Serving in Your Church Music Ministry
5/5
()
About this ebook
Randall D. Engle
Rev. Randall D Engle is Sr. Pastor and Director of Music at the North Hills Christian Reformed Church of Troy, MI, and is working on a PhD at the University of Wales.
Related to Serving in Your Church Music Ministry
Titles in the series (100)
Catwalk Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/51 Peter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Detained Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A March Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A January Bride Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Case for Faith for Kids Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edge of Apocalypse: A Joshua Jordan Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Again Good-Bye Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Last Light Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Case for Christ for Kids Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Promise Box Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart of Stone: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Downfall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fit to Be Tied Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Secrets of Sloane House Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wounded Healer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Treason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Grace Notes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Private Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wishing Tree: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Farraday Road Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intervention Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Lady’s Honor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evidence of Mercy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Premiere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Slow Burn: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Written on Silk Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coming Home: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior's Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
Strengthening Music Ministry in the Evangelical Church Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorship Quest: An Exploration of Worship Leadership Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Voice of Our Congregation: Seeking and Celebrating God's Song for Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Music in the Church: A Personal Journey Including Tools for Worship and Music Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Privilege of Worship: Keys to Engaging Worship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaking God’s Praise Glorious!: Words of Inspiration and Support for Church Choir Directors and Their Choirs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe New Worship: Straight Talk on Music and the Church Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Church Musicians: Reflections On Their Call, Craft, History, And Challenges Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sing!: How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Worship Walk: Where Worship and Life Intersect Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Essential Worship: A Handbook for Leaders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Message in the Music: Studying Contemporary Praise and Worship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Worship Leader Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Worship Pastor: A Call to Ministry for Worship Leaders and Teams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Devotional Warm-Ups for the Church Choir 2nd Ed: Preparing to Lead Others in Worship Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Worship Leader's Toolkit Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorship in Song: A Biblical Philosophy of Music and Worship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Importance of Worshiping Together: Vital Biblical Dynamics for Unified Worship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Music Architect: Blueprints for Engaging Worshipers in Song Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flow: The Ancient Way to Do Contemporary Worship Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoing Full Circle: Worship that Moves Us to Discipleship and Missions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourney of a Worshiper: Exploring Matters of Faith and Leadership Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Worship Workshop: Creative Ways to Design Worship Together Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Worshiping Artist: Equipping You and Your Ministry Team to Lead Others in Worship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Art of Worship: A Musician's Guide to Leading Modern Worship Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Practice for Heaven: Music for Worship That Looks Higher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Complete Worship Service: Creating a Taste of Heaven on Earth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMusic in Worship: An Examination of the Contemporary Music in the Churches of Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorship on Earth as It Is in Heaven: Exploring Worship as a Spiritual Discipline Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Heart of Worship Files Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Christianity For You
Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Law of Connection: Lesson 10 from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5NIV, Holy Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better (updated with two new chapters) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Serving in Your Church Music Ministry
2 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Serving in Your Church Music Ministry - Randall D. Engle
PREFACE
A wise teacher of preachers once quipped that poor speakers ask, What shall I say?
but good speakers ask, Who is my audience?
Indeed, key to all communicative projects, including this book, is finding a voice and reaching the targeted audience.
That said, 1 need buckshot to hit my target. I’m writing to musicians and encouragers of musicians, to church employees and church volunteers, to ministry professionals and persons who just got the assignment to run the worship program
at their church, to independent churches and churches that belong to denominations of all stripes, and to churches whose worship style runs the gamut from storefront gospel to high Latin Mass! All of this without being too technical on the one hand, or too simplistic and general on the other. I hope my aim is good and, if you can excuse the oxymoron, both broad and specific so that all persons and churches will be equally fortified and inspired to better ministry.
More than that, I also want to offer something new. I am aware of all the excellent academic texts and journals that exist in liturgics, church music, choir directing, improvisation, service planning, and so forth. However, in most publications, theory and practice often exist across a great divide. Either one hears from academics, who, quite honestly, have little experience working for a volunteer, not-for-profit organization (the church), or one hears from musicians and worship planners, whose ideas often have no theological rudder and whose writing remains only on the level of a neat thing you might want to try.
What I have tried to do is to ground the duties (practice) of a church musician and worship planner in a biblical mandate for worship (theory). I want to knot theory and practice tightly together. In doing so I hope to stimulate musicians, artisans, preachers, worship planners and instrumentalists, Sunday school teachers — everyone who is connected in some way, shape, or form to the worship life of the church. I want us to look at worship and our role in it in different and new ways. I want to remind us all that our work has biblical precedent and that it is the conduit through which the Holy Spirit works to touch the lives and hearts of worshipers.
Our modern-day ethos puts me—you—in the center of everything: We are the world!
Be all you can be!
You are the reason.
When disorientation occurs about whom and what worship is for, battles erupt over music and worship style. And no one wins—not when discussions of worship begin and end by merely arguing personal preference. True worship renewal begins once congregants, pastors, and musicians agree that worship is for God, and when leaders and musicians begin making wise choices that flow from this basic premise. But the idea that worship is something first of all for God, not for me, sounds preposterous in a world of self-absorbed church shoppers.
Nevertheless, it is our calling to point worshipers to God. I pray that this little book will be useful to all stewards of music as we strive to do this.
ONE
Words on Worship
Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.
ISAAC WATTS
WORK WORTHY OF ETERNITY
One Wednesday evening after choir rehearsal Jon and Joy grabbed their two daughters from the church nursery and slumped into the seats of their minivan, exhausted and spent. Tomorrow was a school day, and the hour was late. Jon had gone to church directly from the office, skipping dinner. They had spent all evening at church. After a quick stop at Caribou Coffee on the way home, Jon muttered to Joy, Do you ever get tired of this? Frankly, this is one of those nights where I wonder whether it’s worth it all. Maybe we should cut back and drop out of choir.
Joy was quick to respond. I know how you feel, and tonight’s not a good night to ask! But I came across an article this morning that helped change my whole attitude about music in church. The article pointed out that, in heaven, no earthly occupations will be needed, save one: church musicians. Think about it. In heaven doctors will have no clinics, for there will be only perfectly functioning and reenergized bodies. Lawyers and judges will have no reason to appear in court to settle disputes among people who are living together in peace. Even preachers will no longer need pulpits to win souls, for Christ will be living in the neighborhood, and we shall see Christ, and Christ shall be all in all!
The article was right. For church musicians, earthly service comes with an implied eternal contract.
Given such a momentous task, church musicians ought to learn to worship well and lead worship well, for our worship here is a warm-up for the everlasting worship of God that is to come.
But what exactly is worship?
ENTERTAINING GOD
Worship is entertaining God. Worship celebrates God’s greatness and his love for us. Worship receives God’s word as it comes to us through the Bible, the sacraments (or ordinances), and Jesus Christ. It’s clear that God desires and enjoys our worship and that God created all things to praise. The Bible says that all creatures give glory to God and that everything has its unique voice and mode of praise. Thunder, cattle, crickets, fruitful trees, and birds give glory to God (see Psalm 148)! One day even the trees of the fields will clack their branches together as though they were hands applauding the premiere of God’s new creation. God delights in creation and in all of creation’s worship. Worship entertains God.
Of all God’s creatures, humans were created with a special role. Biblical authors hardly know how to express just how valuable we are to God other than to say that we were crowned with glory and honor and made just below the angels (Psalm 8:5). As the blue-ribbon prize of creation, God made us breathing, living instruments of praise.