My earliest experiences of worship took place in my 'growing-up' church: the New Brighton Free Methodist Church. I've gone to church since before I was born. I suppose my first experiences of genuine worship took place during the singing of hymns. New Brighton was a singing church with an amazing set of leaders. Morrison Baker was the consummate song leader. He was usually accompanied at the piano by his daughter, Martha Smeltzer, and at the organ by Helen Douglas. Later, Anna Zahn and Larry Zahn (her son) also assisted at the piano and organ. The congregation was fairly large for that time and so the singing was triumphant.
Music seems to have always been a large component of worship. The Psalms give ample illustration of the part that music played in the worship of the Old Testament. Exhortations to sing bleed over into the New Testament as well. Singing and making music seems to be a natural way of expressing our love and appreciation to God.
Certain songs seemed to have an almost guaranteed ability to allow us to transcend the natural world and gain an increased sense of the supernatural world. Some that seemed to fall in this category were:
- "And Can It Be?"
- "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"
- "It Is Well With My Soul"
- "Wonderful Grace of Jesus"
- "Grace, Greater Than All Our Sin"
In that early season of my life, manifestations of the presence of God included seeing people weep, shout, walk the aisles, go to the altar, stand with arms lifted or walk back-and-forth at the front of the church holding a Bible high in one hand. At the annual Camp Meeting, these manifestations would be even more dramatic and pronounced. Although I occasionally doubted the authenticity of some of these responses, most of the time I felt they were genuine expressions of devotion to God! They impacted me deeply and made me want to love and serve God more devotedly.
As I matured and became a leader in the church, worship experiences changed. The more dramatic expressions seemed to occur less frequently. Our worship (from my purview) seemed to become more dignified and perhaps less potent. However, there were still times when we collectively knew that something beyond ourselves was happening. When a holy Presence falls on a congregation, everyone seems to sense it - even children! The best clarification I can give for these rare times is that you didn't want them to end!
Two of the churches that I served stand out to me as being sprinkled with abundant times of impactful worship.
The first was the Oakland FMC (East Liverpool, Ohio) where I served from 1982 - 1995. When I first arrived the worship was led by a song leader with Martha Anderson at the organ and David Kelly at the grand piano.
This time period encompassed a time of major transition across the church in worship music. It is often referred to as the 'Praise and Worship Movement'. Short worship choruses became prolific during the 1980's. Many churches had photo-copied sheets in the pew for singing these praise choruses. The guitar was commonly reintroduced to worship leadership as well. These choruses were easy to learn and often repetitive. Effective leaders (and musicians) could weave them together in seamless worship offerings to a most worthy God
During my years of service at Oakland, we transitioned the worship experience significantly in line with the P&W Movement. Gradually, we developed a worship team approach. The congregation largely grew in their love and devotion to God! Sunday morning and evening services were characterized by vibrant and meaningful worship! Key people - like Ron and Marilyn Kelly - made major contributions to the transitions. David Kelly's Spirit-sensitivity became a frequent door used by God to bless and minister to our people!
It seemed that people's worship experience was assisted by the simplicity and directness of these choruses. The MASTER CHORUS BOOK was published (words only) to accommodate this phenomenon; many churches added it to their pew racks. Two music producing companies also rose up to be part of this movement: MARANATHA MUSIC and INTEGRITY MUSIC. Cassette tapes (and eventually compact discs) were produced to propagate a whole new movement of worship music. Along with this came the introduction of the worship team concept of leading worship. Many instruments began to replace the piano and organ that had held sway for a long season.
The evolution of the worship team has gradually and increasingly led us to a more "performance oriented" style of worship. Platforms became stages. A single microphone was replaced with a sound system. The song leader became the worship leader. Words are now projected on a screen, so hymnbooks or chorus books were no longer necessary. The congregation didn't need lights to read a hymnal, so the lights were projected onto the worship leader and team instead. The end result of all these changes is significant, but one can question the effectiveness of these changes as related to one's experience of God in worship!
As the 1990's came to a close, I became part of the leadership team at the Cornerstone FMC (Akron, Ohio), working under Pastor Brenda Young's leadership! In time, I became the Lead Associate Pastor of this growing congregation, and when our worship leader left suddenly, I became the worship leader for the next several years.
The Cornerstone Church was unique. Pastor Charles Young had led the church to significant growth over a long period of ministry with the capable assistance of his wife, Brenda. When Charlie was elected as the Ohio Conference Superintendent, Brenda became the Lead Pastor! The church immediately erupted to a new level of growth. I arrived a year-or-two into that new growth. The next five years saw the congregation go from 400 to 700 worshippers.
Brenda openly encouraged people to listen to the local Christian radio station. She then instructed the worship team to use songs from the radio's playlist and to do them exactly as they were done on-air. It worked!
The Promise-Keepers movement was in full swing during this time! Many Christian bands were creating music that was being adopted by the church for worship. The Cornerstone Church was clearly targeted toward lost and hurting people. It's mission was openly announced by Pastor Brenda every Sunday: "Cornerstone Church exists to help people find the Father, a Family and a Fulfilling Future!" Remarkably, nearly seventy-five percent of the congregation were first-generation believers! It's the only church of its kind that I have ever known!
The ministry (during the time I was there) focused on people experiencing the pain of divorce, the pain of addiction, and the pain of hopelessness! People could receive counseling. Classes for growth and better biblical understanding were regularly available! Tracks for leadership were always welcoming new people! Worship times were passionate and marked by nearly raucous responses from the people! Baptisms were punctuated by hoots, hollers and wild applause! Some gradually slipped away, but MANY were caught in ever-deepening cycles of love for God and service to Him!
Although I'm now retired and no longer am leading the church, I still care deeply about its viability in the present age. I think leaders need to continually examine the vehicles being used to minister to its people! There are clearly perils associated with a consumer-oriented ministry and a performance-based worship style. Leaders need to systematically ask the necessary questions:
- Are our people genuinely worshiping God?
- Do our systems lead them or do they entertain them?
- Are we investing prayerfully in our planning?
- How do we touch the individual needs of our people?
- What do we need to be doing to help our people connect with God?
- Are we just producing the same thing every week, or are we waiting before God for His agenda?
- Are we willing to hold our structures loosely with an open eye to the Spirit's movement?
During my years at Oakland, God gave me a crystal clear sign that His Spirit was moving! When I would come to the end of my message and time to end worship, I would sometimes notice that three women in the church would be wiping tears from their eyes. Gradually, God showed me that this was my sign of His supernatural presence! As a result, when I would see those three women weeping, I would silently pray for God's direction. Almost always, people would come to pray at the altar as a result!
If we ask Him - He will lead us! Thanks be to God! May His Spirit continue to bless His Church!
