Here’s yesterday’s radio spot I did with Monk and Boone on WSTS 100.9 FM. We deal with the connection between the spiritual condition of the songwriter/artist and the songs they sing/write. I wrote about it previously at the blog here.
Archive for the ‘Questions’ Category
Tuesdays With Tom–October 2, 2012
On October - 3 - 2012
I’m Ready To Reform But My Pastor Isn’t
On June - 7 - 2012
What the????
I received this question a while back:
I’m a Music Minister and I find that I’m wanting to implement reforms that I believe are biblical but my pastor doesn’t agree. How do I deal with his unwillingness to make biblical changes?
I know some of you may not have the privilege that I have of serving where the purest form of the Gospel is preached. Maybe you’re in a church that preaches something far less than the true Gospel. Maybe you have many of your congregants who have never been born again. You can’t make those folks worshipers of God. Therein lies much of the problem with the typical church and the “Music Wars” that occur. When you’ve got a congregation that is by and large unregenerate (not born again), their focus is totally on things that the Bible says are unimportant. With that being said, it is still the job of a Music Minister to be an extension of the heart of the Senior Pastor. In so doing, he should do the church music the way the pastor would want it done if he (the Senior Pastor) actually was the Music Minister
I must also say that for the Music Minister to be more concerned with being truth-driven and biblical than the Senior Pastor is actually quite rare. But since it seems we actually have that situation here, what should be the approach? Maybe these suggestions can help:
Communicate. Talk to your Pastor about theological concerns. Chances are he lives for this kind of stuff! I’ve never met a pastor yet that doesn’t love to discuss truth and its implications and applications to the local church. Ask questions. Read a great book together. If you don’t talk about it, it will only fester and create a wedge in your relationship.
Calculate. Make sure that you don’t go off in a direction that would be too fast or too radical for the church to assimilate. ANY change should be loving, gradual, tender, and careful. We are not about playing games with God’s property. The only quick, radical changes that should be made are those that the leadership wholeheartedly requests or endorses. It may be that your pastor’s reluctance on making changes is because you’re trying to move too quickly. Patience may be the only thing needed.
Coordinate. If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. Make sure to have a long-range plan for what you believe the services should look like one year, two years, five years, etc., down the road from now. Of course, make sure you do not surprise your Pastor with any of it on a Sunday service. He’s still God’s sovereignly chosen leader for your church. When David honored Saul’s authority, it didn’t happen because of convenience. Saul was literally trying to kill him!
Consecrate. Make sure that your testimony is as pure as possible. There’s nothing more disheartening than to see a minister exhorting the church to hold to truth and then live a loose, undisciplined life. The temptation to harden your heart or becoming embittered towards your pastor must be overcome as well. There is no better way to justify the Gospel that we preach and sing than to back it up with a life saturated with holiness granted only by the matchless grace of Christ!
Consider (ate). It may be the Lord’s way of telling you that He’s getting ready to move you if the leadership of the church is more concerned with numbers and cultural relevancy than with biblical worship. I’ve always believed in trying to stick out a situation as long as possible and therefore allow the Lord to teach me things that I would not learn in leaving. However, there are core truths and principles that no true Minister of God (Music, Youth, Senior Pastor, or any other ministerial position) should compromise on whatsoever. Just make sure to be humble and broken and servant-minded no matter how conflicting the situation gets. Always take the high road.
14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Heb 12:14-17 NASU
Functional Formality
On March - 20 - 2012
I received this question a while back and thought it was well-worth answering here:
What does formality lend to our reverence if anything at all?
This question was asked in context of a blog entry in which I was explaining that formality and reverence are NOT synonymous. Unfortunately many do equate formality and reverence as one and the same.
Terminology is important. Today’s church services are increasingly associated with terminology that might be as familiar to spiritism and mysticism as to the Bible. It is not uncommon to hear worshipers speak of being “ushered into God’s Presence” and “flow” and “atmosphere”. However, the goal of a church service is to remind the congregation that they have already been ushered into God’s Presence through the work of Jesus. It is to remind the congregation that the function of the service is to revel in the fact that God has come to us and that we need not “do” anything to get to Him relationally. (Now, if worshipers understand the difference between justification and sanctification biblically then they may be more correct in the use of those terms—another blog entry?)
Position is important. How then can one explain a service that seems docile at the beginning but eventually swells into a crescendo of powerful expression of worship? Isn’t that God “falling” on the congregation in response to the people’s calling out on God? Isn’t that a “moving of the Spirit”? I believe it to be more biblically accurate to think of those wonderful times of corporate worship as simply a congregation engaging its affections gospel-ward. It would be better to think of a congregation focusing its heart and mind on God instead of a mystical action happening to them to get them to that point. Paul is clear in 1 Cor. that worship is not mindless but that it is with the mind engaged. Rather than speaking in terms of God responding to our initiation, we should remember that a congregation is responding to God’s initial action.
That’s where formality enters the equation. A church service must be intentionally structured so that a congregation will be led to repent out of all the distractions that compete for its attention. It is important to remember that the formal structures used are invented by God Himself through His word. Not just any formal structures are permissible. Only those prescribed in scripture. God does remain “sovereignly silent” to a point, but the principles guiding those structures are in place (sounds like yet another good blog entry, huh?). Formality is the means. Reverence is the end (in the context of this discussion—remember, the glory of God is truly the “End”).
Reverence is important. With that being said, formality doesn’t guarantee reverence. After all formal structures are in place and every attempt biblically has been made to guide a congregation to engage its “mind” towards the gospel of Jesus, a humble, faith-filled intercession to God for His Spirit to attend His Word (spoken and sung) must be made. As God is the “Alpha and Omega” of our faith, so He is also the One Who directs our formal structures and the One Who empowers our affections.
However, to forget that a group of truly born-again believers have already been filled with the Spirit at conversion and in that sense, nothing else needs to “happen” to them to see a powerful corporate experience take place. They simply need to be reminded of the gospel and then allowed to respond to it. (I’m tempted to launch into a tangential discussion on the dual perspectives—God’s and man’s—but that be for yet another blog entry!)
God’s formality leads the horse to the water. God’s Spirit then makes him drink.
Is It Reverent Just Because It’s Formal?
On January - 17 - 2012
I’m re-posting this (as well as the follow up posts) for the newer readers to this site. I pray that it will be worth your time to read it (or re-read it as the case may be).
My pastor mentioned something to the staff the other day that I thought was very profound. It was in the context of preparing for a service that included the Lord’s Supper. It was a passing thought but it grabbed my attention completely. It was something like this (I am paraphrasing) “It is my prayer that the service today will be reverent; I know it will be formal but being formal doesn’t guarantee that it will be reverent.”
Until he had said that, I had not thought much about the difference in those two terms. Is it possible to be formal without being reverent? Absolutely. How?
The word “formal” comes from the word “form”. Some definitions for formal are as follows: “Pertaining to the essential form of something” and “following accepted conventions or proper forms” and “characterized by strict observation of forms” and “done for the sake of forms only”. (Taken from The American Heritage Dictionary.)
The scriptures describe false professors as:
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; 2 Tim 3:1-5 NASU Bold mine
We can have all the appropriate music, we can say all the right things, sing all the correct lines, we can include all the biblical commands for what a service should be and still miss the power of the gospel. Isaiah cried out to Israel in this regard in his 58th chapter. The body had the form of fasting included in their “worship” but Isaiah said that even though they were acting as a people that “delight in the nearness of God” (v. 2b) they were people of “transgression” (v. 1b). He called them thusly because the fruit of their lives were not in keeping with God’s grace (v. 6-8).
Let’s put it into today’s language….We have here a people who loved praise and worship music, love doctrinal preaching, love to go to church, etc. but were transgressing against God. How can that be?
Let’s get to the second word we are focusing on—reverence. The definition for this word is as follows: “Profound respect and awe” and “an act of showing respect”. In the context of this discussion, showing respect for what? For God, His Nature, His word, and a lifestyle that lives that out. You cannot separate your corporate worship from your lifestyle. You might say “I don’t want to look at my lifestyle when I am worshipping God—it’s too discouraging”. You say correctly.
However, you must evaluate yourself in the sense that it causes you to revere the grace of God. You must compare yourself to the infallible, immutable word of God and see how your justification is not based on anything of yourself but totally of Christ’s work. You must come to God in worship clothed in humility and rejoicing in the might of Jesus’ work alone. We must lead worship realizing that having all of our formal “ducks in a row” does not guarantee that we are pleasing to God in corporate worship.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. Ps 51:17 NASU
When we come together in corporate worship, let us strive to clothe ourselves with humility (1 Pet. 5:5). Let us lead with brokenness, with our only confidence being that the work of Christ! Let us come with a testimony of God’s favor as we have lived out the gospel every day and seeing our failures along the way as signs of God’s grace to justify the ungodly. Let us also see any obedience to the scriptures in the same light; that any successes make us more in debt to grace!
In my next entry, I will try to come at this from the other side of things and ask the question “Can we be reverent without being formal?”
Plural Vs. Singular
On January - 10 - 2012
In my last entry, I shared with you a question that has recently crossed my mind.
Is it best to use singular nouns or plural nouns in our congregational singing?
Notice that I did not ask “Is it wrong to use individual language?” or “Is it sinful to use plural words?”
This is simply a case of better vs. best. So let’s look at a couple of songs that we actually sing at Grace Life Church and analyze their effectiveness. I will select these songs with no agenda to speak against the one and in favor of the other. In other words, I will select an example of each that I believe are both 5-star congregationals in their own right. I will only deal with portions of each for brevity’s sake. (Personal nouns and pronouns will be highlighted.)
SINGULAR: Before the throne of God above/I have a strong and perfect plea/A great High Priest Whose Name is Love/Who ever lives and pleads for me/My name is graven on His hands/My name is written on His heart/I know that while in heav’n He stands/No tongue can bid me thence depart
PLURAL: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God/A bulwark never failing/Our helper He amid the flood/Of mortal ills prevailing/Though still our ancient foe/doth seek to work us woe/His craft and pow’r are great/And armed with cruel hate/On earth is not his equal
MIXED: How deep the Father’s Love for us/How vast beyond all measure/That He should give His only son/To make a wretch His treasure/How great the pain of searing loss/The Father turns His face away/As wounds which mar the chosen One/Bring many sons to glory
With the points that I raised in my last post, I wonder if the first song would be more effective sung this way:
Before the throne of God above/We have a strong and perfect plea/A great High Priest Whose Name is Love/Who ever lives and pleads for us/Our names are graven on His hands/Our name is written on His heart/We know that while in heav’n He stands/No tongue can bid us thence depart
Without repeating what I said earlier, I wonder if doing this would aid those who are prone to think of themselves as ONLY individuals in a church service (at the expense of forsaking seeing themselves as part of a body)? I wonder if this subtlety would send small, incremental messages to those who are prone to think that it’s all about just them (which Americans are constantly battling) when it’s all about the Bride (humanly speaking, of course)?
I realize that one of the changes in my example thwarts the rhyme scheme (I could go all Dr. Seuss and say “Who ever lives and pleads for we”). However, I do like the way that it makes this particular song a declaration of a congregation rather than by a bunch of individuals. I haven’t asked my pastor yet, but I may even try some of this at our church (but only with his permission—which is an entirely different subject!)
I do notice that when I change another example from plural to singular it seems to gives a selfish slant:
A Mighty Fortress Is my God/A bulwark never failing/My helper He amid the flood/Of mortal ills prevailing/Though still my ancient foe/doth seek to work me woe/His craft and pow’r are great/And armed with cruel hate/On earth is not his equal
That’s not to say that there’s anything theologically wrong with singing it this way. I just prefer it to have plural language because it reminds me that the gospel is not only for me but for us.
I may have yet another entry on this subject soon.
Can You Ever Go Home Again?
On December - 15 - 2011
Here is one amazing singer!
If you’ve never heard of Marc Martel or his band, Downhere, you’ve really missed a blessing. To be quite honest, there’s much to music on Christian radio that I could do without. But Marc’s voice and writing has been a breath of fresh air. I must confess that Marc’s talent and abilities have captured my imagination more than anyone since the days of Keith Green (living on only thru recordings unfortunately) or Steve Green (which are still going, thank goodness).
I have featured Marc’s cover of Bohemian Rhapsody here at the blog. That feature all came about by hearing Downhere for the first time on the radio and tweeting out that he reminded me of Freddie Mercury. The pastor of one of our church plants replied to me that I needed to see some of his covers of Queen’s songs on YouTube. I did and have still not gotten over it.
Well, now it turns out that Brian May, the lead guitarist for Queen found out about Marc’s YouTube covers. It also turns out that Queen decided to hold a contest on the internet to see who might become the next Freddie Mercury. To no one’s surprise, Marc has won the gig. Before you read anything else, I have to say that I am amazed and stunned and thrilled that Marc’s abilities have been noticed by the “big boys”. If you were born after 1980 you may not realize how big Queen was. They were the “champions” of the music world.
With that being said, I am left with more questions than answers. Keep in mind that Marc is known not just as a follower of Christ, but as a Christian artist. (Whether or not that designation should even exist is another blog entry entirely However, it does exist and must be dealt with.) Here’s another take on the whole situation.
How will Marc sing some of the lyrics that Queen will perform? I don’t see anything wrong with “We Are The Champions” or “Somebody To Love”—those songs are a blast! I just don’t know how a follower of Jesus can sing about being a “sex machine” or other overtly pagan themes. I’m not trying to throw Marc under the bus—I’m rooting for him. But I hope it’s at least a question with which he is wrestling. Will Brian May and Roger Taylor give him freedom to select which songs to sing? I pray that they will!
How will Marc deal with being seen in Freddie Mercury’s identity? Freddie was an open homosexual. Will Marc have men throwing themselves at him? This is not Marc being “himself” on stage mind you. He got the gig because he can “do” Freddie almost better than Freddie could be Freddie. Not only will men be sexually attracted to him but I would imagine, based on testimony of countless rock stars, that women will also throw themselves at him. Will Marc build into this gig intricate accountability and protection for himself? I pray that he will!
How will he ever return to being a Christian artist? Where does all this leave Downhere? At their website they say that they are committed to “using our gifts to reaffirm and shore up the foundations of the faith. We want to be a part of building up the church and preserving the culture.” When the face of your band is now undertaking a role that does the opposite of that, how will he ever return? Again, I’m not trying to say that he can’t—I hope he can. I’m just not sure how he can. These are unchartered waters. I pray that he will!
With all these questions, one more begs to be asked: Is not Christ more glorified in turning down a lucrative opportunity in the name of having found the greatest treasure of all? Would not the Lord be more in giving Marc the “chance of a lifetime” to then be able to walk away from it by saying “no thanks—I don’t need it.” How can Marc not send the message that he’s just doing a Christian band gig because he’s got nothing else bigger going but that he’ll bail on it if the world ever comes a-calling?
Again, I’m not trying to say that Marc is doing all that….I do NOT know his heart. He may be able to jump into Freddie’s skin for a season and then go back to being Marc again with no collateral damage. I pray that he will!
Grace Life Church Music Department Membership Standards
On September - 7 - 2011
It’s been a while since I’ve shared this and since there are a number of folks reading here now that might have missed it the last time I wrote on it, I thought I would revisit it today.
I get asked this question quite often: “What are your standards for membership in the Music Department at Grace Life Church?”
Joining the Choir or Orchestra at Grace Life begins by visiting our Wednesday evening rehearsals. We have two Auditoriums at the church. On Wednesday evenings, the prayer and preaching service occurs in our Old Auditorium while our music rehearsals are occurring in our Choir Room and New Auditorium. On any given Wednesday evening we will have a few folks who are not Music Department (MD) members that are sitting in to get a sense of what it’s like to be a member. (Every August we have a special three-week promotion season where we allow non-MD members sing or play on Sunday services at my discretion.)
If, after getting a taste of it, a prospect wishes to join, we set up a meeting with them. At that meeting, I share my testimony, the prospect shares their testimony, and they answer a one-page questionnaire. Most of the time, I do not ask Choir prospects to sing for me. I am far more interested in the spiritual side of things than the musical side. I do, however, ask all Orchestra prospects to play a little for me since the playing level is advanced. We also review the qualifications and attendance policy for membership in the MD
Here are the qualifications:
1. Must be a Spirit-filled believer who manifests the fruits of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23.
2. Member of good standing in the church and the community.
Ephesians 5:8-9.
3. Faithful to small groups, all worship services, church events, etc… (70% highly suggested)
4. Purposefully pray to be faithful to visitation.
5. Should be willing to tithe.
6. Attendance-70%. This includes all rehearsals and worship services.
7. Minimum 10% attendance of Small Groups
Attendance Policy
The choir functions on a ten-week attendance period. Each ten weeks members must meet a minimum of seven rehearsals and seven Sunday morning worship services to maintain the 70% requirement. If you fall below the 70% requirement in a given ten week period, you will be notified by letter from the Music Department that you have fallen below the requirement. You will be given the next ten-week period to bring your percentage up to the 70% needed to maintain your choir membership. If you should be unable to meet the requirement for the second ten-week period, I will provide you the opportunity to meet with me personally to discuss your continuing membership in the choir. Attendance is taken at each rehearsal and service. It is your responsibility to contact the Music Department in the event of an absence. Please remember an excused absence does not hurt your attendance record. An individual who shows no effort to attend Small Groups will be asked to step down from the Music Department until an effort to attend is shown.
To explain the “Member in good standing in the church and community”—Grace Life Church practices church discipline based on Matt. 18:15-20 and has adopted Ken Sande’s book “The Peacemaker” as a guidebook on that passage. If a MD member is in discipline, they may be asked to step away from the MD for a season until the disciple case is resolved.
To explain the “Purposefully pray to be faithful to visitation”—Our church goes door-to-door in evangelism most every Wednesday evening after the service/rehearsals. It is the expectation that all members of the MD be involved in that effort.
A note on the financial giving of our members—I do NOT look at anyone’s tithing record. That is between them and the Lord. Only those who take care of the financial records of the church see those amounts (not even our Senior Pastor sees them!)
Brother Music Minister, please seek to add meaning to membership in your church’s Music Department.
Revisiting Helping A First-Time Lead Musician
On April - 18 - 2011
As promised, I now return to answering a question I received a while back. I soon realized that I should have waited until now on answering once we got closer to the True Church Conference. I will re-post the blog entry in which I began answering the question and then continue on answering in my next post. Here is the original post:
I received this series of questions the other day from a good brother who is serving in leadership in a church plant.
I am working with a brother where this is his first time as a worship leader. He’s a very skilled musician, and perhaps an even better teacher. I have no reservations about his walk either. Our church is a plant, so very small. Thus the struggle I’m having. I see him going through what I experienced years ago, catering to young folks a bit to keep them interested. How do I convey that a “scream-o” style accent during a song is probably not the best idea? What biblical grounds could I stand on when the inevitable “some people worship that way” argument comes up? How do you approach the subject of “spiritual qualifications” for your worship team? Again, what biblical grounds?
I can see that my answer is not going to fit in one blog entry. From your questions, I am going to assume that this leader has had some experience in being on stage in a band situation, but not much (if any) in a church environment. Please forgive me if this assumption is incorrect. I will begin by laying some general groundwork and then work from the scriptures.
I will say that this is a very common experience in working with new Lead Musicians/Music Ministers. It is a difficult thing to learn how to connect with a congregation as opposed to connecting with an audience. There is a difference. A congregation is comprised of a wide spectrum of cultures/tastes/consciences whereas an audience will be more prone to be in agreement in those areas. A congregation is gathered for the glory of God. An audience is gathered for entertainment/thought provocation/love of music.
If you’re dealing with a musician who is more used to playing for audiences, he is also used to simply giving his own expression and drawing an audience that gravitates to that particular flavor (again, I speak of styles, tastes, preferences, etc.). In other words, a band playing in a non-church situation may not have to be concerned with finding “middle ground” to please the audience because their audience is more likely to already agree with the music expressed by that band.
To say it another way, an audience may already have a built-in lack of distraction whereas a congregation may need more development of healthy communication. This is not because one is stronger or weaker than the other. It is due to the fundamental differences in nature, purpose, and function of one verses the other.
It will be crucial for this brother to understand these differences. Playing to an audience (rather than a congregation) may be so engrained in his “DNA” that he is oblivious to the distinctions.
In my next entry I will attempt to build on these terms and explain, from the scriptures, the glory of God in a congregation and how to use what is best for your church and not necessarily what is permissible.
Helping A First-Time Lead Musician
On February - 2 - 2011
I received this series of questions the other day from a good brother who is serving in leadership in a church plant.
I am working with a brother where this is his first time as a worship leader. He’s a very skilled musician, and perhaps an even better teacher. I have no reservations about his walk either. Our church is a plant, so very small. Thus the struggle I’m having. I see him going through what I experienced years ago, catering to young folks a bit to keep them interested. How do I convey that a “scream-o” style accent during a song is probably not the best idea? What biblical grounds could I stand on when the inevitable “some people worship that way” argument comes up? How do you approach the subject of “spiritual qualifications” for your worship team? Again, what biblical grounds?
I can see that my answer is not going to fit in one blog entry. From your questions, I am going to assume that this leader has had some experience in being on stage in a band situation, but not much (if any) in a church environment. Please forgive me if this assumption is incorrect. I will begin by laying some general groundwork and then work from the scriptures.
I will say that this is a very common experience in working with new Lead Musicians/Music Ministers. It is a difficult thing to learn how to connect with a congregation as opposed to connecting with an audience. There is a difference. A congregation is comprised of a wide spectrum of cultures/tastes/consciences whereas an audience will be more prone to be in agreement in those areas. A congregation is gathered for the glory of God. An audience is gathered for entertainment/thought provocation/love of music.
If you’re dealing with a musician who is more used to playing for audiences, he is also used to simply giving his own expression and drawing an audience that gravitates to that particular flavor (again, I speak of styles, tastes, preferences, etc.). In other words, a band playing in a non-church situation may not have to be concerned with finding “middle ground” to please the audience because their audience is more likely to already agree with the music expressed by that band.
To say it another way, an audience may already have a built-in lack of distraction whereas a congregation may need more development of healthy communication. This is not because one is stronger or weaker than the other. It is due to the fundamental differences in nature, purpose, and function of one verses the other.
It will be crucial for this brother to understand these differences. Playing to an audience (rather than a congregation) may be so engrained in his “DNA” that he is oblivious to the distinctions.
In my next entry I will attempt to build on these terms and explain, from the scriptures, the glory of God in a congregation and how to use what is best for your church and not necessarily what is permissible.
Follow Up On The Centrality Of Preaching
On January - 19 - 2011
I received this honest, sincere reply to my entry on the centrality of preaching from Jim (which I have edited for brevity):
You summarized the last entry by saying that “preaching is the highest form of corporate worship”. I do recognize that it is through the “foolishness of preaching” that those who believe are saved. What I don’t understand is why, if “preaching is the highest form of corporate worship” there was no provision for it in the model given to us in the Tabernacle. Why a regular “preaching service” did not occur in the religious life of The Great Congregation (except on those scheduled, but rare occasions when The Law was to be publicly read) until the development of the synagogue system during The Exile?Why The LORD did not include it even as He stated on “two or three” occasions regarding the Pilgrim Feasts, “No one shall appear before me empty(handed).” Doesn’t that make sacrifice “the highest form of corporate worship”?
Jim, my most immediate response to your final summation that sacrifice is the highest form of worship is ‘how is that expressed in a New Testament church’ (unless your suggesting that giving of Offerings is)? That system of sacrifice was a shadow and type of the Christ Who would come and fulfill the shadow. His sacrifice for sin was the Ultimate Worship Expression!
While we must be careful not to ignore the Old Testament instruction, the centrality of preaching is throughout the New Testament. With that being said, we can certainly look to the Old Testament examples of the preaching prophets and see that God put great emphasis on the declaration of His word (see Jonah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah). We certainly see a powerful picture of the scriptures being read and explained in the book of Nehemiah.
In short, a using of the Old Testament temple worship to lower the centrality of preaching is looking in the wrong place (no disrespect, Jim!). To look at the New Testament focus, we clearly see preaching as central (Romans 10). While no specific service orders are given in the New Testament, Paul clearly exhorts the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 14) to seek prophesy, i.e., preaching, as the greatest gift to, in, and for the Church.
Not only in terms of evangelism, but for sanctification, it is a necessary thing for a believer to be under regular, systematic, careful exposition from God’s Word through preaching. No other form of corporate worship can have as powerful an effect upon sanctification than preaching—not singing, not corporate prayers, not giving of offerings. The exegetical pulpit is the well-spring from which a local church receives its nourishment (while not the only source—private worship is ALSO very crucial in this process—but we are speaking in corporate terms).
There are certainly higher forms of worship. Jesus said that there is no greater gift that to give one’s life for another (John 15:13). However, I was speaking about worship in a corporate environment and specifically in regards to preaching verses singing, giving offerings, prayers, etc.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there are certainly those who disagree with this stance which gave rise to the liturgy. The liturgy seeks to give equal importance to all corporate forms (singing, reading of scriptures, offerings, prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of confession, etc.). With all due respect, I do believe that God did put extra emphasis and value upon preaching in a corporate setting than all other forms of corporate worship.
This entry deserves much more development and focus. I would suggest that you read Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ classic book “Preaching and Preachers” for further study on this subject. Thanks so much for your thoughtful and kind question, Jim! (Don’t be shocked and seeing yet another follow-up to this entry—stay tuned!)
