Cracking the Worship Ministry Code

My pastor was talking with me the other day about a tuition centre in Singapore that causes the students who enroll there to score well in the Singapore mandarin (Chinese) language exams even if they are weak in the language. They have figured out what the Ministry of Education is looking for at every level of the exams, and so they focus intensively on those areas. In other words, that tuition centre has cracked the code for the Singapore Chinese examination system.

What that centre has done for Chinese exams is what I have done for worship ministry. I have cracked the Worship Ministry Code.

To some people that sounds like no big deal. I am sure I am not the first to have cracked it. Maybe I am just the first to express it this way and really explore what it means to worship ministry and our Christian lives. When I interact with other worship leaders online, I find that many of them from other countries have cracked the code also, just that many of them don't give the Scriptural backing for what they do and why it works.

So when I say I cracked the worship ministry code, I am not saying that I am the only one or that I am the best worship ministry teacher around, OK?

To some other people, this claim is the very heights of presumptuousness. They believe that worship ministry is complex, difficult and requires very detailed leading and guiding from the Holy Spirit for every step and every nuance. Even worse, they believe that the Holy Spirit will often be leading them to do weird or flaky stuff to prove their obedience to him and to show how little they depend on formulae, principles and techniques.

These people usually unsubscribe from my emails after some time, because they disagree with me so much. And that is fine with me. I am here to serve those who find value in what I teach, not to irritate and provoke those who think differently!

How can we be sure that we can crack the worship ministry code? How can we know that worship ministry can be simple, straightforward and easy to teach?

1) God is consistent

That's very important, because worship has to be pleasing to God. If God is inconsistent, in other words, he keeps changing his character or his requirements, then there is no code to crack. In such a case, worship ministry would be complex, difficult and require detailed and nuanced leading from the Holy Spirit every step of the way. And we can have no assurance that we can get it right this time, even though we may have got it right many times before.

Heb 13:8 (NIV) - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

And because God is consistent, we know that what pleased him before in the Bible will please him now. We can be confident that the prayers he answered before are the same ones that he will answer now. We know that what he esteems and values in times past are what he esteems and values now.

And we can think, pray and act accordingly!

2) God is consistent in accepting us

Not only is God consistent, he is also consistent in accepting us. If God is harsh, demanding and unmerciful, there is still hope that we can please him IF we meet up to his high standards and requirements. But the Bible reveals that God is consistent, faithful in showing us mercy in spite of our sins and transgressions.

Mal 3:6 (NIV) - "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

3) God desires that we meet him in worship

God isn't putting up with our praises and worship. He isn't enduring it, hoping that we will get it over and done with as soon as possible. He finds it pleasing, that is, he enjoys it.

Psalm 69:30-31 (NIV) - I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

Because he finds it pleasing, he has made it possible for us to worship him acceptably, through Jesus Christ.

Heb 13:15 (NIV) - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Important point though: our worship is not automatically accepted through Christ, because some believers choose to make their status in Christ of no effect. They do so by trusting in their own works to make them acceptable before God, rather than the finished work of Christ.

Gal 5:4 (NIV) - You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

So we can say that offering God an acceptable sacrifice of praise is easy. All we need to do is to surrender our pride and self-righteousness…

Conclusion:

When we put all those factors together, we end up with a theology that makes meeting God in praise and worship something natural and simple for us as believers. So if praising God acceptably is natural and simple, why should facilitating praise and worship not be natural and simple too? Why do people in worship ministry want to make things more complicated and difficult than how the Bible teaches it?

Those who have read my book Invisible Worship Musician know that the first five chapters are about the myths and misunderstandings common in worship ministry. I realize now that I had to explain all those factors so you can understand that not only is there such a code for worship ministry, but that it is very simple to find, understand and make use of.

And once you have cracked the worship ministry code, everything else (how to choose the songs, how to lead the worship, what should the musicians play) flows very naturally and logically from there.

But it all starts with the right theology, knowing that God wants us to encounter him in praise and worship and that he has made it possible for the meek and humble to approach him easily. And if you truly grasp this, you find yourself growing in boldness and confidence in your prayer and worship life.

And that's always good!

Who's the mediator?

It never offended me before, but it did now.
I was having a conversation with one of my students, a lady in my Dynamic Devotions Course.
(In case you don't know, Dynamic Devotions is the course I conduct for keyboardists already serving in church and want advanced training in playing keyboards for worship. I cover the subtle details that many musicians miss, details that vastly enhance the worship experience of the congregation. This course also builds them up to the level where they can play the piano prophetically, that is, play down the presence and glory of God through the piano. Think of it as a black belt worship keyboardist class…)
This lady said "In order to lead the people into the presence of God, I HAVE to be close to God. How can I bring them to intimacy with God if I myself am not intimate with God?"
And if YOU believe that, brace yourself. And read what I have to say.
If you HAVE to be intimate with God in order to lead people to that point, you're saying that if you are not, the people CAN'T be intimate with God. You are setting yourself up as the mediator between God and man.
Well, in 1 Timothy 2:5 says "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…"
And when I lead worship, especially for Tuesday Group, I am so conscious of Christ Jesus in every believer present. If for some reason I am not living in the truth of Christ's mediation for me, there are so many others who can be that link, that mediator, that I can be touched by God, be closely embraced by God and be blessed.
That's why I LOVE to lead worship for Tuesday Group, by the way. :) There are so many people there who live in the truth of Christ in them, that at anytime they carry within their bodies the very one who connects God with everyone around them. No wonder the worship at each meeting is so powerful!
Now why then, doesn't that link, that divine connection, occur more often when people worship God? Couple of reasons.
First, there are too few people who truly understand true worship leading, how to really lead worship. They've been given cliches such as "You worship God and the rest of the people will follow." They do what they've been told works by people who can't consistently make it work. And wonder why what they do falls flat.
Second, many people neutralize the Christ in them, making him of no effect. In Galatians 5:4 "You who are trying to be justified (made right, be in right standing) by the law have been alienated from Christ…"
You can tell me all the doctrinal truths you subscribe to, Justification by Faith, Salvation by Grace and all that. All I want to know is this: when you have to meet God face to face, what are you counting on? Are you counting on you doing the right things? Or on Christ having already given himself as a ransom for you, making you good enough?
And let's take this verse a little further.
Mark 12:29-31 "The most important one, Jesus answered, "is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second one is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these."
Since in this passage, Jesus himself said that loving God and your neighbor is considered the law. When you face God, are you able to stand before him with confidence because you love him and your fellow man? Or because he has loved you? When you are counting on you loving God and your neighbor (fulfilling the summary of the law) to be in right standing before God, Christ (the anointed one, the mediator between God and man) is made of no effect to you.
As I said, don't tell me your doctrine. Tell me what really happens within you when you step up in front of the congregation after you've just quarreled with your spouse, yelled at your kids, shook your fist at the person who snatched that last parking lot from you (and realized that's your pastor!)
I personally believe God allows all these things to arise before we lead worship so that we can go back to square one and say "God, it's still ALL about your grace, sufficient for me, your strength made perfect in my weakness."
Before I get flamed by the people who are offended by what I say here, let me make this crystal clear.
I believe in intimacy with God. Really.
But I crave that intimacy with God not for the sake of the people I serve, but for my own sake. I know by now that I am a wineskin for God's people. My experience, my understanding, my deep knowledge of how to lead worship, my music skill and even all my anointing makes me an excellent wineskin. I am one of the best wineskins I know.
But I am nothing without the wine of God. Do you get it?
And that is what's on my mind every time before I lead worship, play for worship or even teach worship. God, give me (or us) the fresh wine!
My intimacy with God tells me one thing: God wants to be with his people and bless them because he loves them. My time with God tells me that I lead worship well not because of my time with God, but that he wants to spend time with us, with his beloved and precious people.
And he does, because someone in the whole group (not necessarily me) has the faith to believe that Christ, the connecting link between God and man, dwells within him or her. And God shows up.
So, worshippers of Jesus Christ, do give thought on what I share here. I'm pouring out my heart to you, hoping that somehow or other God will use my words to speak to you, that you may be blessed.
Prayer time: Thank God! The arrangements for the beginner guitar course are blessed! We are making my Core Concepts for Worship an integral part of the course, as well as teaching some things about how to effectively lead worship. Pray that God will bless us and expand our territory.
And help us ask your close friends and ministry leaders this question: if I were to take all my teaching on how to lead worship and make it a separate course by itself, would they be interested? Ask them to email their thoughts, comments and questions to me at jvworship@gmail.com.
Thanks! Be blessed!