Order In Worship

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Yesterday I participated in a wonderful worship service in my church.  The message was based on Revelation chapter 4. The preacher carefully explained the meaning of John’s revelation described in that chapter.  Then, when the message concluded, the worship leader led us in this song:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.

Where do these powerful words of worship come from?  They come from the last verse of Revelation 4, the very passage of scripture the preacher had been teaching from. As I worshipped the Lord, it was easy for me to sense that other people were also drawing close to him in worship.  As I left the service, several people, including my son, commented, “Isn’t it great when the songs we sing have the same theme as the message that is preached?”

It is great when songs and sermon, prayers and praise to God share a common theme in a worship service. But a well-ordered worship service is no accident. Well-ordered worship happens when worship leaders think about the theme of the service, the purpose of the service and the parts of the service. It is not hard to plan a well-ordered worship experience for your church, but it does take time. It is not hard to prepare for a well-ordered worship service, but it won’t happen automatically.

Just as harvesting a crop requires a farmer to follow a process step by step from preparing the soil, to planting, cultivation, and harvest, so a well-ordered worship service requires the worship leader to make decisions about the steps he will take from the start to the end of the service.  Led by the Holy Spirit, answer these questions for yourself as you prepare to lead worship. 

·        Ask yourself, “What is the theme of this service?”  The theme of the service is the central idea from Scripture that is presented through preaching, teaching or Bible story-telling. The theme of a service will be evident to worshippers in songs they sing and prayers that are prayed as well. Ask yourself, “What is the theme of this service?”

·        As you continue to plan for worship, ask yourself “In light of theme of the service, how will I call believers to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth?  What Scripture will I use in the call to worship?”

·        Ask yourself, “In light of the theme of the service, what songs will we sing to worship the Lord?  What songs will we sing to praise him?”  These songs will reflect the same biblical theme as the Bible message in worship.

·        Then ask yourself, “In light of the theme of the service, how will we pray?”

·        Finally, ask yourself, “In what order will we sing, receive a Bible message, and pray?”

As you devote time to prepare well-ordered worship around a common theme, God will meet you and he will guide you.  More importantly, he will meet those who worship him and will apply his word to their lives in ways that bring blessing and hope.

Next time you are responsible for ordering the elements in a worship service, be sure to take time. Determine the theme of the service.  Then choose Scripture and songs and prayer that support and strengthen that theme. As you do this, God will meet you and your people in wonderful ways.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #OrderInWorship #WorshipTheLord

Principles of Leadership - Define the Expectations 'What'

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

During 2022, I will be sharing my Ten Principles of Leadership.  Principle #3 is “Define the Expectations”.  Today we will discuss what Jesus Christ’s expectations are for us and our expectations for VCP.  Next time we will address “how” (appropriate behaviors and ways of interaction) we are to go about achieving these expectations. 

Jesus set clear expectations and instructions for His Church.  “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:19-20 [emphasis added].

Jesus’ clear expectations set forth include:

·         Go (or “as you are going”)

·         Make disciples of all nations

·         Baptizing them

·         Teaching them to obey

He also prepared His disciples (and that includes us) for success in this venture.  We do not do this work alone or in our own strength or power.  His promise is “I am with you always”.  This is through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit within us.  In Luke 24:49, Jesus gave these instructions.  “I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”  We see this fulfilled in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost.  

In VCP, what does our success look like?  “Success” relates to our vision.  Or, another way of saying this is that our vision defines our success.  “A church in every African village by 2050.”  This is why we do reports and keep track of progress. Our reports provide feedback regarding our progress toward “a church in every African village”. 

In his book “Management: A Biblical Approach”, Myron Rush wrote that “Without measurable objectives an organization has no way to evaluate performance.” VCP reports provide one means of evaluating the performance of our training centers and the effectiveness of our leaders.  

In my culture we have this idiom.  “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”  Perhaps you, too, have a saying that is something like this. 

However, as we as leaders define the expectations for those who follow, we help them understand what success will be, and we provide the standard by which success will be determined.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

The Word of God In Worship

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Worship is much more than singing. Worship is much more than a service of songs.  We can worship God without using music.

These statements are obviously true. But music is such a strong and powerful aspect of worship in so many cultures across Africa and around the world, sometimes we get worship music confused with worshipping God. Music is a means to an end. Music powerfully enhances worship, but true worship of God does not depend on music. Let me say that again. Music powerfully enhances worship, but true worship of God does not depend on music.

To worship God is to give glory to God who is great and who is holy. To worship God is to honor God and to recognize his goodness. We honor God when we declare his word and testify to its truthfulness.  We honor God when we declare his word and commit ourselves to obey it.

One of the most powerful, succinct teachings on worship in the Bible is found in Colossian 3:12-17. Paul wrote the letter to the church at Colossae even though he did not plant the church and probably had never visited the town of Colossae.  Epaphras, Paul’s spiritual grandson, had started the church at Colossae.  Paul wanted to make sure the worship of the church was complete.  He said, “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Right at the heart of this teaching on worship for the body of Christ, Paul said “Let the word of Christ dwell among you richly.”  

What does it mean for the word of Christ to dwell richly in our worship? It means that the Word of God has a prominent place, not a secondary place in our worship. For the word of Christ to dwell richly in our worship, the words of Scripture must be more important than the words of the preacher.  For the word of God to dwell richly in our worship, the message of the Bible must be presented clearly and without confusion. For the word of God to dwell richly in our worship, people must have a chance to honor God and his word through expressions of faith and commitment.

There are many moments in a worship service when the Word of God can be read or quoted.  There are many moments in a worship service when a Bible story can be told.  But for the Word of God to dwell richly in a worship service, it must be understood.  So don’t just sprinkle Bible verses into your services like so much spice in a stew. Proclaim the word of God clearly. Before you read a Bible passage, briefly tell people the historical context of the passage you are reading. Read with a strong voice. Explain what is not clear. Emphasize what is important. Invite your listeners to say “Amen” to the word of God, not just to the preacher.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #WordOfChrist #Worship

Prayer In Worship

 This is Multiply; a podcast for Village Church Planters, Pastors, and church leaders, and I am Daneille Snowden.

The scripture says in Luke 11:2 “And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name…”

When we pray, we worship when we worship, we pray.  When we talk to the Lord God, it is a heart communication to Him, this is prayer. In worship, it is an adoration and still a heart communication of our love and adoration to the Savior of our Souls, our King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

When I led worship in our church services, I was a little different. I basically led worship with my eyes closed majority of the time or looking up. As a minister of worship (that is one who led the church to worship the Lord): I, myself too, was in this mode of prayer and worship, as I poured out my love to my Jesus! I recall just being filled with the beautiful presence of the Lord as we all worshipped together.

In Term 3 of the New VCP Trainers Guide 16:3:2 it says, “The role of all the leaders in a worship service is to help the other worshippers give greater glory to God.” This is the heartbeat of worship! For ourselves personally and for those we are leading in our churches and Bible Studies. How do we do this, one might ask? Humility is a key component, because as we lead in song, or in preaching, all the glory and praise is to completely go to God. It isn’t how good we can sing, dance, and play our instruments; or even how great we can preach. We must allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with His anointing; so that all will truly see Jesus and hear His voice through our humble vessels.

This question was asked in lesson 16:3:2, “What are some words which describe the attitudes of a godly worship leader who worships in spirit and in truth?” Every single time we stand before others we must take the time in the presence of the Lord to align our hearts with His. May our thoughts be His thoughts; thus, our words (and actions) be what Jesus would say and do. May we all be ONE with our Lord Jesus as we lead in worship!

Thank you for listening today, will you please share this podcast with others? Also, ‘like-us’ on Facebook called: Encouragement for Village Church Planters (Multiply), on YouTube plus on our website at vcpencouragement.org.

The Nature of God And Worship

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

When my wife Gail and I got engaged in 1979, we were a part of a group of young adults at our church.  There was a wonderful song the group sang from Psalm 34. We sang, 

O magnify the Lord with me, 

And let us exalt his name together.

For I sought the Lord and he heard me

And delivered me from all my fears.

This song was precious to Gail and me for many reasons.  We had each, separately but recently, suffered violence at the hands of a criminal. But the Lord delivered us from all our fears. We wanted to exalt his name together because of that powerful deliverance from fear. And we were planning to be married; we wanted our lives jointly to magnify the Lord.

Worship is a wonderful experience. To worship God is to give glory to God who is great and who is holy. To worship God is to honor God and to recognize his goodness.

You are a village church planter. One of your many roles, at least in the beginning, is to be a worship leader.  This is an awesome responsibility and not to be taken lightly. As a worship leader, your job is to help your people magnify the Lord, honor the Lord, and recognize his goodness.

But to help others honor the Lord and magnify Him, they must know who he is and what he has done. Otherwise, they may believe and say things about God which are not true.  When you clearly tell God’s big story from Genesis to Revelation, you prepare your people for worship.  When you declare the Gospel story about a broken world full of people who cannot find a way to escape brokenness, you prepare people for worship.  When you tell how the Creator of the Universe sent his Son to live and love and die and rise again to save this broken world, you prepare your people for worship.

People who know God’s big story worship him in spirit and in truth.  People who understand the sacrificial love of God who loved the world so much He gave his one and only son to die for the sins of that world… people who understand that are ready to worship.

So tell God’s big story; tell the Gospel story. Tell it well and tell it often. Then when you read the Scriptures, the people will say “Amen!” from their heart and from their head because they have experienced its truth in their lives.

And don’t just tell the magnificent works of God from the Scriptures; testify to the kind and gracious work of God in your life as well.  Let others testify about what God has done for them, forgiving their sins, meeting their physical and material needs, delivering them from addictions, restoring broken relationships with family members, healing their diseases. These testimonies too reveal the character and nature of God.  These stories too prepare God’s people to worship him in Spirit and in truth.

O magnify the Lord with me, 

And let us exalt his name together.

For I sought the Lord and he heard me

And delivered me from all my fears.

As we get to know the nature and character of God better and better, we long to magnify Him more.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #MagnifyTheLord #Worship

Principles of Leadership - Facilitate Equipping Part 2

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

During 2022, I will be sharing my Ten Principles of Leadership.  Principle #2 is “Facilitate Equipping”.  Last time, we looked at Jesus’ model of equipping through apprenticeship and Paul’s equipping method of mentoring.  

To briefly review Jesus’ method of equipping his disciples.

• He inspired them; He gave them a vision (see Matthew 9:35-38)

• He instructed them (see Matthew 10:5-40)

• He involved them (see Matthew 14:13-21)

Oswald Sanders, a renowned missionary and author of the previous century, had this to say about leaders who equip others.  

“Leaders must seek to multiply their lives by developing younger men [and women] by giving them … responsibility, including increasing opportunities of initiative and power of final decision.  They should be given recognition and generous credit for their achievements.  The principal thing is to trust them.  Blunders are the inevitable price of training leaders.”  

Three things stand out to me in this quote: 

• The theme of multiplication.  As VCP seeks to multiply churches, leaders also seek to multiply leaders.  This is how movements achieve scale and expansion. 

• Emerging leaders need encouragement and feedback.  Affirm them as they think rightly and do rightly. 

• Emerging leaders will make some mistakes.  As leaders we must allow them some room to try some things and to even make some mistakes … and we must help them identify and learn from those mistakes.  

One of the most difficult responsibilities of a leader is to know when to intervene when a follower is having difficulty and when to allow someone to struggle.  In such situations I would offer these guidelines.

• Firstly, the mission must come first.  If the mission is in danger of failure, the leader must intervene. 

• Evaluate, is the follower capable of figuring things out? 

• Consider, is there enough time to wait for them to figure things out?

• Ask yourself, what problems will be created or worsened if you do not step in?

• Are there valuable lessons for them to learn through their struggle?

I will say this. The older I’ve gotten, the more patient I’ve become in allowing others to struggle & learn.  

I mentioned last time that the word “facilitate” implies that the leader does not have to do all the equipping himself or herself.  He/she simply needs to ensure that equipping one’s followers takes place.  Identify the development needs of those you lead, and be willing to engage others in your circle of friends and co-workers to also teach and train. 

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

God's Big Story And Worship

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement to Village Church Planters.

There is a funny saying we use in English sometimes when we see that someone is confused as they learn about a new situation.  We say “He can’t see the forest for the trees. Maybe you have a saying like this in your language.

What do you think I mean when I say, “He can’t see the forest for the trees?” I mean that another person is so focused on all the details that he can’t see the big picture. He is like a man who walks through a large forest full of tall trees, birds and animals. But he is looking very carefully at individual trees. He examines their roots, their trunk, their bark, and their leaves.  He is so focused on describing each tree that he fails to see the huge expanse we call a forest.  “He can’t see the forest for the trees.”

Sometimes it seems like church leaders can’t see the forest for the trees.  Some pastors and worship leaders focus so much on one part of God’s big story that they forget to tell the rest.  In worship they may focus so much on being empowered by the Holy Spirit that they seem to forget to tell about the creation of man, our fall into sin, and all that Jesus did to save us before the Spirit came at Pentecost.

Other church leaders and pastors focus so much on the stories of the Old Testament that they fail to talk about our current situation as believers who have been born again. They can’t see the forest for the trees. But it doesn’t need to be that way in the churches you lead.  As a pastor and as a trainer of worship leaders, you can make sure that your people see the forest and the trees.  You can make sure that in worship your people understand and remember God’s big story as well as every detail of the Gospel. That kind of Genesis to Revelation understanding of the works of God, the will of God, and the ways of God transforms lives.

You may be thinking, “Dean, I know what you are talking about. I don’t like it when preachers get lost in the details. I like it when they help me understand how Bible details fit in with the big picture told from Genesis to Revelation.  Even so, sometimes I’m afraid my people and I can’t see the forest for the trees. What can we do?”

I’m glad you asked!  Here is a simple guideline that will help you and your people as you worship together.  “In worship, always describe the big picture before going into details.” As you start to preach or teach from any particular story in the Bible, tell the context.  In worship, before you sing about any particular part of the Bible, help people know where that story fits into the big picture. Never spend too much time looking at a tree without lifting your eyes to take in the forest. When you lead worship, when you pray, when you preach and teach, describe the big picture first and then talk about the details.

God created you and me so he could have fellowship with him.  But our forefathers, our parents and we ourselves have rebelled against him. When God sent messengers to correct us, we would not listen. Finally he sent his Son Jesus to show us the way.  Jesus gave his life on the cross so our sins could be forgiven.  He has called you and me to serve him and to proclaim the message of salvation.  He is coming again to rule over heaven and earth. But for now he has called us to serve him by living a holy life and by making disciples of all nations.  Though you and I are limited by space and time, we have a part to play in God’s big story, and so do the members of your churches.  Help them know God’s big story.  Let that big story make its impact on every part of worship when you come together.

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#God’s Big Story #EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters  www.vcpencouragement.org