The Prepositions of Worship:
And the Centrality of Christ

By Ed Steele

Although we use them multiple times daily in speech and other forms of communication, we rarely take time to consider the importance of prepositions in our language. They function to show the relationship of one thing to another. We can take advantage of these little words to help us gain insight into our relationship to Christ in regards to worship. This is provided not as an exhaustive listing, nor as a theological treatise, but simply to help us refocus as we think and dialogue about worship.

1. To Him
Worship is directed to Christ.  “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” [Ephesians 3:20-1]

2. In Him
His Spirit lives in us and empowers us, the relationship that abides is that we are “in Him.”
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said,

For we are also his offspring.” [Acts 17:28]  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” [2 Corinthians 5:17] The fact that He is in us should continually lead us away from worshiping any other.

3. With Him
He is present with us in worship. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” [Matthew 18:20]. He not only lives in us, there should be an awareness of His Spirit and presence as we worship.

4. For Him
Worship is for Him.   We exist for Him, as Paul stated, “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” [1 Corinthians 8:6] Although worship has immense  benefits for the worshipper, it is not for him, but for Christ. There is that sense that we are ministering to God as we worship. Our worship and ministry for Him is not because God needs it; He is self-sufficient. Our worship is that specific time in which we affirm His worthiness through obedience in recognizing that it is all for Him.

One might say, “I go worship because I have needs and I want those needs to be met.” I believe I understand what is meant, but we must be careful. The goal of worship is not that my needs are met, but that we worship Christ. If we focus on “our needs,” then we have redirected our attention away from the very One who is able to do anything about those needs. But, as we focus on Christ and His greatness, love, mercy, grace and forgiveness in worship, somehow He works to minister to our needs. Christ’s ministry to us then, is  a byproduct of worship and not the central focus.

5. About Him
The subject of worship is Jesus.  As Peter stood to deliver his sermon on the day of Pentecost found in Acts 2:14-36, the message from beginning to end was about Christ. Our message is to share how God from the beginning of history has moved to restore relationship with His creation through the death and resurrection of His Son. Even when threatened by the Council, Peter and John could only say, “we cannot stop speaking about what we have see and heard.” [Acts 4:20]

6. By Him
In worship we acknowledge that all things were made by Him. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him.” [Colossians 1:16] 

7. Through Him
We are powerless to worship without His help. “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” [Hebrews 13:15]

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” [John 1:3] “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” [Romans 11:36] “He helps you want to obey Him and then help you do  what He wants.” [Phil. 2:13 LB]

Our times of worship can be laden with distractions. Perhaps a simple review of some prepositions might help us see Jesus Christ as the central focus of our corporate worship. As we gather for worship let’s remember that it is To Him, and In Him; it is With Him and For Him; it is About Him, By Him and Through Him! Worship centers itself, has its central focus, all on Jesus Christ. Anything less is less than worship.

Ed Steele is an Associate Professor of Music at the Leavell College of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Music Missionary with the International Mission Board of the SBC for 20 years. Visit his blog here: Worship HeartCries. 

By Jeremy Armstrong 

 At worshipleader.com, we are in the process of creating a platform for the highest quality worship writing that is being produced by worship leaders and worshipers. Below are some things to avoid when submitting an article for possible inclusion on this website. That said, if you have an article (or a blog that has been found to resonate with your community), we want to read it, and possibly re-publish it here. Read this article, make sure you aren’t making any of the mistakes, then follow this link to submit it. 

In my experience as the managing editor for Worship Leader magazine I will admit that there is no guarantee or formula for the “right way” to submit an article to a publisher. In fact there are lots of variables that, in certain cases, can only be circumvented by chance. When did you submit your article? Was there a crunch in the publication schedule that took the attention of the editor? Did the publication just lose an intern (or just get one, who hasn’t gotten their feet wet)? Did you submit on a weekend allowing the email to get washed away in the torrent of Monday morning inbox blurs?

Sure, there are plenty of unavoidable hurdles, but there are also a few things you can do to get a better shot at getting read, and possibly even published.     

Mistake #1: Submitting a Devotional Article
Worshipleaer.com is looking for very practical articles that you, as a worship leader can use to make your job and your life easier. Inspirational devotions are fine, and in many contexts  and we will publish them from time to time, but you are more likely to catch our eye if you submit “5 Points to a Successful Rehearsal” rather than “Worship Thought for the Day.” We always need more concrete tools that save worship leaders time or offer insight on how to accomplish aspects of their jobs. These tools do however include biblical lessons about worship or theological pieces that help us keep our focus on a biblical approach to leading music in the context of worship. 

Mistake # 2: Writing in First Person
If you are submitting what started out as a blog, make an effort to change the point of view from first to third person. What’s the difference, you ask? First person is typically autobiographical in style and uses the pronouns “I” and “We.” A rule that I broke at the opening of this very article, and just did again. Which illustrates that this is not a hard rule, just something to keep in mind when submitting. The primary reason to avoid the first person is that it tends to limit the view of the article to a personal view of the issue you are discussing, rather than a view of the broader picture. It is good to sate claims then back them up. In first person articles, it’s easy to slip into personal-opinion writing, rather than something useful to the community at large.

Mistake #3: The College Paper
Scholarly writing has its place … that place is in the academy. Enjoy watching paint dry anyone? Spice it up a little, and casual it down some, as well … but not too much. Balance is the key, and clarity is your goal. And remember, in the publishing world outside of the universities, there is no reason to utilize the word “utilize” when you could have easily used the word “use.”

Mistake #4: Sloppy Formatting
An editor’s decision is never easier than trashing an article that is in Comic Sans font. Or if it has multiple spelling errors. Scratch that, a single spelling error in the opening line. Or if the article uses all caps or bullet points without any narrative structure. If it is immediately clear that a good deal of editing is going to be required by an editor, most likely your article will get an immediate “pass.” Getting an editor to stop what they are doing and pay attention to a submission is an uphill race, so don’t disqualify yourself before the starting pistol has fired.

Mistake #5: Wasting Time
Time is of the essence when submitting an article, more specifically, the lack of time an editor has to spend on reading submissions. The best way to make sure your article will get more than the first line read is through strong, straightforward writing and solid reporting. Cutesy, overly illustrative, completely hyperbolic, peppered with alliteration—this type of writing feels amateurish when found in a submission.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you are an amateur if you employ these styles of writing; some of the best most entertaining stories circulating certain systems are stuffed to the ceiling with alliteration. But remember, the editor doesn’t know who you are, make it clear in the first two lines that you mean business, you know what is important to the reader and you can get there quickly, clearly, and precisely.   

Again, there is no formula for this. And if you happen to have an article that breaks any of the rules (except number 4, that one is a deal breaker), but still seems to move every person who comes in contact with it, take a shot. No matter what, we love hearing your stories, and coming in contact with the heart and love that comes with them. We appreciate what you are doing for your local communities, and the kingdom on the whole. So if you have an article that you believe with strengthen and empower your fellow worship leaders, submit it here. 

Jeremy Armstrong is managing editor for Worship Leader magazine, as well as the content manager for all Worship Leader online properties.

What classical music can teach us about pursuing God

By Misty Tolle

Worship leaders are musicians, so it makes sense to translate some lessons from our high art into something transformative for our lives on a whole. Here are 5 of them.

1. Follow a Master
Musicians know that in order to get to the top of our game we need a master teacher to show us the way. Every week we subject ourselves to their critiques and wisdom. We deliberately become imitators of our teachers; breathing where they breathe and sounding like they sound.

Two weeks ago, my husband came with me to hear one of my students play in a recital. He looked at me while she played and whispered incredulously, “I hear you in her!”

Paul said multiple times in the scriptures, “Be followers of me, even as I follow Christ.” Here, he uses the Greek mimeomai or mimetes which means “to mimic” or “imitate.” How much quicker would we grow spiritually if we became imitators of Godly men and women who know far more than us? What would our lives look like even a year from now if we began to spend time weekly letting these everyday teachers pour into our lives?

2. Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off, and Do It Fast! 
The hardest moment in a musical performance is the instant right after you really mess up. Sports psychologists know that athletes experience this same challenge. In those moments just following that huge flub that EVERYONE heard, your mental dialogue can be pretty destructive. Your mind will say things like, “Just give up, you’ve already wrecked it, and what’s the use in continuing?” Great musicians know that the best thing they can do in that moment is immediately FORGET what just happened by focusing all the attention on what is coming next. As we hone in on the present and focus our energy on that next phrase, we find ourselves creating the music we were meant to make.

The brilliant writer Paul said it this way, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” That means when we aren’t perfect, we deliberately chose to forget and press forward. It means we don’t give ourselves the luxury of stopping for that ever-familiar and prolonged personal flogging that we are so adept at giving ourselves. There’s no time for that. We are in the middle of things. Instead, we press on.

3. Work in Small Increments
It’s a lie that all great musicians practice 6 hours a day. ‘But wait’, you say! ‘We’ve all heard of the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is a matter of practicing a task for a total of about 10,000 hours.’ So if we aren’t practicing all day, how do we get there?

Allow me to put it this way. Small chunks of time invested daily or every other day over a lifetime add up to great things. In the life of a musician, we find ourselves practicing during commercials, warming up on our car-rides to the gig, and interspersing musical calisthenics between other necessities like folding laundry and cooking dinner. It’s not glamorous, but it gets the job done.

In Galatians, the Bible says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” There are times when we just don’t feel like praying or spending that time meditating on The Word and if anyone were to look at our crazy schedules, they would agree with us that we don’t have the time. If we commit to doing it anyway, by finding and utilizing those in-between moments to their fullest effect, there are promises attached to our hard work. Just take it in small increments, like great musicians do and see how the time adds up to something life changing.

4. Have a Routine
Great musicians don’t practice long, we practice smart. We carefully develop daily routines and stick to them religiously. These routines keep the muscles agile, the reflexes honed, and the small motor skills necessary for high performance at-the-ready. My routine lasts about 45 minutes a day. It takes me from high to low, from loud to soft, from fast to slow and so on. It is built to be demanding. If I do it daily, I know that no matter what music is put in front of me and no matter what demands are placed on me this week, I can meet them.

The Bible says it this way, “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” We’ve all heard this verse taught before, but the whole point of this is to do the work prior to the challenging moment. Wouldn’t this be better than finding ourselves in a mess and then rushing around trying to fashion a solution out of a toothpick and a piece of twine like MacGyver? So what would a thorough daily routine look like in your spiritual walk? What muscles need to be flexed everyday in order to meet the challenges that will inevitably come your way?

5. Find Your Tribe
Music is an innately social endeavor. When you make music together you challenge each other, encourage each other, laugh together, and struggle together. When one person is having a hard day, the other musicians rally around and play even more fervently. Let me tell you that after years of being a musician, there is something about making music together that is far more magical, far more interesting, and far more satisfying than doing it alone. Great musicians make it a point to surround themselves with others and make opportunities to play together. And musicians who quit often do because they don’t enjoy doing it alone and they haven’t found others to play with.

The Bible says it this way: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” We need spiritual friends so we can make of this life something artful, something beautiful, something profound. We musicians often have to seek those other players out, so if you don’t have these spiritual peers in your life, go looking for them! I guarantee you will find that companionship ups your game and enhances your enjoyment of the journey. 

Learn more at My Life as a Listener: mistytolle.wordpress.com.

By Josh Lopez

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of sound mind, power and love. – II Timothy 1:7

I love this verse. Paul was reminding Timothy what God saw when He looked at him and how God created him. Even though this is such a great verse, let’s just be completely honest – most of us don’t walk through life without fear.  Instead, our dreams, vision and purpose are paralyzed by fear.  For years, I struggled with fear of rejection. 

I was a fifteen year-old kid who watched my dad become a heroin addict and then got in a fist fight with him. He threw me out of the house and said these words: “you are not my son!” It was there that the root of my fear began…

I never wanted to be rejected like that again. I didn’t understand at the time that my dad needed help and that I was not a bad son; I only took away that I was not good enough. So I spent years trying to prove myself…that I was good enough. When I gave my life to Jesus in 1996, it was the greatest decision that I had ever made. I began a great journey of healing. Fear was still very prevalent, though.  In fact, I took that same fear into my relationship with God and others. I aimed to please, always fearing rejection. When I was rejected, I would shut down and very quickly isolate myself from the world. This cycle went on for years until one day God began to show me that I was good enough by what He did on the cross. He created me to the tiniest detail and everything He saw was good. I began to embrace the truth of His word in Psalm 139 –  that I was fearfully and wonderfully made. That the wonderful thoughts that He has towards me, outnumber the grains of sand. There were so many verses in the Bible that pointed to me being accepted and not rejected. So now every time this voice of fear would pop up, I could combat it with truth.

But this is just one fear. God continues to deal with these fears in my life. I thank God today because He has helped me change these mindsets that I used to have. I don’t have to fear rejection. I can make decisions based on what I hear God telling me and not follow others. I have been set free from trying to get the crowd to applaud just to affirm my gift and calling. I don’t spend my time thinking of what I can do for God so that people will see that I am great. Instead, I desire to be a part of what He is already doing and realize now that it is not about me, but it is and has always been about Him.

Here is my encouragement to you. The quicker you identify the root of your fear, the quicker you can begin the beautiful journey of everything God already planned for you.

Don’t let fear paralyze everything that you were meant to be!  

Don’t let fear steal the great things that God has planned for you!  

Today, embrace courage and dig deep down in your heart, find the root and let God start dealing with that fear. You were made for so much more…you were made to live and love not afraid.

For more resources visit: brokenrestoredloved.com