Brother Daniel has been engaged in the praise and worship ministry for more than 20 years. Although a pastor now, he feels lucky to start his ministry with praise and worship. He has some unique opinions about praise and worship.
At that time, Daniel had some trouble working in the church where he attended, so he decided to go back to his hometown for a while. Later, when he returned to the church, he was surprised and pleased to find that he had been arranged to work in the worship group.
Although Daniel served as a full-time worshipper, he believes that the Bible is essential for worship ministry. "Worship would be an unstable thing if it only included hymns. The real worship must cover all aspects of life and include the truth," he said.
Daniel holds that worship could not exist alone. The real worship must merge with other things, including the lives of worshippers. "Many people think that the worship group is just like the choir; the work is done after they sing, and then they can come down from the altar. That is wrong. We also need to share some other information except hymns."
Last year, after his involvement in the worship ministry for more than 20 years, his church rearranged some structure and the worship team was dismissed.
The main reason was that the social environment was totally different from that of the past. At present, the traditional pastoral care cannot meet the needs of believers (especially in cities). Moreover, he confessed that it was God's will to dismiss the worship team. "What God wants is our comprehensive growth and promotion."
He thinks that worship is connected with preaching and pastoring. "The church's pastoral care needs to complement each other. Worship is the core of the church life of Christians, and it is closely connected with preaching and pastoring. Together, they promote the growth of the spiritual life of believers and benefit the teaching of the truth to them. The ministry raised from worship is truly centered on the Lord, and it emphasizes the sovereignity of the Lord," he said. "I think if one person could build a good relationship with the Lord through worship before he preaches or serves in other aspects, it would be great."
Brother Daniel recalls that in the past, many full-time worshippers may have done well in worship and service, but many worshippers don't connect well with the Lord. It is common for an ordinary worshipper to chase only the technique of worship after some time. What they are following are the things of people, but not the teachings of the Lord.
Several years ago, the church where he attended during the working years held worship training classes to train young believers. However, most of them didn't devote themselves to service but used the skills they learned to earn a living. He explained, "If a worshipper leaves the church with only music and skills and never serves in the church, he would not persist for long. He may stick for a period of time, but in the end, he would be back to the mortal world."
"I think that the real worshippers should be the ones who serve. In the aspect of service, worshippers and the ones who serve are the same. They all need the truth and work for church ministries. What they do is way more than just worship." Daniel drew his conclusion after worshiping and serving for more than 20 years.
The members of the worship group in his church also joined the other affairs and activities of the church. For example, the members of the worship group would lead the hymns in the meeting of prayer and also take part in retreats.
In the early years of the worship teams, its members were young and reckless. For example, some members thought that their work was finishd after worshiping and started to mind their own business when the pastor started to preach. Later, with the guidance of some respected elders, they gradually realized that such behaviors were against the original goals. "As the one who serves, your responsibility is far more than completing the mission and leaving in a hurry after finishing the mission like a part-time employee. This is the act of a servant, but not a son." Then the worship group started to change and gradually became mature, and this was the worship the Lord wants.
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Edited by Karen Luo, translated by Nicolas Cao
