The posts in this category contain helpful advice for worship leaders and pastors. Bob Kauflin draws from his extensive experience in worship leading to provide thought provoking biblical insights and practical advice for worship leaders who lead worship services.
I’d like to continue addressing a topic I began a couple weeks ago, that is, identifying the idols we may serve in our hearts even as we gather to worship God with His people. In previous posts we looked at music, tradition, creativity, experience, and liturgy. Here’s one more (well really, two). Biblical Knowledge - I hesitate to include “biblical knowledge” as a potential idol. The reason I do is that we can wrongly pursue a knowledge of doctrine that is distinct from a knowledge of God Himself. We have to acknowledge this possibility or we easily fall into the error of the Pharisees, who took more pride in their “rightness” than in their relationship with God. We too, can be more impressed with the accurate theology in …
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No one sent me this question, but I was talking with a friend about this the other day, and I thought I’d answer my own question…
As I’ve led congregational worship through the years, I’ve realized that all Christmas carols were not created equal. Some are more sentimental than substantive (Away in a Manager, I Saw Three Ships, Do You Hear What I Hear?), some allude to but don’t say much about what the coming of Christ actually meant (It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem), while others help us treasure the true significance of God becoming man.
This season provides us a wonderful opportunity to remind the world why Jesus came: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born …
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This question was sent to me a while ago, but is relevant to many of us.
“What do you think of asking music team members to adhere to stricter/higher personal standards re: dress, devotional life, testimony, etc than members of other “teams” in the church because of the public, “up front” nature of the work?”
Serving in the church of Jesus Christ is always a privilege. “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Mt. 23:11) While there are many ways to serve “behind the scenes” in the church, the music team isn’t one of them. For that reason, I think holding musicians to higher personal standards is wise for at least two reasons.
First, the maturity of those on the team affects the church. Throughout Scripture, those who …
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It’s helpful to remember that the world, the devil, and our flesh actively oppose our desire to give God the glory He alone deserves. The real worship wars aren’t about music styles, forms, and practices. They’re secretly waged in our hearts, as idols try to rob us of our passion to exalt God above everything. If we aren’t aware of those worship wars we’ll have a difficult time understanding or experiencing worship that honors God, no matter what we’re doing on the outside.
Speaking of experience, here are a couple more idols that can tempt us on Sunday mornings.
Experience – As I paged through a Christian magazine last year, I noticed one ad for a new worship CD mentioned “experience” six times. We all love “worship experiences” with God. Experiences aren’t …
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I tried to come up with a shocking title for these posts to alert us to the difference between a “professed” God and “functional” god. That is, the God we say we believe in, and the god that actually governs our desires and actions. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, idolatry can be active in my heart even as I’m outwardly worshipping God. That’s a sobering thought. Whenever I think I can’t worship God unless “X” is present, I’m making a profound statement. If “X” is anything other than Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I’ve moved into idolatrous territory. Idolatry is always evil, but the idols we pursue aren’t necessarily evil things. They are evil for us because we value them over God. Pages could be written on …
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So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images. (2 Kings 17:41a ESV)
What is our greatest hindrance in worshipping God? We could come up with a number of potential answers.
“Our worship leader isn’t very experienced.”
“The services are too planned/spontaneous.”
“The songs are too complex/simple.”
“The band/orchestra/organist/guitarist sounds bad.”
“There are too many new/old songs.”
“Our church is too big/small.”
Ignoring for a moment that all these statements refer to a meeting context, they reveal a profound misconception about the hindrances to true worship. Contrary to what we might think, our greatest problem doesn’t lie outside us, but within our own hearts. It’s the problem of idolatry.
The passage above from 2 Kings describes a situation that existed when Samaria was resettled by the king of Assyria. It’s a situation which …
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I don’t even know how I came across a book I read recently called, “And Now Let’s Move Into a Time of Nonsense: Why Worship Songs are Failing the Church.” It’s by Nick Page, a prolific UK author.
What I do know is that I’m not aware of another book on congregational song that is as insightful, humorous, helpful, and brief (a real plus from my perspective). In only 121 pages, Nick covers a brief history of worship music, why the words we sing matter, how modern culture has influenced us, the importance of technique, the problem of language, and helpful suggestions for what we can do. Letters from a fictitious worship leader named Kevin Molecule are scattered throughout the book. If you’re familiar at all with the modern …
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Someone coined the phrase “God is my girlfriend songs” to describe contemporary lyrics that express love to God with words that are romantic in nature. They include phrases like “embrace me,” “let me feel your touch,” etc. While this isn’t the first time in history congregational songs have been labeled as sensual (John Wesley had some problems with Charles Wesley’s lyrics at times), it’s an issue that still needs clarification.
Why does someone write songs that can be sung either to God or a human lover? The reasons vary. Perhaps the writer is simply a poor lyricist and doesn’t know any better. It might be an attempt to stretch the boundaries of poetic lyricism. It could also be an attempt to write “cross-over” songs that are applicable in Christian or secular …
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For some reason, the first time I posted this column I left out the first couple paragraphs. Sorry if some of you are getting this a second time…
I’m hoping to follow a similar format each week for this blog. On Mondays I’ll be sharing a devotional, from Scripture or some other source, that will focus on our hearts. If you lead a music team these might be great to share with your group. Tuesday through Thursday I’ll be typically focusing on some theme, although I also plan to do book/article/CD/song/website reviews as well. Of course, since it’s my blog, I might do something totally different. (I’m sure this is helping you.) On Fridays, I’ll take time to respond to a question I’ve received either through e-mail on on the blog …
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Wisely written worship songs give us words that express faith in God in the midst of tragedy, loss, and crisis. Job expressed it like this: The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” ( Job 1:21 ESVJob 1:21
[21]And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has
taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (ESV)
) When we lose all we have, God still deserves our worship. Matt and Beth Redman have put that truth to music in their well-known song "Blessed Be Your Name." Blessed be Your name, in the land that is plentiful Where the streams of abundance flow, Blessed be Your name Blessed be Your name, when I’m found in the desert place Though I walk through the wilderness, Blessed be Your name Every blessing You pour out, I’ll turn back to praise When the darkness …
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