Come Worship With Us!
You can listen to and/or download a podcast of recent sermons posted on the new
Sermon Links page.
This is part of an article (edited) that can be found at umcdiscipleship.org/resources/how-and-why-shall-weworship
How (and Why) Shall We Worship?
by L. Edward Phillips with Taylor Burton-Edwards
The worship committee is meeting for the first time. The chairperson asks the pastor, “What are we supposed to accomplish with this committee?”
The pastor answers, “Our goal is to facilitate good worship for our church.”
“How will we know when we have done that? The idea of ‘good worship’ seems a little vague to me.” The pastor suggests, “Let’s poll this committee to find out what our expectations of “good worship” might be.”
“I like worship that uses the old traditional hymns, such as ‘Blessed Assurance.’”
“But my teenagers want gospel songs they can clap their hands to! Remember how much they liked the Christian rock music performed by that touring youth choir?”
A teenager joins in, “I didn’t like that at all! I find it embarrassing when my church tries to do that stuff.”
Another teen says, “I do like it, as long as it helps me and all of us feel the presence of the Holy Spirit.”
“I think we should always say the Lord’s Prayer.” “But do we have to say it every Sunday? I like it when
the pastor just makes up the prayer.”
“Isn’t worship supposed to give us something to think about?”
“We think all the time. We don’t need more thinking. We need more of the presence of God.”
The teenager speaks up again, “We can’t just think or feel all to ourselves and call ourselves Christians, right? We need worship to get us out there, to focus more on the social issues and people all around us, like hunger, or the homeless man who tries to wash our windshields when we get in our cars.”
“But let’s not forget personal conversion. That’s what Christianity is for. We can feed and house people all we want, but that won’t save them from hell or get them to heaven.”
We know worship is important, and we want it to be vibrant and vital. Yet, we have many diverse and sometimes incompatible ideas of what “good” worship on Sunday morning should include.
Does this scenario sound familiar in your congregation? We know worship is important, and we want it to be vibrant and vital. Yet, we have many diverse and sometimes incompatible ideas of what “good” worship on Sunday morning should include.
Some prefer what we call “traditional worship” that gives us a strong sense of continuity with our tradition, using traditional hymns, prayers, and creeds. Others prefer what has been called “contemporary worship,” which uses different technologies, leadership and music styles, and seems to appeal more to the experience of God in the now than the people’s connection with God across the ages and eternally. Some idealize worship that culminates in a call to conversion or commitment, while still others expect worship primarily to inspire or challenge their thinking.
These differences in expectations turn out not to be simply about style. More fundamentally, they’re about what we think we’re doing in worship, what we understand the ultimate purposes of worship may be…
What do you believe about worship? What makes it worshipful? How should a church decide what to include and what to leave out? Share your thoughts with our Worship Design Ministry Team – Margaret Getzin, Meagan Fandrey, Lin Strong, Kurt Hornby, Vicki Nowaczyk or Martie Pahris.
Why Bother with Choirs?
Singing in Choir...
Provides a healthy creative and artistic balance to heavily data-based education.
Is therapeutic, giving singers the chance to momentarily put aside their other pressures and concerns.
Is an effective vehicle for developing faith using music and church history.
Develops poise under pressure.
Teaches the value of teamwork.
Develops young people’s sense of culture and sophistication by adding beauty and aesthetic depth to worship.
Teaches the value of careful preparation in reaching goals.
Teaches a sense of responsibility and setting priorities.
Provides the foundation for a lifetime enjoyment of music.
Gives members a sense of pride and self-worth by showing singers that their individual leadership, demeanor and discipline make a significant to the success of the group
