This is maybe the coolest New Years idea I've ever seen...doesn't hurt that the website and media are totally professional.
If you check it out, make sure that you watch the videos. This is a friend's church in Wilmington, NC...Wilmington has become the Hollywood of the East Coast, so it's no surprise the videos are so good.
I really hope my church can do something like this next year...too cool.
Nate
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Chicken or The Egg?
So, what came first? Will this question ever be answered?
There's a similar question that I see asked all the time among church leaders concerning our time spent together in corporate worship:
Does the Worship prepare us for the Word (very religious term for the "sermon"), or does the Word prepare us for the Worship?
Most Pastors seems to think that the worship (namely the music/song) prepares for the message, and while many worship leaders think the opposite is true, my dealings with others is that most actually agree with their pastor.
My question is, does it really have to be an either/or thing?
What do you think?
Please, take a few minutes to answer the poll below (polls are my new favorite blog toy, if you can't tell), and then explain your answer in the comments.
Thanks!
Nate
There's a similar question that I see asked all the time among church leaders concerning our time spent together in corporate worship:
Does the Worship prepare us for the Word (very religious term for the "sermon"), or does the Word prepare us for the Worship?
Most Pastors seems to think that the worship (namely the music/song) prepares for the message, and while many worship leaders think the opposite is true, my dealings with others is that most actually agree with their pastor.
My question is, does it really have to be an either/or thing?
What do you think?
Please, take a few minutes to answer the poll below (polls are my new favorite blog toy, if you can't tell), and then explain your answer in the comments.
Thanks!
Nate
Friday, February 22, 2008
Worship Fallacies (Part 4)
Here is part of a comment from a member of the OP's church:
"With 10-15 min for worship and 15 -20 min for service I personally hardly feel as if I have ever been given the chance to bask in the glory of my savior."
This is closely related to the first couple of posts (I suggest you read Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 of this discussion), but goes even deeper into the reason why the OP feels that it is OK to usurp his pastor's authority...people are unhappy with the worship time at church on Sunday morning. But, is the unhappiness due to the quality/quantity of the worship time at church, or could it also be related to something else?
Nate
"With 10-15 min for worship and 15 -20 min for service I personally hardly feel as if I have ever been given the chance to bask in the glory of my savior."
This is closely related to the first couple of posts (I suggest you read Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 of this discussion), but goes even deeper into the reason why the OP feels that it is OK to usurp his pastor's authority...people are unhappy with the worship time at church on Sunday morning. But, is the unhappiness due to the quality/quantity of the worship time at church, or could it also be related to something else?
Nate
Worship Fallacies (Part 3)
If you haven't yet, make sure you read Part 1 & Part 2 of this discussion.
Here's some more from the OP:
"I've been leading worship at this particular church as a fill in WL until their regular WL recovers from a surgery. I've only worked with this band for 2-3 weeks... The problem is that this week we have a guest preacher coming in and my pastor wants to scrap out the worship alltogether to give the preacher more time to preach and his wife time to sing a solo song. I've been given 3-5 minutes (maybe). I'm planning to stretch the alloted time out to 10-12 min, give them a full worship experience and face the consequences later (providing we don't get pulled off the stage by the pastor after the first song). We'll face what may come Sunday morning :)"
I've highlighted a few of the parts that really jumped out to me as especially interesting...it's very evident that the OP does not trust his/her pastor's judgment and that he/she is planning on usurping his authority. Do you see any problems with the OP's attitude concerning his/her pastor and his/her role at a worship leader?
Nate
Here's some more from the OP:
"I've been leading worship at this particular church as a fill in WL until their regular WL recovers from a surgery. I've only worked with this band for 2-3 weeks... The problem is that this week we have a guest preacher coming in and my pastor wants to scrap out the worship alltogether to give the preacher more time to preach and his wife time to sing a solo song. I've been given 3-5 minutes (maybe). I'm planning to stretch the alloted time out to 10-12 min, give them a full worship experience and face the consequences later (providing we don't get pulled off the stage by the pastor after the first song). We'll face what may come Sunday morning :)"
I've highlighted a few of the parts that really jumped out to me as especially interesting...it's very evident that the OP does not trust his/her pastor's judgment and that he/she is planning on usurping his authority. Do you see any problems with the OP's attitude concerning his/her pastor and his/her role at a worship leader?
Nate
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Worship Fallacies (Part 2)
Read Part 1 if you haven't yet...
Here's an excerpt from the OP (original poster), who explains that he/she has only been leading worship at this church for two weeks, filling in for the regular worship leader:
"...this week we have a guest preacher coming in and my pastor wants to scrap out the worship alltogether to give the preacher more time to preach and his wife time to sing a solo song. Any other week, i wouldn't care this much, but this time, i feel that these people (who have come up to me in the last 2 weeks affirming this and telling me they've never experienced true worship before) are going to come in hungry for worship. It's so new to them, but they are just so eager and thirsty for God's presense and i can't make myself send them away empty handed when God is going to be there with us wanting to fill and touch them. I'm been given 3-5 minutes (maybe). I'm planning to stretch the alloted time out to 10-12 min, give them a full worship experience and face the consequences later (providing we don't get pulled off the stage by the pastor after the first song)."
I've highlighted a few of the parts that really jumped out to me as especially interesting...there are a few different topics we could discuss based on the above, but let's stick to the highlighted sections for now...
Nate
Here's an excerpt from the OP (original poster), who explains that he/she has only been leading worship at this church for two weeks, filling in for the regular worship leader:
"...this week we have a guest preacher coming in and my pastor wants to scrap out the worship alltogether to give the preacher more time to preach and his wife time to sing a solo song. Any other week, i wouldn't care this much, but this time, i feel that these people (who have come up to me in the last 2 weeks affirming this and telling me they've never experienced true worship before) are going to come in hungry for worship. It's so new to them, but they are just so eager and thirsty for God's presense and i can't make myself send them away empty handed when God is going to be there with us wanting to fill and touch them. I'm been given 3-5 minutes (maybe). I'm planning to stretch the alloted time out to 10-12 min, give them a full worship experience and face the consequences later (providing we don't get pulled off the stage by the pastor after the first song)."
I've highlighted a few of the parts that really jumped out to me as especially interesting...there are a few different topics we could discuss based on the above, but let's stick to the highlighted sections for now...
Nate
Worship Fallacies (Part 1)
There is a very interesting discussion going on at one of the worship leader websites I'm a part of...it is, IMO, a very telling conversation about some of the basic issues that are damaging so many of our churches. I don't think it's so important to know the entire story behind the discussion, but I would love to discuss some of the "worship fallacies" (actually, some of this discussion will probably involve church leadership as well) that have presented themselves in that conversation. I'll break this down into several posts over the next few days so that each point can have it's own discussion...my goal is to neither attack anyone or to debate with anyone but to have a simple, Biblical and practical discussion.
The first issue I identify comes right out of the title of the thread: "worship cut out of the service for preaching and a solo by the preacher's wife"
This is something that I've blogged about a few times here...the misconception that worship = music and music = worship. Worship is far more than music, both on Sunday mornings and during the rest of the week.
How would you either support or refute the above statement? Using practical and Biblical references are highly appreciated.
BTW, if you're coming to this discussion knowing the details of the situation that has inspired this discussion, I'd ask that you please focus on the topic and not the people...thanks!
Nate
The first issue I identify comes right out of the title of the thread: "worship cut out of the service for preaching and a solo by the preacher's wife"
This is something that I've blogged about a few times here...the misconception that worship = music and music = worship. Worship is far more than music, both on Sunday mornings and during the rest of the week.
How would you either support or refute the above statement? Using practical and Biblical references are highly appreciated.
BTW, if you're coming to this discussion knowing the details of the situation that has inspired this discussion, I'd ask that you please focus on the topic and not the people...thanks!
Nate
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Just Checking In
Hey All...just checking in to say thank you for sticking with me through this "worship blogging sabbatical" that I'm taking. I really miss blogging here about church/worship stuffs, almost as much as I miss worshiping with my home church (which I haven't done in nearly 2 months...). I look forward to getting back into the swing of things here, but it may still be a few months away.My wife and daughter are both doing well, but there both still in very critical condition, and we appreciate your prayers more than ever. In a way (and maybe more than ever before), I have been blogging a lot about worship over on My Other Blog as I journal the daily struggles and victories and big and little wonders that God has been blessing us with over the past few months.
For those of you who have followed me over there, Thank You! If you haven't yet checked it out, I encourage you to do so, maybe by starting with This Post. God has seriously been doing some amazing and humbling things.
Anyway, I have an incredibly strong urge to jump back in head first over here, but I know if I do that right now, it would only last for about 30 minutes, and I don't want to disappoint myself (and my 7 loyal readers). So, consider this a simple update to say thank and hi and I hope to be back soon.
Nate
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