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September 2002 Table of Contents
Special Feature
Kingdom Worship Is:
By Chuck Weatherford
Pastor of Worship and Music
Centenary United Methodist Church
Lexington, Kentucky
Convictions:
Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3
Worship is ascribing worth to God. (Psalm 48:1)
Everyone worships. Our worship is Christian worship, the worship of God. (II Kings 17:35-36)
Worship is defined by its content, not by its style. (John 4:23 and I Chronicles 16: 29)
I am a worshiper, rather than I "go to" a worship service. Worship is identity more than event. (I John 5:3)
We desire to be a part of a church that seeks to exalt and imitate all of God. (Hebrews 12:28-29)
Worship as it is in heaven is our best image of ideal worship, praise that most pleases God-the worship surrounding God eternally which we will one day join. This is worship in which all human divisions are transcended at the throne of the Lord. (Psalm 86:9, Daniel 7:14a and 27b, Romans 15:5-6 and Revelation 7:12)
We continue to strive for an integrated understanding of the personal and corporate aspects of kingdom worship.
We mature as a worshiper. And the experiences of worship we share can summon maturity in us. In this way worship is formative: we become like what we worship.
The worship of God in a community of believers can and should acknowledge the point at which people are in their journey, both their biological and spiritual ages. (Matthew 25: 35, 40 and Romans 15:7) The Incarnation calls us to offer opportunities for praise that connect with people in their cultural language. (Psalm 149:1) These opportunities can be woven into kingdom worship and can shape special ministries aimed primarily at evangelism.
We accept that there will remain a creative tension in our worship, a paradox between unity and accessibility, between kingdom worship and the context in which we offer it to God on earth. This harmony of opposites in our praise can portray the complete divinity and humanity present in the Incarnation. (Centenary UMC Worship Values)
The Current Reality
All the services are identical and are carefully designed to create "worship moments." We are a liturgical church to the extent we observe the season of the church year, celebrate communion each month following the word and table from the United Methodist Hymnal.
Hymns and praise choruses are printed each week in the bulletin. Video projection is used from time to time with a goal of adding this technology to worship on a weekly basis in the near future.
Worship is carefully crafted each week making sure the topic of the day is reinforced throughout the service. Evaluation of the previous week's service of worship takes place at this planning session as well. We feel this attention to detail is necessary to provide "God's Best" in all our services of worship. Everything from pre-service music right on through to the final note of the postlude is designed to restate and reinforce the topic. We carry this concept into auxiliary groups as well such as bell choirs, children's choirs, youth choirs etc. This is not an easy task but certainly worth the extra effort in worship planning this approach requires.
Some weeks the music is mostly traditional hymns other weeks lean toward "fresh" praise and worship songs. All three-morning services have the chancel choir and worship orchestra. We choose not to use a praise team but rather depend on the choir to help lead the congregation through the various acts of worship. We do try to balance the special music offerings. If the choir is very traditional then the solo tends to be more contemporary. If the choir is more contemporary then we craft the solo to be more traditional providing a nice representation of both styles. The pre-service music is rotated between the massive pipe organ and more "upbeat" orchestra charts.
Centenary's approach to worship differs from other United Methodist Churches in our area. Most churches offer strictly a contemporary service and then a traditional service in the same morning. Since we don't divide the congregation up into contemporary or traditional groups then we are able to avoid "worship wars." For me as a professional musician and church worker this is the best situation I have ever experienced. This means of worship allows us to make the best use of our assets both fiscally and with personnel. It is great to serve a church where classical, gospel; contemporary praise and worship styles co-exist without causing division.
Distinctives and Directions:
The successful Worship and Music Ministry in the 21st century will need to embody the following:
- Be centered on the praise and worship of God, a ministry designed to lead the congregation in exciting meaningful worship.
- Be a ministry to the people we serve, using the current language of the generation.
- Learn to use the technology.
- The leadership must be living the example.
A constant dilemma for many musicians is the love for the classical music and the pageantry of the church and the realizations that for a great deal of the people it does not hold their interest. We find ourselves needing to present an ever-widening body of work: music that is designed to have significant spiritual impact.
Music is geared toward moving the listener to a deeper relationship with Christ. One of the ways we do this is to make sure every anthem, every orchestra chart, every bell piece, every solo and every hymn has at its center this purpose. Our choice of literature is very intentional. Now more than ever, diversity in our music is essential for a well-rounded, aggressive music ministry.
We must hold fast to our traditions and constantly be looking for fresh new ways to present the gospel in our worship.
If you always do what you have always done, you will always have what you have always had!
The worship service needs to be thematic from start to finish. This includes the music, the bulletin cover, the Sanctuary itself with regard to decoration, litany etc.
- Nothing in worship is accidental, but rather a carefully crafted event.
- Everything we do in worship must be our very best. Good production values are necessity. In a day where even high school productions are looking and sounding better ever and using the latest technology, can the church do no less?
- It is a huge undertaking to have complete coordination of every worship service but the result is worth the effort.
A new area we are just now unveiling is our new Worship Arts Group. This group is a result of the belief that the church has always been a place to celebrate the arts. This also enables us to expand our conviction that worship is not only preaching and singing but rather an event for all our senses.
All of these things go together to create "kingdom worship" at Centenary.
© 2002 Chuck Weatherford
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