L I V I N G    W O R S H I P  -  H I S T O R Y    A N D    D E V E L O P M E N T

Background

Living Worship was formed as an outgrowth of the Worship Renewal Grant awarded to Bethlehem Church of Randolph, New Jersey early in 2003. The grant was provided by the Calvin Institute of Worship in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Objective of the Grant: To develop worship that speaks to a wide range of individuals.

Vision:  To accomplish these things, representatives of six area churches and a local Christian Bookstore came together and committed to planning a year of events and activities focused on worship. It soon became apparent that a name was needed for the group - hence, Living Worship was born to reflect that worship is a lifestyle rather than simply an event.

This group, following the guidelines set out in the Grant, determined to plan events that would:

• Impact corporate worship by enabling leaders who will model authentic worship with integrity of heart and skillful hands.
• Create a worship environment that speaks to our congregations of God’s majesty, glory, holiness, and sovereignty.
• Lead our congregations to experience worship out of their relationship with Christ rather than as an event.

The First Year

George Barna has said: "Most people think that worship is something that we do for ourselves, not something that we do for God…"

It was decided early that our primary focus would be education. We chose the Institute of Worship Studies’ Alleluia Series by Dr. Robert Webber and each church had at least one group within their church work through the first study: Learning to Worship with All Your Heart: A Study in the Biblical Foundations of Worship. Several groups completed the second study: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel: A Study of Worship through the Centuries. A few groups completed the third study in the series: Renew Your Worship! A Study in the Blending of Traditional and Contemporary Worship.

In addition to the groups working through these studies, two Saturday morning events were held where participants from the various churches could come together to discuss three questions:

• Insight - What have you learned?
• Impact - How have you been impacted by what you’ve learned?
• Innovation - What are you doing differently?

Our studies brought us to realize that First Century Church Worship:

• Gathered as the Incarnate Body of Christ
• Worshipped God, the Creator of the Universe
• Remembered God’s Saving Deeds in Jesus Christ
• Rehearsed God’s Covenant with His People
• Gave their lives as a Living Sacrifice that Christ might be Glorified
• Departed to live Christ, through the Power of the Spirit, in the world around them

If we are to return to Biblical Worship, the 21st Century Church will:

• Gather as the Incarnate body of Christ rooted in the historical moorings of Christianity with a voice that speaks to the current local culture.
• Create / recreate worship space and liturgical elements that communicate the awesome, creative, powerful God.

Three additional events

• A fall "kick-off" concert of praise and worship which included congregational praise and worship, special music presentations by individuals and groups from the participating churches, and a combined choir anthem. The worship band and team for this event was from Bethlehem Church. of the Grant: We would glorify God by developing in each believer a heart of true worship.
• A weekend Worship Seminar: Authentic Worship in a Changing World. Dr. Chris Alford spoke Friday evening and Saturday morning about modernism and post-modernity in relation to Biblical worship and today’s culture. Saturday afternoon was filled with two sessions of skill development workshops in voice, drama, ushers and greeters, worship band, technology, and a final worship service to end the day.
• An end-of-season worship concert where the leaders of Living Worship made up the worship band and team. A combined choir also participated in leading worship and sang two anthems.

We have learned that Biblical Worship:

• Has motion or direction that involves God’s proclamation and our response.
• Reveals God’s transcendence and His intimacy.
• Remembers the saving work of Christ at the Table.
• Celebrates the Incarnate Body of Christ which transcends time and place.
• Sends forth to live Christ.

We have also discovered

• Our short memories require a lot of re-hearing.
• God initiates the relationship we celebrate.
• Worship is multi-generational.
• We have a lot to learn from the saints of other traditions and times.
• Worship is inexhaustible.
• Worship requires all that we are.
• Bring the saving deeds of Christ to the place of centrality in Christian worship.
• Be empowered by the Spirit to be the people of God.
• Become Living Sacrifices and live Christ in our world.

A significant bonus as we closed our first year was the recognition that all of us who have participated in planning, supporting, and leading Living Worship events and activities have cultivated valuable and lasting relationships within the group.

Beyond our first year

After our year-end worship event and the close of the grant from the Calvin Institute, PowerSurge Worship Ministries invited us to join their ministry. PowerSurge is an Evangelical Not-For-Profit Global Outreach Ministry seeking to promote and enable a lifestyle of Biblically-based Worship across the Christian Church and the World. Through performance, education and facilitation PowerSurge Worship Ministries seeks to enable the personal spiritual development of God’s people, foster the understanding and practice of Worship in His Church, and reach the world through the power of Worship in its practice. It was determined that Living Worship would partner with PowerSurge Ministries and endeavor to provide worship education resources. We set out to write our own curriculum based on the question "Why Do We Gather?". Designed to be used as 15 minute devotionals during rehearsals and/or other group meetings, it is written to show from a Biblical perspective that we gather:

        1.  In response to God’s Revelation
        2.  To proclaim that He is of ultimate worth
        3.  To respond to Him with each other
        4.  To commit to a life of worship with each other
        5.  To show forth the reality of God to the world

We kicked off our second year by welcoming many new members as more churches embraced the vision and with a Worship Concert led by a Worship Team comprised of members from member churches. Four combined choir anthems, scripture and prayer rounded out the worship focus for this event. .

Two Impact, Insight, Innovation gatherings, a skill development day, and a year-end Worship Celebration will complete our second season.

What is next?

We have begun discussions regarding plans for the 2005-2006 season. The educational theme for this third year will be the "Family Worship Initiative" .  A team has been commissioned to write the curriculum centering on worship in the home and including families in our corporate worship.   On October 15th we will presenting a skills development seminar titled "The Art of Worship".  We also look to grow as new churches are joining us in our endeavors.  We are looking to see similar Living Worship cell groups developed around the country where worship leaders and pastors can gather to discuss the issues surrounding worship, share resources and develop initiatives to help educate their local bodies.  An outgrowth of this is leading to the development of a Living Worship bulletin board where various cell groups can post ideas or questions.