Michael's Notes - Thoughts On Worship, Leadership & Fitness

Worship: delight in God

"The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me

is to express the same delight in God

David which made dance."

                                CS Lewis

Worship This Sunday… “At the end of the day, God sits on His Throne”

Worship this Sunday at ClearView takes a detour from the norm of looking at scriptures in a continuing series from a particular book.  Last week we finished our study of Nehemiah and next week we begin our study of 1 John. The interruption in this pattern is a special message related to the recession.  The key verse for this study will be Ecclesiastes 7:14 . “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: without question, God has made the one as well as the other, so that man cannot discover anything that will come after him.” (You can see a more detailed explanation of the sermon and where our pastor is headed at this link.)

Here is a list of songs that will be used in our worship center venue along with the scripture on which they are based:

Speak O Lord (Hebrews 4:12)

Better Than Life (Psalm 63:3)

I Bow Down (Psalm 95:6)

Blessed Be Your Name (I Thessalonians 5:18 )

There is great hope for those who put their faith in a never-changing God….no matter the circumstance.  The choir ministry song for this Sunday makes this statement:  “Some days turn upside down, troubles gather around, but at the end of the day God sits on His throne…this is the day that our God in heaven made.”

I want to be in communication with God everyday, worshiping Him, listening to Him, learning about Him and when I do Sunday's become a great day of celebration.

Worship Planning Today

Each week the worship planning team gets together to plan for the upcoming weeks, series and events. I have to admit that for many years this meeting was about the business of worship music: what songs, how long, what arrangement, and what things do we add to the service this week…all very necessary stuff.

Worship planning today looks much different. One change is that it isn’t just me and one other in the room, now there is a larger staff and we discuss multiple services and venues. The most important change is that we spend a significant amount of our time in study of God’s Word and in prayer. The study can be specific to the up-coming sermons or it can be, as it was today, about passage.

Today’s topic we examined was found in the book of 2 Chronicles Chapters 29-31, centering in on the call to ministry, specifically leading others in worship.

2 Chronicles 29: 11 states: “My dear Levites, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, and to lead the people in worship and make offerings to Him”

I believe the team I lead has been called to do just that…called to lead.

2 Chronicles 29:15: “These men called together their fellow Levites and they purified themselves. Then they began to purify the Temple of the Lord, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work.”

This is why we spend time in God’s Word and prayer each week; praying for each other, praying for ClearView, praying that as we lead we follow God’s instructions.

2 Chronicles 29:27: “Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the Lord were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, king of Israel.”

Burnt offerings = prayers…they lifted up prayers before they could ever minister. The worship team at ClearView wants to do just that; then when worship leaders, and all other worshipers join together, we celebrate the very presence of God, with joy.

2 Chronicles 31:21 : “In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow the law and the commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful.”

We know that we can never be successful if we do not seek God with our whole heart. Worship planning is so much better when it is not about the things that fill our worship services but about the One we worship and what we can learn about who we should be from His Word.

Public Worship Needs

"If there is one characteristic more than others that contemporary public worship needs to recapture, it is this awe before the surpassingly great and gracious God."

Henry Sloane Coffin

Worship this Sunday: 2 plus 1 = 2020

This Sunday at ClearView Church in Franklin, Tennessee, we begin a new journey: one that gives us the opportunity to accommodate more people in worship. Here are the descriptions of the service options on the ClearView campus:

 

9:30 AM

Venue 1 - The (Building A) Worship Center

A blended service that includes a variety of elements (songs of worship, prayer, hymns), focusing on connecting people with the presence of God.  The service is led by a vocal team, choir, band and on a regular basis orchestra.  The message is delivered by our pastor.

 

Venue 2 - The Chapel (Building C)

The service is described as 'more traditional' taking most of its elements of worship from the hymnal. The music elements will be accompanied by piano and led by a worship leader and supporting team.  In this venue the sermon will be presented on video screen delivered from "The Worship Center."

 

11:00 AM

Venue 1 - The Worship Center (Building A)

The worship service at this hour in the worship center is presented in the same format as the 9:30 AM time. The sermon is delivered live by our pastor.

 

How does 2 + 1 = 2020. The “Worship Center ” has the capability of seating 810 at one time and the “Chapel” can seat 400…so 810 + 810 + 400 = 2020.

 

On this Thursday here is how you can prepare and pray for worship:

Pray for the new leadership in “The Chapel”: Alexis Cruz, worship leader; John Duval, venue pastor and other leaders in ‘venue 2.” Another prayer would be for the team that leads the service in ‘venue 1.” Pray for our pastor as he puts the final touches on the sermon he will share with us. And finally pray that the people of ClearView will come expecting to meet God.  (If you were not part of the services last week it might be good to listen to the podcast of last week’s sermon. He talked specifically about how we should come into a worship venue each week.)

 

This week our pastor finishes leading us on a journey through the book of Nehemiah.  You can prepare for hearing God’s Word by reading Nehemiah Chapter 13.

 

Here are some other scriptures that also might help you prepare for worship this week at ClearView:

John 1:16,17

Psalm 68:19,20 

Ephesians 1:20-23

Psalm 146:1,2

I Corinthians 3:10,11

Worship wherever you are

Worship, do we limit the action to a Sunday morning event?  I hope not because that is not what worship is.  It is about being a follower of Christ and letting Christ show us how each day to be a better follower. 

 

Below is an email I just received from one of my choir members who has recently been deployed to Kuwait.  He shares his heart about meeting God in worship, his hunger to be closer to God and his observations about person’s willingness to use the gifts they have to help others worship.  It is a little long but it is worth the read.

 

__________________________ 

 

Last Sunday I went to the post chapel for morning service.  I had seen a poster in the barracks that advertised “ChapelNext” a contemporary worship service.  Most of my experience in military chapels has been a bit lack luster to say the least.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some great chaplains who do a real work for God in the military.  But with the constant change of personnel and in a “desert place” many times there is no music or musicians, etc.

 

However, this past Sunday I really met with God in an unusual way.  I feel like I really worshiped with my focus on God and God alone.  It wasn’t one of those things you can plan or prepare for.  It wasn’t a result of what anybody did to “make it happen,” or the result of a certain style of music that can “create worship” any better than any other.

 

The service began with group (congregational) singing.  There was a praise team of five voices, a rhythm guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drummer.  None of these musicians would be “good enough” to play or sing from the platform of our church back in Tennessee .  Further, the sound system was a bit inferior, and I am used to fantastic sound and even the latest in special effects lighting in my church.  The five singers consisted of a female soprano, a female alto, two men who sang the melody, and one man who sang the melody an octave low.  The group was racially mixed.  Nobody had on the latest “cutting edge” clothing.  Shoot, they all had on combat uniforms.  They introduced a young fellow named Mike who, for the first time, was running the computer PowerPoint which had the words projected on the wall.  Poor Mike had trouble keeping the words on the wall that they were singing, but he gave it a good effort.  Finally, the group of singers did not stand out on the stage in front.  They stood along the back wall beside the band, very unnoticed.

 

As we began singing, I was introduced to a new song.  Then we sang a familiar song.  We sang, “Open the eyes of my heart Lord,” and I began to feel like God and I were having a one-on-one moment together.  Nothing like I had ever had before.  We sang “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  I just closed my eyes and lifted my voice upward.  The tears began to flow.  I wanted to reach upward to God.  I have never been a hand-raiser.  I don’t even clap a lot to the songs.  But Sunday I wanted to reach to the heavens and touch God.  I never saw the musicians, never analyzed the chord structures, never gave it a thought that the harmonies weren’t even there.  I just got in touch with God.  I really didn’t want to stop.  We sang several songs.  When I would look at the singers, they had such a servant’s spirit.  I didn’t get the feeling they wanted to be the “sage on the stage.”  They were just humble soldiers, black and white, who would never get the chance to sing in most of our American evangelical churches because they weren’t “good enough.”  But they were engaged in worship and somehow I got there too.  I can’t explain it.  I didn’t feel the least bit of a critic, even when the wrong words were projected.  It was just alright.

 The sermon was great.  It was about Holy Spirit Power....  I don’t know how to describe what happened, but I met with God in an unusual way...

On Tuesday night, I attended a group Bible Study.  There were nine of us in attendance.  The group was racially mixed, two females, seven males, officers and enlisted.  Everybody was from different parts of the country.  I and one other were the only southerners there.  The study was lead by a layman/soldier from New York. He was well versed in the scripture and did a great job leading us through Matthew 14. It was obvious that (1) many of the attendees were young in faith and in the Word, and (2) hungry to learn more about God’s word.   At the end, we had a chance to share our joys, praises, and prayer requests.

Remember Mike, the young soldier who worked the PowerPoint for the music?  Well he was there.  He spoke and said something like this, “I have been saved six years and I’ve always wanted to give something in the service.  I’ve always wanted to participate somehow.”  Then with tears in his eyes he said, “Last Sunday they let me run the computer and the words to the songs.  It was the greatest thing I have ever done.  I didn’t think God would ever let me do something like that.”  WOW!  What a ministry.  This young soldier, far from home, was overjoyed that he got to run the computer during the time of praise and worship.  Isn’t God great?!  When I think about this group, the word “humble” comes to the front.  Nobody gets paid, nobody gets fame.

 If my deployment over here does nothing more for me than to have a new and refreshing walk with God, then this deployment is worth it...

 I really don’t know how to conclude this except to ask you to pray for this little band of believers.  Every week there are new people and every week people re-deploy back to the states.  They are literally spread all over the world before it is over.

 It’s an honor to serve my country and my God,

______________________ 

 I will be praying for Rodney

The End is Just the Beginning

Sunday January 25 was the end of a six year journey for the church I serve, ClearView Baptist Church Franklin Tennessee…no not the end of my job but the end to a building project which included a new master plan and getting the whole project approved by the City.  The most recent phase that we completed included: 16 preschool classrooms, indoor playground for preschoolers, children’s worship space for 250, youth space for 350 and a second worship venue that will seat 450.

ClearView now has two worship venues, the original seats 810 and now the new one 450.  The plan starting this week is to continue two worship services in ‘venue 1’ at 9:30 and 11:00 AM and then add a service in ‘venue 2’ at 9:30.  I never dreamed 27 years ago, when I started full-time ministry that we could have simultaneous services happening on the same campus and send the sermon from one to the other by video…times they are a changing.

 

“Venue 1”  the original is really a gym that was designed so that it could be a very effective worship center each week.  The great part about this space is that it is used seven days a week for a multitude of activities: sports, worship, dinner, housing homeless during the winter and many other things.  I believe ClearView is being good stewards of this space.

 

“Venue 2” even though it was designed to look like a traditional ‘chapel’ with stage, vaulted ceilings and windows with inlaid crosses, it also was designed to be flexible space.  The intent is to use it many different ways and fill it up as often as possible.  Just this past week ‘venue 2’ was able to be the meeting place for our DNOW weekend for middle school and high school students.  With just some minor effort and some added lights, the room looked totally ‘cool’ for the students.  This coming Sunday ‘venue 2’ will be the meeting place for our first ever ‘more traditional’ service.  Now that is flexibility!!! With this flexibility we are striving to be good stewards of this new space.  It is my prayer that we will be open to whatever God wants to take place in this room.

 

One campus, two worship venues, three services = more space for people to meet God in the conversation of worship.

 

If you truly worship

If you truly meet God you will worship;

and if you truly worship,

others will be drawn to God. 

                            Gerrit Gustafson

It's Thursday but Sunday (2-15) is coming

Okay I am going to try to start a new trend…a new blog post every Thursday giving a preview of what to expect in services at ClearView each weekend.  In so doing I hope that we can all be prepared to meet God in the conversation which is worship.

 

Get ready…there will be a lot of excitement in the worship room this week as Sunday will be the conclusion of DNOW weekend for students grades 6-12. The center section of the worship center is usually packed with students, middle school at 9:30 and high school at 11:00 AM.  It is so fun to see them engaged in worship.

 

The sermon this Sunday continues from Nehemiah and our pastor will be walking us through chapters 11 and 12.  In preparation for the service, why don’t we take a few minutes to read these chapters and maybe even look over notes from previous weeks.

 

Another way to prepare for Sunday would be to look at the following scriptures that are the basis for some of the songs we will sing:

 

Psalm 136:1-5 (Forever)

Isaiah 40:31 (Everlasting God)

Psalm 91:1-44 (Still)

Romans 5:20-21 (Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone)

Revelation 7:11-12 (Hallelujah We Will Sing)

Worship is not just what we do on Sunday mornings, but how we live our lives in obedience to God.  The gathering on Sunday mornings is important also as we gain strength from the corporate celebration…the sound of voices joining together in song and prayer and from the teaching of God’s word.

(photography by David Jones)

Something is not right...

As I was walking this morning I witnessed a scene that reminded me that we really don’t have our priorities right in this country…even in Williamson County Tennessee where I live.

 

The scene…

As I walked past a day-care I watched as a mother helped two small children from her car.  Instead of clinging to their mother, the two little girls ran with arms wide open to a day-care worker who was headed into the building.  The worker stopped and talked to the two little girls and even picked up the smallest one. It was obvious that the girls cared for the worker and it was also obvious that the worker cared for the children.

 

The part that is not right…

The story about Alex Rodriquez cheating in baseball, yet getting paid millions of dollars every year and then seeing a day-care worker loving and being loved by children and my guess is she barely makes over minimum wage. How did we get to this place?

 

I live in Williamson County, Tennessee, the richest county in Tennessee, yet the teachers in this county are not even the highest paid in the state, much less compare to the athletes who live here.

 

Why do we pay athletes so much, which places value on what they do, yet don’t reward the people who care for and educate our children the same way?

 

It is not just the athletes…that is just one example and believe me there are many more.  I even wonder sometimes if I have come to expect too much pay for the job I do each week. I really want to continue to ask that question and be willing to give beyond what I think is required and give all I can to help others. I will continue to examine my heart on this issue.