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ON WORSHIP
(Part 7)
SOME
PRACTICAL INPUTS
November
7, 2011
Worship is at the core of our life as CFC-FFL. We worship during
our personal prayer time, at our household meetings, at prayer
assemblies, at conferences and at other community events. We live
a lifestyle of worship.
This paper provides practical inputs on certain aspects of
worship. It is a supplement to the book “Worship.” It will
help us enter into the lifestyle of worship as a community.
Leader’s exhortation to worship
To start communal worship, the worship leader exhorts the
people to worship. Such exhortation is not a talk or teaching, and
not an extended personal sharing. Though there could be aspects of
sharing or teaching, the purpose of the worship leader is simply
to exhort to worship. It is to point out to the people that they
are about to come before the King of kings. He helps people to
focus their minds and hearts on the Lord.
One good way to exhort people is to cite a passage from the book
of Psalms, and then briefly expound on the same. In the book of
Psalms there are very many verses that exhort to worship.
Such exhortation to worship would normally just take a few
minutes.
At certain special occasions such as conferences or anniversaries,
it is allowable or perhaps even desirable for the worship leader
to have an extended exhortation to worship, which then could
include personal sharing and/or a mini-teaching.
Note: Emcees who call on the worship leader make the mistake of
telling the people to stand. They should not do so, as the worship
leader will still do his exhortation to worship, while the people
remain seated.
Clapping while singing
Clapping our hands is one good expression of worship. As such
it can be done at any time during the vibrant praise portion of
the worship.
It has been the practice of many however to clap their hands
rhythmically throughout the whole praise song. It is better if
such continuous clapping is not done, for the following reasons:
-
1)
It can get pretty tiring;
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2)
It keeps one from raising his hands in worship;
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3)
If not done in proper rhythm and beat, it can be distracting
and can even spoil the song;
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4)
It precludes the clapping that is “proper” to certain
songs.
Raising
of hands
We often raise our hands at various times when we are singing
our praise and worship songs. In addition to Chapter 17 on
“Lifting our Hands” in the book “Worship,” here are
further practical inputs.
We raise one hand or two hands. If only one, it would normally be
the right hand.
When we praise, our hand is raised with palm outward toward God.
When we are making our petitions or being prayed over, our palm is
turned inward.
While it is acceptable to keep our hand(s) raised at all times if
we want to, that would be tiring. Further, there are more proper
times to raise our hand to God, depending on what phrases we are
saying/singing. The most proper times are when we are addressing
God, especially when we praise Him. Oftentimes, though not always,
this is reflected in the song’s refrain (chorus).
Singing as praying
It has been said that singing is praying twice. Singing indeed
is a very important part of worship, which is part of prayer. Many
times, however, we sing the songs mindlessly, that is, not truly
mindful of what we are singing, and thus what we are praying. Some
might sing phrases that they would normally not pray, at least not
yet at that time in their lives.
Consider the following:
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“Tell
me what you want me to do Lord God, tell me what you want for
my life. It’s yours, oh God, it’s yours. Do your will,
have your way, be Lord God in this place, oh I want your will
to be done.” (By Your Side). Ready to turn your life over
completely to God?
-
“Servants
of the Lord, ours the upward call, to lay down our lives and
to give our all. …. For to live is Christ and to die is gain
….Riches, honor, fame, gladly we despise …. Nothing in
this world shall possess our hearts” (To Know You and to
Make You Loved). Ready to renounce the things of this world?
-
“We
will serve through tribulation, we will follow to the
cross”(Once No People). Ready to embrace the cross of
Christ?
-
“My
glory in your cross of shame and suffering .... My glory in
your deep humiliation” (Redeeming Love). Ready for
affliction and persecution?
-
“Jesus
I believe in you and I will go to the ends of the earth” (To
the Ends of the Earth). Ready to be a missionary to a far-off
place?
-
“Should
it be my last drop of blood I will shed it for you. My God I
will live and die for you.” (Song of a Servant). Ready to be
a martyr?
Be
careful. God might just grant your prayer.
So what is one to do? Continue to sing such songs, but be mindful
of what you are saying (praying) and in your heart confess to God
your inadequacy and even reluctance, while affirming that you want
to follow Him and have His will done in your life. By His grace,
despite our human weakness and sinfulness, God will move us on to
deeper faith and greater holiness.
Singing (praying) in tongues
Tongues is a manifestation of charismatic worship. Check out
Chapter 18 on “Praying in Tongues” in the book “Worship.”
Tongues enables the congregation to enter more deeply into the
presence and worship of God. As such, it should not just be a
mechanical part of the worship (after the worship song). It should
become a heartfelt response to God’s presence and the awe we are
experiencing. The music ministry should continue strumming guitars
and making a joyful but solemn noise as long as there are those
still singing in tongues. In fact, vibrant strumming can help stir
up tongues even more.
Further, the time of singing in tongues, to be followed by a time
of silence, is the time when people begin to sense any words that
the Lord might have for them, to be shared to all in prophecy or
inspired scripture reading. The time of silence is not that long,
as the Lord should have spoken to people’s hearts during the
singing in tongues. (Note: in certain gatherings such as
conferences and anniversaries, there might not be any time given
to share His words to all).
Music ministry team
Singing is very much a part of worship, and in fact enhances
worship. If there is singing, then it is best if there is music
and accompanying instruments. As such, we have our music ministry.
One important thing for the music team to remember is that they
are there to enhance singing and thus worship, and not as
performers. As such, there are some things to watch out for:
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Showmanship,
while entertaining, can distract from worship, so avoid it.
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Play
songs that the congregation can easily sing along with, not
complicated songs with intricate blending or variations in
tone and pitch.
-
Play
songs that the congregation knows, so they can actively
participate; new songs of course can be taught.
-
The
volume of music ministry instruments and singers should not be
so loud as to drown out the voices of the congregation.
-
While
a full band can be helpful to worship, it is not necessary
(though oftentimes desirable); one guitarist or organist can
suffice.
Praisefest
The Praisefest is usually done at special events, such as
conferences, anniversaries and the like. It normally caps the
event, concluding it on a high point.
The Praisefest should not turn out to be a songfest, that is, just
having so many songs in succession, with an occasional prayer said
in between songs. There have been events where there were 10 or
even more songs sung during the so-called Praisefest. That is too
much. Five songs or so will suffice.
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