VISION Update: The Ministry of Praise

The Biblical study of worship is an all-encompassing thing.  Romans 12:2 enjoins us 'to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual act of worship.'  Our singing, our serving, our loving, our sharing, our preaching, our teaching, our evangelizing, our parenting, our working - all are components of our Worship of God.  The Greek word 'proskyneō', normally translated 'worship,' means "to kiss toward, to fawn over" and is normally used to describe corporate expressions of Praise.  It is the ministry of Praise - this facet of the brilliant diamond we call worship - to which we will direct our thoughts this week.

Vision, History, and Philosophy

The greatest commandment — to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength — carries with it an implicit commitment to an ongoing renewal of the ministry of praise.  Just as every husband needs to learn to grow in communicating his love to his wife, and every father needs to grow in communicating his love to his child, so every disciple needs to grow in the ways that he expresses his love to his Lord — in intimacy, in knowledge, and in fervor.  Renewal in the area of corporate worship has been a long time coming.  Christendom has seen many shifts over "acceptable worship" in her 2000 history.  In our fellowship of churches, we have enjoyed a 300-year history of ‘a cappella only' hymns.  The beautiful, resonant sounds of well-learned four-part harmonies have been the "first language" of corporate worship for many of us who have come to Christ in the past three decades of evangelistic fervor.

During the 27- year history of the Chicago Church of Christ, God has blessed us with conversions from all nations and races.  Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Island, European and other cultures have come together in this great spiritual melting pot to be one united church, committed to Jesus, focused on his mission, and striving to be color blind.  Because our church is cross-cultural and multi-generational, our approach to corporate worship must of necessity be the same.  The musical ‘style' that helps you to come before the Almighty and drop yourself at the foot of the cross does not necessary help your brother or sister.  Our goal is to help every worshipper—regardless of personal history, culture, race or preferences—have intimate moments with the Savior every Lord's Day, using that connection as a springboard to a week full of continual worship and service.

With this in mind, we have chosen for our approach to corporate worship a blending of traditional hymns, contemporary Christian choruses, urban, classic and Latin Gospel, and ‘new traditional' (ancient hymns set to new tunes).  This philosophy enables us to fully embrace our racial, cultural and generational diversity.  As we learn new styles—styles which may initially be unfamiliar and uncomfortable for us—we also break down racial stereotypes and move toward the true color-blindness to which we aspire.

Progress and Goals

Just under two years ago, we set forth some significant goals as we began to work toward Worship Renewal.

• To establish a congregational worship team
• To develop full worship teams in each ministry center
• To encourage the use of new technology to project lyrics, scripture, and develop a more image-driven approach
• To consistently introduce new music and new styles
• To work toward a fresh level of connectiveness
• To host a congregational worship concert, from which we would produce a professional CD
• To host the International Worship Leaders Conference

We are excited to share that we have accomplished each of the goals we set.  We are very blessed to have a gifted and dynamic worship team, served by Ralph Beerhorst (Congregational Band Leader / Producer), Rick Biordi (Associate Worship Director/ Producer), Carole Baskin and Lara Jenkins (choir & vocalists), Catina Moore (Dance), Jim Dyes and Shaun McNicholas (Technology), and Dave Eastman (Worship Leader / Event Producer).  Each of these people brings a high level of professional expertise and personal passion to his or her specific area of responsibility.  There are now worship bands established or developing in six of the seven Ministry Centers, with eager and gifted musicians helping in each ministry.  New songs and styles are being taught.  The Southland Ministry Center spends a focused time each month learning new songs of praise and worship.  The North Suburban Ministry Center is as of this writing spending an entire month in Worship Renewal.  The Chicago Ministry Center just enjoyed a Worship Renewal Weekend, and both the West and the Metro have skilled and motivated teams.  In the Central Ministry Center, we have enjoyed a two-year run at Worship Renewal, and in that time have developed an effective worship band and gospel choir, teaching over 50 new songs representing all of the styles mentioned above.

A year ago we held our first Worship Concert, and through the expert work of Rick Biordi and Audioscape Studios, produced our first CD of Vertical Worship, featuring a dozen songs of various styles.  These are available for $4 through your Ministry Centers. We hope to conduct events such as these on a regular basis, so that through future recording projects we can help each worshipper connect more intimately in both congregational and private worship.  Last summer, we were privileged to host over 300 worship leaders from 40 states and eight countries around the world in our International Worship Leaders' Conference. 

A Nefarious Plot

From time to time, we who passionately promote Worship Renewal have been accused of a ‘secret agenda' to change the church.  We feel the time has come for the worship team to come clean on our nefarious plot, which through a series of clandestine meetings, has been simmering for some time:  our secret desire is to help each disciple develop a more passionate vertical focus and deeper connection with the Almighty.  We seek to help undermine the subtle plots of Satan, who wants to create faithlessness, worldliness, and empty religion.  We want to stimulate a more energetic, more thoughtful, and more spiritual approach to what we do in praise every time we meet together.  By so doing, we want to encourage more passionate praise in our Quiet Times, in small groups, and with prayer partners.  These verses and many others clarify our focus.

We all believe that God is everywhere, but the theology of Omnipresence is often missed in daily life by distracted disciples.  The scriptures teach that it is through thoughtful, visceral praise that we ‘enter his courts.'  "Take Me In," a song by the group Kutless, expresses this thought:

Take me past the outer courts, into the Holy Place
Past the brazen altar, Lord I want to see your face
Pass me by the crowds of people, the priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness, Lord, I want to see your face
Take me into the holy of holies, take me in by the blood of the Lamb
Take me into the holy of holies, take the coal, touch my lips, here I am!

Our access to the Most Holy Place, accomplished through the precious blood of Christ, is continually available, but must be thoughtfully, prayerfully, and worshipfully approached if we are to appreciate its privileged and profound nature.  And it is the unshakeable confidence that comes from fellowship with the Almighty that leads us to victories over temptation, cowardice, and worldliness, and sets our feet on the path of greater impact for our gracious King. 

Practical Suggestions

We offer these practical thoughts for your consideration, to help you to move toward new levels in your own walk with the Lord.

1. Purchase and utilize vertical worship music, such as the congregational worship CD (we define ‘vertical' as music that directly addresses God in musical prayer).  As you learn what helps you to connect, purchase those artists' work, and use it in your car, your iPod, and your home
2. Begin every morning with songs and prayers of praise
3. Before each meeting of the body, prepare your heart carefully for corporate worship
4. Offer your body in Worship.  Engage your mind. Focus your soul. Expend your energy 
5. Let your voice be heard if your needs are not currently being met by your worship team—it is the goal of all worship teams to engage the entire congregation they are leading in worship services—you are a vital part of that process.
6. Let your talents be seen, heard, and felt—you worship God in your own personal way and many times your sentiments, when you express yourself to God in front of the congregation, can have a life-changing impact on someone who feels the same way you do, and wishes they could express themselves with someone—anyone—who shares their personal worship language.

What Next?

Although we are excited to have made such significant progress in so short a time, we believe that we are just beginning to learn and experience what God has in store for us in this vital arena of our faith.  Through more thorough, careful planning, we want to grow in developing experiential worship through media, music, drama, dance, meditation, and the visual arts.  We want to engage all of our senses as we seek new levels of connection with the Almighty.  We want to identify and stir up the gifts of every disciple and encourage their generous use in the worship of God.  And we want to even more effectively teach our children from an early age how they might enjoy the presence of God and seek him whole-heartedly. 

Finally, consider these thoughts from Andrew Cook, worship leader in the Spokane, Washington Church:

"True Biblical worship is all about honoring and glorifying God because He alone is worthy.  It's not about connection, it's not about preparing people for the sermon; it is about honoring God and reflecting His glory, and when we are a people who honor God and reflect His glory with all we have, then He will almost always choose to bless us with that face to face connection with Him, and when we have that face to face encounter with Him, we are transformed and ready to receive His Word in a powerful way."

As always, we welcome your comments and thoughts as we strive together to make his praise glorious (Psalm 66:1-2)!  

Dave Eastman
For the Congregational Worship Team