In Genesis 4 we find the story of Cain and Abel. Every worship leader should meditate on this passage because it is the first recorded act of worship after the fall. The Bible doesn’t detail how they knew they were to make an offering to the Lord, only each of them brought an offering for him. What the passage does emphasize is that Cain and his sacrifice were unacceptable to God. This is why the passage is so important for worship leaders to meditate upon, because it clearly details an act of unacceptable worship.

Note how the Bible emphasizes that both Cain and his offering were unacceptable. My pastor pointed this out this past Sunday, and it was something I had never noticed before. The person is as important as the offering they are making. Note Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (ESV) The author of Hebrews helps us better understand what is going on in Genesis 4 – Abel’s  faith is the key to his accptable worship.

Even at the beginning of the Bible, when men are just beginning to worship the Lord, God is establishing a standard for the worship offered to him. The condition of the heart is what is important to God in worship. But never neglect the understanding that what is done is also just as important as the heart that offers it. Do you really care about worshipping God if you do not take the time to understand what type of worship is acceptable to him?

To me, the “why” behind worship goes all the way back to the beginning, the very beginning. In fact, when God called everything “good”. After creating everything and placing man in the Garden of Eden, he instructed Adam to “tend and keep” it. In fact, there are very strong arguments to translate that phrase “worship and obey”. I was able to take Hebrew from a professor who had worked with some translators of a newer version of the Bible (I think it was ESV, but I’m not too sure on that…), and he actually talked with us about how he presented a complete argument for this translation, but he was over-ruled by others. Yet he is not alone in his opinion, for there are many scholars who agree with him in this.

That translation would highlight an aspect of the creation story which is not quite as evident at first glance. Unfortunately, to me, it seems that most read the creation account as a story of “how we got here” – a historical account. And though the Bible contains an historical record, it’s actual purpose is theological, not historical. Therefore the real reason God saw fit to include an account of creation in his revelation of himself  to us (that is, the Bible) is so that we will know “why”. Thusly, Genesis 1-3 becomes less a historical record (though it is that) and more a revelation of “why we are here.”

Noel Due, in his book Created for Worship, writes that “God’s decision to create the universe is the effective cause of worship.” (p. 35) When God moved and created, the only correct response of that creation was worship. What I really want to emphasize here is that worship, as a purpose to life, predates the fall. Before man turned to sin, his only purpose was to worship (I will not even go into the connection between work and worship which this understanding also draws out). Though we worship the Lord because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, that is not only why. Had there never been sin, never been a need for the cross, there still would have been worship. And if Adam and Eve had never eaten that apple, we would all have an unfallen nature – but we would still be worshipping.

I challenge you to take a little bit of time and meditate on this concept of worship being a purpose to all life. How the command to worship actually predates the fall. Think about how sin hinders our worship, and how Christ, in coming, dying, and rising again brought about a way to redeem our worship and enable us to worship as God intends us to.

“I Will Wait for You There” comes from Phil Wickham’s self-titled debut album. I found some words/chords online here and here. Have a listen to the song:

I Will Wait For You There – Phil Wickham

Orientations/Focus: This song is vertical/man-focused. It is sung to God (vertical), but the focus of the song is man, specifically what man will do.

Theology: The real thrust of this song is a declaration of (and expressing the joy found therein) private time spend communing with God. I like the idea of “waiting”, because it is so different from the modern american mindset – we want what we want now, and many times Christians bring this mindset over into their quiet time. But waiting implies patience. It also implies that what will come is worth the wait. This song is quite passionate, and is structured and instrumented for an intimate feel, and it truly does convey intimacy and a passion for it. There is also an undergirding emphasis upon man’s dependency upon the Lord – he cannot make it on his own. Of course, my favorite part is the chorus, where he sings about what he will do in that intimate time with his Lord: he will express his passion for his God. When this song is used in a service, the goal would be to invoke a longing in the hearts of the hearers – you want them to identify with the singers stated passion and desire. It actually is a very simple theme of desire for intimacy with the Lord.

Music/Instrumentation: Obviously this song was meant to be played on guitar. I think it might be able to be done on the piano, but it would take a very well-done arrangement – you wouldn’t want the steady right hand chords with the left hand doing a baseline sort of thing. I would advise just using the same instrumentation as on the recording: one singer, one acoustic guitarist. The lyrics speak of intimacy, the instrumentation reflects that. Whatever you do, don’t add more instruments or singers, because then it becomes more than a song from one man/woman to their God.

Use: Due to the nature of the song, it is not really a congregational worship song. The nature of the song also would make it rather inappropriate for an opener or even for communion. But, on the other hand, it would make a great special or offertory. Specifically, if the message is going to be about one’s private prayer life or even one’s quiet time, I think this song would be especially appropriate. But if you’re looking at the resurrection, or the atonement, or forgiveness, or even the return of Christ, this song would not be appropriate. It is one song I would only use in specific circumstances, but in those circumstances it would be highly appropriate and effective in setting the tone for the message.

No, this is not the classic hymn everyone is familiar with. Though I would love to hear Christy Nockels work her magic on that classic, this is actually a song she and her husband wrote inspired by that classic written by the indomitable Martin Luther himself. And I’m glad they were so inspired. Take a listen if you’re not familiar with it (if you need lyrics here they are).

Pretty awesome, huh? Okay, let’s dive in a little and go over a few different aspects of it.

Orientations/Focus: Vertical, God-focused. Note in the lyrics that though the first few lines of each verse and the first line of the chorus are all horizontal (seem to declare outward, to men), the pre-chorus as well as the rest of the chorus is vertical, sung to God (note the much repeated phrase: “We will keep our eyes on you.”). It is God-focused because it speaks of God and his attributes.

Theology: Obviously, this is a very Biblical song. The primary theme is of trusting in (looking to) the God who will never fail. I like that the song starts off speaking of the righteousness of God – we do not trust in a lovey dovey God who wants to bless everyone, we trust in a Righteous Judge, who’s righteousness is akin to a flame, yet who rules with kindness and wisdom. And there is also an eschatological focus (“With You forever we will reign”). The nice twist done in the bridge where Christy first sings, “We will keep our eyes on You” and then switches it to, “We will set our hearts on You” is very insightful, and it challenges the singer (thusly your congregation) to think not only to where they are looking for hope, but where their heart is set – is it set on God, or our own pleasure and desires? Overall, though, the song has a driving, victorious feel to it. It is not a song of resignation (“God I can’t do this, so I trust in you”), but rather of confident expectation (“God you are an amazing God and I will set my eyes and heart on you because of how glorious and wonderful you are – forever!”)

Music/Instrumentation: The song is in the key of ‘C’, which makes it quite easy to handle on the keyboard, though the ‘Bb’ in the bridge is a little rough on some acoustic guitarists (I think our acoustic guitarist capo’s up to the fifth fret and plays in the key of ‘G’). Nothing too fancy about the chord progression, which is good – it can be learned easily and quickly by just about any team. The hard part is that most of the “heart” of the song is in the dynamics – the builds, the climaxes, and the quiet beginning and end. As far as instrumentation, it could probably be pulled of minimally with an acoustic guitar or piano by itself, though adding a djembe (or other pecussion instrument) would help a lot with those dynamics. To really mimic the recording you want to have a pianist, an electric and acoustic guitarist (a second on electric would provide some extra layering if available), bassist, drummer. Another keyboardist to pull out the strings would be a nice addition to filling out the instrumentation, but you can more than manage the full range of dynamics without one. And if need be, you could make do with only one guitarist, though I would suggest putting him/her on electric so they could really drive the last half of the song. As far as vocals go, two would be nice (song leader and someone for harmony), but any more you add will just fill out that chorus – which provides even more build.

Use: Though this song works excellently as an opener, an offertory, or even a communion song, I would highly encourage you to teach it to your congregation and have them sing it pretty regularly (not every week, though – that’s overkill).

Here’s a quick thought for Friday:

The goal of a worship team is to be distraction eliminators

This goes for everyone from the drummer to the singer to the sound technician to the lyric display technician. The instrumentalists are not there to jam out (though they might get a chance…), and the singers aren’t there to show off their vocal range. No, the response your congregation should have to the music portion of a service is, “How great is our God?!” not “What an awesome guitarist!”

This should be stated up front to all new praise team members as they are trying out, and it should be continually emphasized and reinforced from week to week and practice to practice.

Therefore the joy in our service is not in praise for what we have done, but in the glory that God recieves from our doing it.

As a slight continuation of the thought from my last post, I wanted to touch specifically on building a praise team from scratch, something I have done several times in my varied career as a worship leader. Everyone in the position of having to do this feels the same level of helplessness and has the echoing cry of, “How?”. Well, here’s my two-cents worth. I hope it can encourage and challenge anyone who finds themselves in such a situation.

First, there are a couple of standards or commitments that must be set forth before you even begin to actively seek people on your praise team. You should discuss these with your pastor(s) to get their input as well as blessing, and you should also pray over these as well.

(please note that when I use the word “musician” I am also referring to singers/vocalists)

1. Spiritual Excellence: You should commit build your team around mature christians who’s primary motive in playing is service – utilizing their gifts for the glory of God.
2. Musical Excellence: There must be a standard of excellence among those who are brought onto the praise team – you are not looking for perfect  or professional musicians, but ones who have an adequate amount of talent, skill, discipline and motivation to not be a distraction during a service.

I’ve already touched on the first some in my last post, so I’m going to mention a few things about the second commitment here. The primary reason for this standard of excellence is a simple principle: “Excellence attracts excellence.” And this principle is double-edged, it cuts both in the direction of musicianship as well as spirituality. Just realize that if you are going to accept a “fresh” (read: untrained/unlearned) talent onto the team, it will be your responsibility to train and equip them. Sometimes to get a program “off the ground” you will have to literally invest time training and teaching people about their instruments. In that you must teach them excellence, so that when more talented individuals come on the team they won’t be left too far in the dust.

In setting these commitments to spiritual and musical excellence before you now you can take your first active step in acquiring the praise team members you need: pray. That’s the key ingredient. Pray every day, multiple times each day for each specific instrumentalist you desire God to draw to the music ministry. I’d suggest first praying for a few vocalists and an acoustic guitarist (or three – they come in handy!), a keyboardist (with a decent keyboard you can synthesize most missing instruments), and a percussionist (until you get a full band, you may want to limit percussion to a djembe or cajon for a more intimate acoustic feel). Next on your list will probably be a bassist and an electric guitarist – and a drum set!

Once you have a set of vocalists (3-4 plus you), two guitarists (one acoustic, one electric), a basist, a drummer (percusionist), and a keyboardist you can play most any of the praise music out there. You will want to seek to double and triple your resources on each instrument, for backups as well as the possibility of splitting into multiple teams assigned specific Sundays/services. Always be on the alert for God to bring you different instruments. In my last church I had barely gotten our praise team off the ground when I was blessed with a young lady who played the Cello as well as a saxophone player – that definitely made arranging our songs a blast!

Always pray for God to shape your vision for your team. The goal is not for you to have a band, but for your church to be able to worship God without distraction. Therefore sometimes you will end up with quite interesting combinations of instruments along the way. And don’t be discouraged by meager beginnings. It is better for you to lead worship with yourself on guitar (or piano) with a drum machine and maybe a vocalist or two than for you to have a full band of questionable spiritual maturity. Stay the path and wait for God to provide – he always does, and he always throws in a few surprises along the way to keep you on your toes!

If you will uphold these dual goals of excellence in spirituality as well as musicianship from the very beginning of the development of your praise team, then that excellence will be in the very DNA of your team. Trust God and then set out to do what he’s called you to do in leading worship, having faith that where he has called you he will provide all you need to accomplish his will.

Here is a simple concept, but one which is overlooked in many churches: that all those who are on stage, in front of the congregation, are worship leaders to some degree. This is especially true of your praise team. Your drummer is a worship leader. Your guitarist is a worship leader.

This is something which must be continually reinforced in their minds. Though you (as the Worship Leader) lead them as a team, as a team each of them lead the congregation. If they are not entering and worshipping then the congregation will find it difficult to do so as well.

Having this understanding in mind as you build your team is also essential. This is why the praise team is not a “missionary endeavor”, so to speak. How can someone who doesn’t know Christ help lead a congregation in his praise? And if the only reason someone is coming to church is to play their instrument or sing (or serve on the technical staff…), then they may not be at a spiritual place where they should be leading others in worship. Therefore the first qualifier of whether or not someone can be on the team should not be in their level of talent or skill but in their spiritual maturity.

Having a team of individuals who are focused on bringing God glory and encouraging/challenging others to do the same is essential for every body of believers. And that team can be made of one, two, three or forty people. But their focus is on worshipping and glorifying God – and helping others do the same!

This issue has ripped many a church apart. There is a root misunderstanding as well as a heart-issue that must be addressed when dealing with this issue in a church. Here I am not going to deal with addressing this conflict within a church. Rather, I am going to briefly explore the merits and/or problems of both the traditional hymns as well as the “modern chorus”-type songs.

To me, the primary issue in whether or not I use a song has less to do with its style and primarily to do with theology. What does it say? Is it’s theology biblically accurate? If the answer is ‘no’, then that song will never make a songlist, whether or not it is a hymn or chorus – whether or not people love the song.

So how do I choose between choruses and hymns? Well, first thing to understand is that while hymns, many times, have much deeper theology and tend to more thoroughly explore a theological concept, sometimes they are not as easy to sing. Choruses, on the other hand, just due to the way they are developed and used, lend themselves more easily to repetitive singing. So there is a balance to maintain.Some choruses, though, do have relatively deep theology – so it is always a joy when you can use them in a service.

Let’s say you are choosing songs for a service focused on the crucifixion. You wouldn’t use the classic hymn It is Well, because, though theologically sound, it’s focus would not contribute to the development of the service. In the same vein, the incredibly theologically sound chorus Blessed Be Your Name would also not be a good choice for the same reason.

For a service focused on the crucifixion, I would consider, on the hymn side, It is Finished (Hark the Voice) and Christ Alone, among other hymns. Choruses which would be relevant to the theological development would be Saviour King, How Great is Our God, or even Gospel Song. Of course there are many others (both hymns and choruses) which would also be relevant and contribute to the theological development of the service.

The main thing to remember when considering a hymn or a chorus for a worship service is theological direction as well as your balance of orientation and focus in the worship portion of the service. Hymns and choruses are songs, and each song contributes different elements to the service.

I hesitate to write on the subject of the Cross and Worship, not because I am daunted by it (though I am to some degree), but because it would take an entire book to begin to scratch the surface of this subject – and one book would barely do it justice. Why? The cross and Christ’s sacrifice there, as well as his subsequent resurrection, are central to worship. It is the ‘why’ of worship. It is the heart and soul of what worship pastors and leaders across the nation and the world must engage continually and embrace fully to adequately worship God.

The Cross is important because it is by Christ’s sacrifice on that cross that we are able to come to God. One of the primary reasons we worship God is that He, in his great grace and mercy, has reconciled us sinners to himself.

Why is this important to the Worship Leader/Pastor? As we develop and shape services, especially the thematic element of what songs we sing and in what order, as well as the scriptures being read, it is essential to be mindful of places or points in the service where the Cross can be highlighted or emphasized. Some songs do this, other times a few well-chosen words between songs or before or after a scripture reading can do the trick.

This is doubly important if the passage or theme of the service is not overtly salvific. If you, as a worship leader, can connect that theme/passage to the Cross (or our salvation in Christ), then you are enabling the congregation to develop a mindset early in the service which is approaching that theme/passage in the perspective of the Cross.

This is also essential as a leader in the church, in general. You must live and example a mindset which is continually coming back to the Cross. Shaping and developing the worship services to at least highlight a connection to the cross will “condition” (in a sense) your people to continually make that connection. This is a connection found over and over again in the letters of the New Testament – the Apostles definitely had a mindset which could never dissasociate from the Cross.

So let em challenge you, as you develop your worship services, to always be mindful of where the Cross is in respect to what is being taught and sung. And let it be a major warning sign if you can find no trace of it there!

In Created for Worship, Noel Due has written an excellent exporation of the Biblical Theology behind worship. I wrote a more general review of the book on my book review blog, but I wanted to highlight the book here because I think it’s one of the finest books written on worship in the last decade or so. I bring it up on this blog because I want to highly recommend it to everyone reading this, whether you’re a worship leader, you desire to be, you’re a pastor, or you’re just a lay person who’s hungry for a little more.

Here’s a little excerpt from the beginning of the book (I tried to include enough to understand what he was talking about, but every concept in the book builds on the ones before it…). check it out:

The anointing of Jesus with the Spirit at his baptism thus identifies him as the covenant king of Israel, who is both the vice-regent of God and the covenantally obligated ruler of God’s people. His mission as the great Davidic King would hinge entirely on his worship of God. Its successful outcome would be a worshiping people, led by his own faithfulness to the throne of his Father. Jesus’ role as the purifier of the Temple (e.g. Joh 2:13-22) and the transformer of worship  (e.g. John 4:19-24) is thus fully fitting for his kingly ministry over Israel and for his construciton of a new Temple, far greater than that of Solomon or Herod. (pp. 11-12)

That may seem like a mouthful, but it is very insightful. The whole book is a Biblical Theological approach to understanding worship and our role in it. Thusly, Due walks through the Bible, pulling out themes and points relevant to worship as he goes along.

I highly recommend this book!