sale suggesting you use these songs. But if you are curious about which songs you might want to introduce in this post-Easter season, check these out. Many of you are probably using half of these already. 

10,000 Reasons - Matt Redman

Come to the River - Rhett Walker Band

Crown Him (Majesty) - Chris Tomlin

Great I Am - New Life Church

Lord I Need You - Matt Maher w/ Audrey Assad

One Thing Remains - Chris Tomlin

Overcome - Jeremy Camp

Stronger - Hillsong 

Whom Shall I Fear - Chris Tomlin

Your Great Name - Natalie Grant

Any you'd add to the list from the last few months in your church?