Eric Goetsch – Guest Speaker
“A Grace That Is Greater” — Romans 6
Creating A Culture (From Hero Maker)
I have been reading the book “Hero Maker” by Dave Ferguson recently. This book mostly references discipleship; however, the chapter on creating a culture has (what I believe to be) helpful insight surrounding the worship culture of your church as well.
Many of us want to “create a culture of worship” within our church, but we either don’t know what that even means or don’t know how to bring that vision to the people. Here are a few steps that I found helpful:
(These are essentially quotes / references to the book. Parenthesis are my additions) –
Declare it: Creating the culture starts with declaring it. There needs to be a pivotal moment.
(Many of us want to change the culture of our church, but we have yet to make that clear.)
Do it: After you declare it, the next step is to do it. Because many leaders in the church are also teachers, you will be tempted to teach it. Please resist. Before you teach it, you need to do it yourself. Culture is more caught than taught.
(This is 100% the case in our church. We started speaking on what worship actually was – declaring it. We started talking about glorifying God more intentionally… and then we just started thinning out and adding songs that fit that narrative.)
Brand it: Once you declare it and do it, you may be thinking, “Okay now can I teach it?” Please hold off just a little longer. The next step is to brand it.
(In this context, we’d call this “finding your team’s sound… Start to develop what the song service and “worship ministry” looks like in your church’s context.)
Teach it: Now you are ready to teach it. When teaching, be sure to appeal to the heart: what do they need to feel, the head: what do they need to know, and the hands: what do they need to do.
(For more resources on this, reach out.. or see:
https://www.experiencegrace.church/worship-table-blogs/ )
Recognize it: “Catch people doing it right, and celebrate it.”
(Creating a culture means celebrating when you see it. Post pictures or videos of people worshiping on your social media. Encourage your team members who are genuinely engaging. Use the people who are truly *leading* in this way. The people you have leading our creating your culture…. So recognize and utilize the people who are creating the culture you *want*.
Repeat it. The sixth step may be the hardest of them all, and that is to take a look at what you have done to create this culture, and keep repeating it.
Institutionalize it. It’ll be hard to tell when a value has moved from being a good idea to being a part of your DNA…. But as it’s happening, you’ll see it.
In the context of worship, my greatest goal (and measure of success) is when I see and hear our people living lives of worship. When people from our congregation are sharing deep Spiritual thoughts with one another, when they’re praying deep, sincere prayers for God’s glory not just God’s hand, when introverted, quiet people are raising hands in worship…
This will not happen naturally, it will not happen without the work of God’s Spirit, and it will not happen without intentional leadership.
Culture is being created all the time. You as the leader (by God’s grace and in the power of His Spirit, using His Word) get to determine what culture is being created, how it’s being created, and by whom.
So be prayerful. Be intentional. And always be doing it.
“The Day That Changed Everything” – Acts 8:26-38
Good Vs. Godly Parenting
“Living Out Your Faith: In Community” – Col. 4:7-18
WHY BIBLICAL WORSHIP TAKES WORK
If you are like me, you have probably felt both the advantages and disadvantages to the age of information that we are now in. Within seconds, you can find the answer to any question that you have. You can look online and figure out how to do just about anything. You can even get a degree or certification without having to get off the couch. While there are still arguably more pros than cons when it comes to the technologically advanced day and age we live in, it seems that this mentality has found its way into the church – and not always for the better.
Worship leaders are tempted to believe if we read the perfect article, if we adopt the perfect plan, if we train the perfect way… then “worship” can be achieved. If the answer to everything else can be so simple, why can’t leading people in worship be?
Here’s the problem:
Biblical worship is not a goal to achieve. It is a lifestyle to be lived.
A lot of us are looking for the nuts and bolts solution. We’re looking for the quick-fix strategy to get our people to sing out. We’re reading blogs and joining groups for all of the tips and tricks to leading worship effectively. (I understand the irony that you’re reading this on a blog that’s been shared to a Facebook group for worship leaders.)
The problem is not in the pursuit of the practical. The problem is when we make the practical the end-all be all.
Worship is not only practical. It is spiritual.
It cannot just be informational. It is transformational.
Paul said in I Corinthians, “I die to myself daily..” In Galatians 2 he said, “I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live; but Christ lives in me.” In Colossians 3, he says, “You are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Here’s the reality:
Worship takes work, because true worship happens in the undoing of ourselves.
If we are always comfortable, if we are always doing what we want to do, if we are always where we want to be with whom we want to be with, singing the songs we want to sing… then we are the person on the throne, not Jesus. Worship takes work, because true worship means denying myself, taking up my cross and following Jesus. Worship takes work, because true worship means acknowledging the every moment decision to forsake all and live for Christ. Worship takes work, because true worship goes beyond the 15 minute song service and extends into a lifestyle that is completely focused on Jesus.
If it’s any consolation, the people pursuing Jesus 2,000 years ago weren’t so very different from us. They wanted the quick fix. They wanted the easy answer. But Jesus rarely gave it…
To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, “Sell what you have and give to the poor.” To Nicodemus “You must be born again.” To the woman at the well: “Go get your husband” and, “Salvation is of the Jews.” To the Jews in John 8: “You are a slave if you have sinned.” To the would be follower: “Let the dead bury their dead.”
When the disciples in John 5 asked, “What should we do that we do the works of God?”
Jesus said, “This is the work of God: that you believe on Him that sent me.”
In John 9, when the Pharisees questioned, “Are we blind?” Jesus responded, “If you were blind, you’d have no sin.. but now you say we see therefore your sin remains.”
So, while it would be simple and helpful to say, “Sing these songs, and you will have a worshipful church.” “Use these instruments, and your people will raise their hands to give God glory.” … While that would be easy, it wouldn’t be real. It wouldn’t be genuine or sincere, and it wouldn’t be Biblical.
Instead, would we as leaders recognize the weight of what’s been given to us.
May we stop seeing the song service as a destination, and begin seeing it as a vehicle.
May we recognize the work that it takes to truly BE worshippers. And even in that, would we echo what Paul said in Galatians 2:20: “Yet not I, but through Christ in me.”
3 STANDARDS FOR CHOOSING A SONG
“HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT SONG TO SING?” – a worship leader’s biggest question…
Besides, maybe, “How do we get people to show up on time?”
If you’ve been doing this for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard things like:
“I just wish we didn’t sing so many old songs..” “I just wish we didn’t sing so many modern songs..” “I just wish we didn’t sing so many fast songs..” “I just wish we didn’t sing so many slow songs..” And if you’re REALLY good, you’ll get some of these on the same day.
Deciding what songs to sing can be one of the most taxing parts of planning a Sunday service. But don’t give up. It is also one of the most important.
Here are three helpful standards for how to choose what songs your church sings:
1.) IS THIS DOCTRINAL AND THEOLOGICAL?
Matt Boswell said, “The songs of the church determine the theology of the church.”
Paul tells the church at Collosae to, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly… teaching and admonish one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”
This means the song service is one of the primary things God uses to impact the doctrine of the church.
THE SONG SERVICE NOT ONLY REFLECTS THE THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH, BUT IT ALSO DICTATES THE THEOLOGY OF THE CHURCH.
This is why it is so important to not just choose songs that are “not untrue,” but to choose songs that are intentional, thoughtful, and Jesus-centered. If Jesus is not at the center of your worship, your church will never worship the way it was designed to.
Until musical worship is about praising Jesus in Spirit and truth, it will continue to be about location, tradition, and personal preference.
It was upon the declaration of Who Jesus was that He declared He would build His church. He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. It is our theology that unites us. It is our belief in Who God is that brings us together. Our faith in the finished work of Christ is the foundation for all that we call worship; therefore, it should be the foundation of our song service.
Music alone is subjective, and it’s not enough to keep people spiritually engaged.
Only the Gospel will do that.
2.) IS THIS SINGABLE?
Not every song that is good is good for corporate worship. In fact, most songs aren’t.
The goal in the Sunday morning song service is for us to come together and sing songs that bring glory to God. It is for us to join together in one voice and declare to God the truth of Who He is and what He has done. We isolate and alienate some of our people from making a joyful noise when we sing songs that are in difficult keys, that are difficult to follow, or that are simply disengaging or confusing.
By singing simple, singable songs, we give our people a chance to focus into what truly matters: the truth.
We want to do songs that are as simple as possible for as many people as possible- always making the emphasis on the lyrical truth that is being sung. We are not shunning beautiful melodies, intentional musicianship, or skilled artistry. We are simply contextualizing those things and using them as tools to point to the higher prize: glorifying Jesus together in song. In his book Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin calls this subtle excellence.
3.) IS THIS RIGHT FOR OUR PEOPLE?
Not every song that is good is good for your people to sing.
One of the most beautiful things about worship is that it unites people of every culture, creed, tribe, tongue, nation, background, wealth, and age bracket, and it points them all to the person of Jesus. Each one telling a different story in a different way, yet each one telling the same story… “We were enemies of God, yet now He has reconciled us together with Him.”
Diversity is actually a GOOD and NECESSARY thing. God doesn’t want us to all look the same and sound the same. He wants us to celebrate the same message and the same Savior. This means that what we sing in central Illinois may sometimes look or sound different than what is done in southern California or in Africa or in Europe. That’s a good thing.
We believe God is inexhaustible. We believe we could never fully articulate all that He is or all that He does. We could never fully intellectualize the person of God. If we believe this is true, how arrogant and foolish of us to believe that we could box Him into only a few certain songs sung a few certain ways by a few certain people.
Our call is not to find the right songs for every person. Our calling as song leaders is to find songs that are doctrinally and theologically rich, that are singable, and that are right for our people. Ultimately, JESUS is our worship leader. And He’ll do just fine leading the other worship leaders toward what songs to pick, too.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Worship is still, at its core, about spirit and truth.
“We need songs that both stir our affections and inform our minds.”
– Matt Boswell, Doxology and Theology.
The title of this book is so fitting. Doxology AND Theology.
Doxology – A formula of praise to God.
Theology – The study of God.
As we choose songs, let’s remember:
Our church’s doxology will only ever be as strong as our church’s theology.
4 THINGS EVERY WORSHIP LEADER SHOULD GET THIS YEAR
I know what you’re thinking…
“4 things every worship leader should get –
A good drummer… a new set of Worship Pads… A FOG MACHINE..”
A lot of us have probably bought into the myth that there are tangible things that we can get that will take our song services to the next level. While there are tangible and practical ways that we can improve our song services, they cannot ever be and will not ever be the driving force behind our worship.
Jesus said worship is anchored in SPIRIT and TRUTH. This means the main things that we need to improve our worship are not things at all…
Here are 4 things every worship leader should get this year:
1. GET CLARITY.
You will only be as effective as you are clear on your goals.
A lot of us have this idea that we want our Congregational worship to improve, but we’re really not sure what that looks like. We say that we want our team to be better at leading worship, but we don’t have a way to articulate to them what that means.
If you don’t know WHAT success looks like, how will you know when you get there?
Let me burst your bubble now: you never “get there” as a worship leader….
The ultimate source for clarity in the area of worship is SCRIPTURE.
We can talk all we want about what we think God wants worship to look like, but the best thing for us to do is to study together as a team what GOD says worship is. Through this lens, you can practically create a plan for what that looks like in your culture and in your congregation.
2. GET RID OF DISTRACTIONS.
You will never reach your full potential as a leader if you are distracted.
You’ll never even reach your full potential as a person if you are distracted.
This is the busiest, most distracted generation to have ever existed, and the church is not excluded from that. There are a million things grabbing for our attention.
It is not only important but NECESSARY for us to be distraction free when we are planning a set, leading our team, studying Scripture, or taking time in prayer.
Put your phone in a different room. Set it to do not disturb. Turn your notifications off. Hand-write your set list if you have to avoid electronics for this to work.
Create margin and space for yourself to have clarity of thought and spirit.
Once you’ve begun to rid yourself of the obvious distractions, you can pray for God to reveal the more subtle and dangerous distractions. I’d CHALLENGE us all to pray this prayer each morning:
“God, what is it… that isn’t YOU or YOUR SPIRIT or YOUR SON or YOUR TRUTH.. that is fighting for my attention and my affection today?”
In the midst of set lists and solos and specials…
don’t be a leader who sacrifices the best thing at the altar of a good thing.
GOD’S GLORY SEEN THROUGH THE PERSON OF JESUS IS THE BEST THING.
3. GET INTO RHYTHMS.
You will only be as effective as the patterns and rhythms of your daily life.
Let’s be honest: creativity is not something that you just schedule or put on the calendar.
This makes leading worship very difficult, since part of organizing teams and set lists requires us to be at our creative best.
Carey Nieuwhoff says,
“Get into a rhythm that allows you to be at your best when your best is needed.”
Create a habit of saturating your mind with things that spark creativity.
Consume an abundance of Scripture, especially in the morning.
Step away from your desk when necessary.
TAKE TIME OFF AND TRULY BE OFF when you’re not at the office.
God set the example of rhythms in work and rest; how arrogant of us to believe that we do not also need to adhere to similar patterns.
4. GET ACCOUNTABILITY
Whether you are exclusively responsible for organizing your song service and worship teams, or whether you’re just a part of the congregation, we will not be able to truly worship (or lead in worship) without real accountability.
Having someone to bounce ideas off of sharpens our mind.
Having someone to lovingly offer correction sharpens our heart.
Having someone to joyfully encourage us sharpens our spirit.
We love all of our own ideas… But someone once said,
“I’ll never learn anything from something I have to say…”
Get a panel to help you choose songs.
Get a couple friends and study Scripture together.
Schedule monthly check ins with the other people on your worship team.
Whatever you do, just don’t do it alone.
If our greatest calling is to love God and love others, we will never effectively do this on our own. You literally cannot fulfill God’s commands by yourself.
We need each other. If you’re not sure where to start, you can join our community of worship leaders at our Facebook group:
www.facebook.com/groups/worshiptable/
