Podcast Episode #413
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The Worship Guru, Mike Harland, joins us again today to discuss how you can use your worship ministry to help become a more welcoming church.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- The reason we have such a shortage of worship pastors is because the role has changed so much.
- Your worship ministry can shut down the guest experience and make guests feel like outsiders by only singing original music.
- When you’re planning a worship service do so through the lens of what a newcomer will experience.
- Worship ministry can sometimes aim at everything and hit none of it.
- Excellence in worship is more important than variety.
- Choir should be more than a worship style—it should be a discipleship strategy.
The four ways you can develop a welcoming worship ministry are:
- Avoid “Insider Trading”
- Nobody likes Worship Casserole
- Tick Tock, the Game is Locked
- To Thine Own Self Be true
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Becoming a Welcoming Church.
Okay so long time listener, reader-books and blogs-you have no idea the influence you have on a small church in Southern California! But here’s a question I’ve been chewing on for months now I’m trying to move our church from insider to outsider focus. We all understand that a truly unchurched person will not know a single worship song (originals or popular national track) so what then is worship supposed to do? Just play one secular/radio track and so they at least know 1/5 of the music-I came from a large church that did that but I’m feeling now Like the best we can offer is absolute excellence and passion and they may be inspired and hungry for more at least by that authenticity…??
Susannah Spurgeon once said to her sons, ‘Dear boys of mine, I have no reason to suppose that you are yet trusting Christ: you will, I hope, in answer to our constant prayers, but till you definitely do you must not say or sing “I do believe, I will believe, that Jesus died for me.” It is just as wrong to sing a lie as to tell one.’
There often isn’t much discrimination used when it comes to selecting and introducing songs. The words of many hymns are addressed to man rather than to God, and are intended to be words of encouragement or edification for our brothers in Christ rather than expressions of praise directly to God. Often songs could do with being prefaced with an explanation of what the intent of the song is – of who (or Who) is being addressed, what the words mean, and directions for who should and should not participate in the singing. Some songs are fit only for true Christians to sing, some are fit only fit for Christians in a particular state of heart and mind, and some are expressive of objective truth which even a non-Christians could participate in without making any false claims about their own spiritual standing. Often songs are a mixture of all these things and ideally we should all read through the songs before singing them to find which parts are or aren’t suitable for ourselves to sing. It often seems illogical to forbid non-Christians to participate in the Lord’s Supper, yet encourage them to participate in singing worship songs to God while still living in rebellion against Him.
I want to say this kindly. JB, to me is just down in the weeds. Please do not take this as rude or judgmental.
I so totally agree with you JB! Visiting churches with friends who love the music, but show no evidence of Christian values in their everyday life is so upsetting to me as I wonder if they are truly a born again child of God or just including “feel good religion” to their life. Sometimes I wondered if I should be doing a seductive dance, falling into a trance, or being romantic in some of these song services. A “tickling of the ears” from a new source — a source that has vicious tentacles attempting to suffocate God’s church.
Marilyn, it sounds like you have a good place to start a dialog with your friends on their relationship with their Savior.
But I know what you mean a customer recently told me how totally drunk she got last weekend, as she was leaving I asked her if she attended church anywhere with the thought of inviting her to ours. Yes, she was a member of a good (big) church in another town.
Daily, we live in a rough and terrible secular world. It is wonderful to make the transition from this world into the peaceful world of God’s Kingdom.
Amen, Robert!
I couldn’t help but notice that point 2 is to value excellence over variety, but it is followed by point 3 which talks about having lots of different people involved. This seems like an inconsistent philosophy. If you have 3 really talented people, the first principle (excellence > variety) would dictate that no other people should be involved, but the second principle (inclusion > exclusion) leads to a different conclusion.
Interestingly, the first and last points present a bit of a dichotomy as well. Point 1 is to not get so wrapped up in who you are that you don’t reach the community while point 4 is to not get so wrapped in reaching someone else that you forget who you are.
There will always be a trade-off between excellence and participation, and there will always be a trade-off between identity and outreach. Practically, churches must find their place along each spectrum, recognizing and mitigating the risks that come with that position.
I was taken back by the comment, “It is a sin to be good when God has called you to be great.” Can you give me the scriptures for that statement? It seems to me God has called me to be faithful even if I am not great. I see doing my best as different from being great.
I’ve seen a great musician as a worship leader and I’ve seen a faithful (but not so great vocally) worship leader, I’ll take the latter any day.