i am an offering

Hey all, I just wanted to make you aware that Sovereign Grace Ministries has released several of their sessions from the WorshipGod 06 conference for free. These are well worth checking out. You can find them here.

It’s been tough for me to blog lately. I’ve been a bit discouraged and down, but have had some wise advice from people and am resting in God’s strength.

I really would love to get to know who is reading, even if I know you. Would you leave a comment and just say hello and where you’re from?

Today I saw a great example of worship. There is going to be a festival coming up here to promote the various ministries within the church. The festival is in the Fellowship Hall and I just walked out into the narthex to drop off some sheets of paper on a table and happened to peek into the fellowship hall and see our small groups pastor walking the tables and praying. How awesome to see that act of worship today.

Hello everyone!  Here are some thoughts going through my mind today:

• Had a great meeting with my pastor this morning.  How incredibly encouraging it is to just sharpen each other.
• “The number one reason that churches don’t grow is because of a lack of personal evangelism.”  I think I have to agree with that.  If we take the responsibility of “you shall be my witnesses” seriously, we should spend our efforts trying to reach out to the broken and help them get healed with the help of Jesus.  When they see that Jesus heals, they’ll fall in love with Him, and will want to be part of His church, His bride.
• Speaking of Jesus’ bride, I found this post very intriguing and eye-opening.  “Membership in and service to a local, biblically organized church body is not optional in the life of a believer, and is something that should not be taken lightly.”
• Along those lines, I think the quote above should read, “Partnership,” not membership.  Check this out.
• I’m still waiting for your questions. I would really love to get to know who’s reading this blog.  Even if it’s a question like, “Who in the world are you and why do you think you know anything about worship and music?”

Hello all!   I’d like to try something a little different.   I’d like to get to know the readers of this blog a little bit better, and get a feel for what you’d like to know.   So, if you’re a regular reader, someone who’s lurking in the shadows or someone who just happened to stumble upon this site, would you be willing to ask a question that has to do with any aspect of leading worship within the church?   We can learn together as we do this.   So fire away!

Yesterday I mentioned that I wanted to share some Scripture, thoughts, and ideas of how to involve artists in worship. First, let me say, that I couldn’t find the Scripture I was looking for. I had thought the Levites were in charge of some of the artwork inside the temple as well as the music, but I couldn’t find the reference. If anyone can enlighten me, that would be fantastic.

*Ernie alerted me to the great reference of Exodus 31. The first six verses are an amazing testimony that God desires to use all of our gifts to worship Him:

Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you:

He goes on to mention that “everything I have commanded you” includes all of the aspects of the tabernacle. Thanks, Ernie!*

Another Scripture can also definitely help us to understand using art in worship:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17.

So often we think of “worship” as singing, praying, speaking, playing an instrument. But another deed in which we can praise God is through other forms of art. Here are some ways we can use art in worship:

• Graphic Design - Creating slides for the sermon, designing professional bulletins, designing modern banners for the foyer or sanctuary, designing a whole theme for the front of the church during a sermon series.
• Photography - Let photographers be involved. Good photos can go on banners, sermon slides, websites, promotional materials. The power of a well-taken photograph is unmatched. But please, please, let photographers use their own equipment, or make sure you invest in a good, quality camera for the church. Don’t buy the cheapest digital camera you can find!
• Painting - Paintings can be used as banners or decoration for the sanctuary, or if someone is willing, have them paint something as an act of worship during special music or during a special time in the service, then display the painting prominently. (This can get messy, so make sure you have plenty of canvas and you know exactly how you’re going to pull this off! Check this out. I’ve seen it done, and it’s powerful!)
• Dance - Some of us get really scared by this word but the Bible is very clear that dance is an appropriate way to worship God. It’s also very clear that when one despises someone because of their form of worship, bad things happen! (Check out this passage for proof!) You could use liturgical dance, you could use dance choregraphed as drama to music, or you could encourage your people to worship God with their whole bodies.
• Sculpture - Do people sculpt in your congregation? Use them! Perhaps you could have someone do bits of sculpture each week during a series, talking about how God molds us and shapes us into someone who is more like Him. Do people make pottery? You could use their pottery for a foot-washing service, or serve commuion elements from their pottery. I once saw a video of a man carving loaves of bread that were set up on a stand. The people took the bread from the carving as their bread for communion, and the fiinished carving was Jesus’ body on the cross. What a powerful picture of the Lord’s Supper!
• Video - Mark Batterson always says that video screens are digital stained glass windows. I love that! Stained glass told stories through the pieces, video can tell stories in an even more vivid way. There are so many aspiring producers and editors all over. Again, let them use their own cameras, or invest in quality equipment for the church and let them run with it.

The church is first of all about proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ. But it is also about nurturing gifts within its people. Let’s take time to nurture the gifts of artists, letting them use their gifts to worship God, and providing a fanstastic community for them as well.