Minggu, 25 April 2010

THE HEART OF WORSHIP

In churches all over the world in multiple languages people sing "Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. The song has become something that thousands of Christians feel they can relate to. It has an honest, open and plain tune to it that leaves nothing other than an opportunity to worship the Lord.

In the late 1990's Matt Redman's hometown church was having a dry spell with their praise and worship. The Soul Survivor church located in Watford, England decided to get rid of it's high tech sound equipment for a season. Things had become so repetitious the members and leaders of the church were looking for something to spark the life back into the worship.

Matt Redman recalls "He decided (Pastor Mike Pilavachi) to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we'd lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away." Mike Pilavachi asked those in the congregation, "When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?"

Pastor Mike Pilavachi jokingly says he fired Redman "We needed to take drastic action. For a while, in order to truly learn this lesson, we banned the band. We fired Redman!" Pilavachi didn't know what needed to be done, but was desperate to stop what he felt like what the judging of the worship going on. "In our hearts, we were giving the worship team grades on a scale from one to ten: 'Not that song again,' 'I can't hear the bass,' 'I like the way she sings better.' We had made the band the performers of worship and ourselves the audience."

Matt Redman stated that at first everyone in the church was hesitant but slowly began singing without the music to back it up. Heartfelt prayers began all over the church. Everything was stripped away. Redman remembers writing the song coming to him quickly in his bedroom.

The song was not meant to be a Christian anthem. Redman says the song was simply to explain what had happened personally to him. Pastor Pilavachi suggested a few word changes so that it would fit the members of the congregation and the song was born.

The song appeared on Matt Redman's 1999 album "Heart of Worship". Redman recalls the song was made to sound much like the scene in the church. Nothing fancy added, just an honest song of praise. Since the song's release it has been rerecorded by numerous artists and sang in Churches all over the world.
The Soul Survivor church itself has spread as well as the song has. The church started in 1993 has spread to Canada, Holland, South Africa, Australia and The United States.


When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

Chorus:
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You,
It's all about You, Jesus

Verse 2:
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath

Bridge:
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

(NBG's: Jesus is looking into our heart when we are serving Him. Are we humble servants which could lead others to worship God or are we attracting others for our glory? I ever did such mistakes but Praise the Lord, HE changes me all the times. Let all the glory go the Holy one cause the worship is about Jesus alone)
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How does a worship leader lead people into worship?
Why is it that in some meetings the worship just flows and at other times the phrase 'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink' seems to echo inside the worship leader's brain? I am afraid that I don't have any quick and easy answers but here are what I consider to be some of the requirements for leading God's people in worship.

Prepared 
The worship leader must be prepared. Perhaps that sounds obvious but I'm sure I'm not the only person who has rushed into a meeting desperately trying to think of an opening chorus and hoping that, while we're singing this half a dozen times, I'll come up with some more choruses. Freedom in worship doesn't mean that we turn up and see what happens. Yes, it is important that the Holy Spirit is in charge of the worship but the Holy Spirit will work with us in preparation for the meeting as well as in the meeting itself. Having said this we must, of course, be open to His leading during the meeting and be prepared to move away from what we have chosen if the Holy Spirit so leads. 

Prayerfu
The preparation of the worship leader must go beyond picking the choruses and deciding on the order in which they are to be sung. The worship leader must spend time with God, talking to Him about the worship, listening to God's voice and, of course, worshipping. A worship leader needs God's anointing on his or her ministry. Anyone can flick through a chorus book or a box of acetates and pick a few songs but, without the Holy Spirit's anointing, this will not lead to worship. The anointing will come upon us as worship leaders as we spend time in His presence and receive from Him all that He has for us. God has given us the ministry of leading His people into worship but we can not do it in our own strength or by our own abilities; it is only as we hand back that ministry to Him that He can fully use us as channels for His purposes and to the glory of His Name.

Part of a team
This may be only you and one other singer or musician, it may be a number of musicians and singers (although it's best to avoid having more people out the front in the worship team than are left in the rest of the congregation!). Don't forget to include in the team the person who puts the acetates on to the projector. They have a thankless task; nobody notices until they get it wrong and that's often the fault of the worship leader. The members of the team must practice together but, more importantly, they must pray and worship together. 

Protected
Satan hates it when God's people worship and he will seek to disrupt the worship in whatever way he can. It is essential that the worship leader and other members of the team are protected, not only in the meeting but also before the meeting and during preparation. You can and must pray for each other but it is good to get specific people from outside the worship team to pray for you. Keep them informed of practice sessions and other times when covering prayer is particularly needed.

Servant heart
The worship team is there to serve the rest of the church, not to dominate them. The worship leader is there to serve the worship team and the rest of the church. Avoid chorus marathons (as an antidote to hymn sandwiches) and leave time for free worship, but the worship leader and his team will need to lead in this, particularly if your congregation is not used to this type of worship. It is wonderful to have all the correct notes, some nice 'fiddly bits', four-part harmony etc. but, most importantly, the worship team should be seen to be worshipping and praising God ("not entertaining", NBGs). Above all else, a worship leader must be a worshipper. Like the Biblical shepherd a leader must lead from the front and so can not lead others where he has not already been.
 


(edited  from Mike Forrest's article)



Rabu, 07 April 2010

IMAGE OF GOD (IMAGO DEI)

One day between 1995 -1996  I was introduced a religius song by a Christian fellowship on campus. At first, I could say there was no impression at all on this song, I only considered its notations; quite good and easy-received ear. Until one day through a long process of repentance, I often started singing the song and realized how theologically awesome the words in the song .... and yes, it touched me personally and it always does.

J.W. Peterson (Nov 1, 1921- Sept 20, 2006), the author, who composed the notations of the song was not just talented in music but a humble servant of God with a good theological knowledge as well because he knew the One whom he served and worshiped is the Almighty God, Master of the Universe.

May we always remember that we are His likeness.for His glory only.
(NBGs)


In the image of God, we were made long ago,
with the purpose divine, here his glory to show;
But we failed Him one day, and like sheep went astray,
thinking not of the cost, we His likeness had lost.

But from eternity, God had in mind,
the work of Calvary, the lost to find;
From His heaven so broad, Christ came down earth to trod,
so that men might live again in the image of God.

Now that I have believed, and the Saviour received,
now that I from the cry, of my guilt am relieved,
I will live for my Lord, not for gain or reward,
but for love thinking of, what His grace has restored!

I’ll never comprehend, redemption’s plan,
how Christ could condesend, to die for man;
Such a Saviour I’ll praise, to the end of my days,
as I upward, onward trod in the image of God.

Sabtu, 03 April 2010

I Stand In Awe of You

As a teenage rock 'n' roller, Mark Altrogge (pronounced "Al-troe-ghee") never would have anticipated that his criteria for judging a good song would be whether or not it was theologically sound. As a senior pastor and long-time worship leader in the university town of Indiana, Penn., however, Altrogge now places this as the top value to be embedded in any of his songs.

"The ideal song for me," he claims, "if it were possible to write, would be both doctrinally rich while also containing great emotion that captures passionate affection for God." Indeed, it is possible to compose such songs, as Altrogge demonstrated in such stand-out worship tunes as "I'm Forever Grateful" and perennial favorite "I Stand in Awe," penned in 1986.

But the road getting to where he is today was not without twists and turns. In the early 1970s, worrying about theological soundness would have been foreign to Altrogge. At that time, his primary focus was on studying art, which he would later teach before becoming a pastor, and concentrating on his own music career.

When Altrogge became a Christian in 1974 following graduation, that focus quickly shifted. "I wound up quitting the rock band and wasn't sure what God would have me do with my music. I attempted to write more performance-type songs." In a candid moment he reveals, "In my fantasies I was hoping I'd wind up like Keith Green or somebody, doing concerts. I don't think I'm actually good enough that I could have done that," he murmurs dryly, "but I was deceived into thinking I could at the time."

One climactic spiritual experience during this phase of his life, however, would dramatically alter Altrogge's plans for the future. "I can remember I was playing around," he says, "writing a song, and, although it wasn't audible or anything, I just felt like God said to me, 'Mark, do you want to be a servant with your music?' And I said, basically, 'Yeah, of course.' And I just felt the Lord said to me, 'Well, write worship songs that serve my people.' That's not to say that other kinds of songs are any less valuable-I just felt like somehow God spoke that to me."

With honesty, Altrogge admits that, "at the time, I was not real excited about worship music. I was used to seeing bands like Yes and Genesis, and their music was really complex." Worship music seemed to him to be very elementary. "I can remember thinking it would be easy to write a worship song. As I found out shortly after, it wasn't so easy!" His first few efforts were "kind of cornball," but Altrogge eventually gained a different perspective. "I began to develop a passion to try to write songs that had some lyrical and doctrinal depth, and some musical complexity."

Around this time, Altrogge began to be discipled by Brent Detwiler, a leader in the PDI (formerly People of Destiny International, now "Proclaim-ing God's Grace, Developing Local Churches, Influencing Our World with the Gospel") church who emphasized the union of theology and character in the Christian life and throughout everything that believers put their hand toward. Altrogge started working closely with other PDI leaders as well. The result, he says, was an emphasis on strong doctrinal content in his songs "because I began to see that sound doctrine created properly motivated affection for God."

Altrogge admits, "most of my songs don't have a very impressive story of how I received the inspiration. It is usually a lot of hard work and hit and miss and playing things over and over, hoping to recognize when something sounds good." Reflecting on "I Stand in Awe of You," the songwriter says, "I remember working on this song for quite a while before it finally clicked."

It was the mid-1980s and Altrogge, already a husband and father of two (two more children would follow), had become a pastor in the PDI movement. "With most of my songwriting," Altrogge explains, "I'm usually meditating on something I'm being affected by. As I am meditating, I will try to sometimes capture that meditation in song." While reading The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul and The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer the theme for the song emerged. "I was deeply moved by the fact that God is infinite in all of his attributes, and that there's no way of fully understanding that."

The song quickly became a favorite in the PDI churches, though it took a bit longer for it to become published. "I got real discouraged in the early 1980s, sending songs around to publishers," he admits. "I would put three or four songs onto a tape and send them out to the churches that we were affiliated with and say, 'If you can use 'em, go ahead. They're free. I don't want anything for them. I would be honored if any of them just served the church.'"

Eventually, "I Stand in Awe" did in fact, begin to serve countless believers in worship. When PDI finally made the decision to start publishing music, Integrity Music placed the song on Bob Fitts' The Lord Reigns project released in 1989.

Altrogge recommends this approach to fledgling songwriters. "First of all, see if the song is effective in your own local church," he suggests. "If the song works within a local setting, then send it out to the churches that you're a part of and see if it takes off there. I think God will get those songs out which he wants to."

"I never would have imagined this," Altrogge says of his success. "To write a song that would help people enter into worship or to gain some deeper understanding of God's awesomeness is the most satisfying thing I could think of for my life," he says thoughtfully. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

"I Stand in Awe," Mark Altrogge, 1987, PDI Praise. Lyrics reprinted by permission of author.

Phil Christensen is worship pastor at the Church on the Mountain near Mt. Hood, Ore.

I STAND IN AWE OF YOU

You are beautiful beyond description
Too marvelous for words
Too wonderful of comprehension
Like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp you infinite wisdom
Who can fathom the depth of your love
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned above

And I stand, I stand in awe of you
I stand, I stand in awe of you
Holy God to whom all praise is due
I stand in awe of you.

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