All posts tagged Church

What Is Worship Music Anyway?

By | March 16, 2011 | Music | 1 Comment
guitar

Worship in The Bible

When you look at “worship” in the Bible it is often used in the context of servanthood, admiration, actually falling down in front of something or probably most commonly sacrificing something…(as in Romans 12:1).

However we have a whole category called “worship music.” What is that anyway??

For example Psalms is probably the most “musical” book of the Bible (if for no other reason than that it is the longest and partially written by David). When you look at the word “worship” you see things such as:

Psalm 48:9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.

Psalm 95:6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker,

Psalm 96:8 Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship him.

Psalm 138:2 I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.

There are a FEW verses that mention singing in the same verse as worship, but those usually add in praise as follows:

Psalm 66:4 Everything on earth will worship you; they will SING your praises, shouting your name in glorious songs.”

Psalm 100:2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.

So singing can obviously be an aspect of worship, but worship is not defined by singing and singing is not defined by worship.

Contrast the above verse with the mentions of “praise:”

Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever.

Psalm 7:17 I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalms 33:1-3 1 Let the godly sing with joy to the Lord, for it is fitting to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre; make music for him on the ten-stringed harp. 3 Sing new songs of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy

Psalm 40:3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the Lord.

I could go on and on, but I won’t bore you with that, you can check out the rest on your own…or just read Psalm 150!

Anyhow, as a result of these thoughts some folks thing I am “radical” and I tend to feel like a misfit as a “worship” pastor…because I lead the music. I mean, c’mon…it MUST be worship…because there is a whole industry CALLED worship music, right?? 😉;-)

So am I supposed to “lead people in worship?” Or am I helping them to praise? Is there such a thing as worship music? Does any of this distinction even matter??

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How to Lay the Foundation for Natural Church Growth

By | January 4, 2011 | Church Growth | No comments
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Article by Anthony Obey

Natural church growth is defined as the continuous arrival of new members in which they are neither forced nor persuaded to become part of it. Willingness is a key term in this phenomenon since natural church growth happens when people see that they will benefit from the church membership. It is every congregation’s dream to have a natural church growth. But the problem is that it does not happen to every person’s church. Nor does it happen overnight.

Natural church growth is a product of continually enriching the spiritual lives of the current members and these members in turn share their spiritual blessings with their friends and family without the motive of recruiting them. In order to do so, here are some tips on how to foster natural church growth.

Do not just satisfy your members.

Inspire them!

Meeting the expectations of you members (i.e. spiritual nourishment every church day) will keep your current members but it will not make your church grow. Without motivating your church members to seek more members, it is next to impossible to attract more people.

Natural church growth only happens when church members are so inspired of what they are currently experiencing in their churches that they begin to share it with everyone they know.

Create lasting relationships with all guests

Church members can’t expect that they guests they bring in will actually become part of the church. Then again, the fact that they are “guests” means that they should be regarded with utmost courtesy and hospitality. As a guest, they have the option to either accept your invitation to become part of the church or to totally ignore it after their initial visit. A major factor in their decision is how they were treated during their initial visit to the church.

Were they treated as if they were already part of the family or did they feel like there is a wall that separates them from the church members? Were they introduced to other people or were they left alone in their seats during fellowship? Think about this and apply it to the guests you will invite to come over for a visit.

Encourage members to reach out to other people

Do not make it a task, rather an optional undertaking that they may do on the side. These two things are way different from each other. On the one side, if you make it a task of each member then they will feel compelled to invite guests and be with them during church activities. They retain the mindset that they have to do it because they were asked to do so. On the other hand, if it is voluntary then the members who will be bringing their guests will do the same but without feeling as if they were forced to do so. Natural church growth is the best things that could ever happen to a church. Strive to make it happen to your church, too. Using this guide and other tips for church growth, discover more ways of inspiring your members and other people who come to your church.