"Worship Essentials" (Mike Harland)

TITLE: Worship Essentials: Growing a Healthy Worship Ministry Without Starting a War!
AUTHOR: Mike Harland
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2018, (192 pages)

Since the beginning of time, worship has been a point of contention. Cain was unhappy when God looked upon his brother Abel's offering with greater favour. The prophet Nathan was upset when King Saul failed to wait for his return prior to the offering of the sacrifice. Israel angered God constantly over the issue of idolatry and false worship. In today's climate, whenever we talk about worship in Churches, there is that familiar tussle between contemporary and traditional music; new songs vs old hymns; sitting vs standing; instruments vs voices; young vs old forms; etc. Worship leaders are also torn between trying to cater to the needs of the congregation or tuning themselves more toward God. What we need is a roadmap of worship. We need to know the essentials from the frivolous ones. We need something biblical based and not something that is trendy, hip, or traditional. For worship leader Mike Harland, there are four core values for any worship community. Worship essentially is about:

1. Telling the Story of God
2. Making Disciples of Christ
3. Engaging the Body of Christ
4. Aspiring with Purpose.

He begins with the need to integrate our worship with story telling. For worship flows out of a response to God's story. That means we need to learn of what the Bible is teaching us. We let the Bible show us the real Jesus, and not become easily swayed by modern impressions or public opinions about Christ. We tell the story of how God had blessed and touched us. Songs that flow out of such relationships are great ways in which we glorify God for what He has done. In fact, when we do that, even those who had never read the Bible could recognize the stories behind the songs. It could also be an evangelistic moment! The second part about making disciples is a powerful reminder of how melodies, instruments, artists, shepherds, communities, can all work together to cultivate a discipleship environment. We learn that healthy worship has intentional purpose; well organized for maximum impact; and worship teams learning the harness the best out of their equipment. Harland reminds us that we are not to make music but to make disciples. He introduces the four "concentric circles of discipleship." The innermost circle is the circle of self and people closest to us. This is followed by the worship team members. The third circle is the Church congregation. The outermost circle is the community and the world. Worship needs to include all of these circles. The chapter on "Artists and Shepherds" is my favourite. Harland traces the history of worship, showing us the different ways in which previous generations had done in their worship. We are told the difference between "filling station" and "altar" worship. We are reminded that we need both artists and shepherds in the ways we worship. Both are needed to avoid making our worship falling into either extremes of "filling station" and "altar" experiences. Part Three on engaging the body shows us that worship is less about our songs but about our voices.  Some reasons why people don't sing:

• They don't know the songs
• Songs are hard to sing
• They don't hear others singing
• They presume it is not important to sing
• They don't like the worship leading or style
• ...

One critical observation is how many churches segregate different generations from corporate worship. When the music preferences become the key decision factor, it leads to congregations having split services that cater to the preferences of individuals. For example, there are contemporary vs traditional worship services; youth vs adult services; and so on. Even blended worship is not as good as it promised. A better way is to see worship more as a spiritual discipline rather than a musical preference. He notes that when families attend services together, when parents participate, children follow suit. Intergenerational worship is a powerful way of engagement. Harland calls it "discipleship."

Part Four is about aspiring with purpose. The author notes the "enemies of distraction" that range from musical techniques to stage details; behaviors of worship leaders to internal conflicts; etc. When they is no joy, no power, no unity, there is no true worship. The way forward is to aspire for excellence for the sake of the gospel.

My Thoughts
This is a very biblical and thoughtful handbook on worship essentials. The four core areas are critical in understanding the nature of worship. In the storytelling portion, we integrate our music and techniques into the big story of God. This is important because many modern worship leaders and musicians do the reverse. They decide on what music is preferred and then go on to look for scripture verses to support their ideas. I appreciate this aspect because it don't just focus on a few choice verses but on the whole Word of God, the narrative, and the underlying gospel message. By using the storytelling motif, it does not matter which point of the story one is at. We can enter in where we are most comfortable or honest. As we wade through the story of God, we see ourselves by looking back and looking forth in God's perspective. Other elements of song choices, musical styles, and lyrical choices can then blend in. It does not matter whether a song is fast or slow; hip or not. It matters that we are into the story of God and through our music tell that very story with us as participants. I like the discipleship aspect of worship essential. This is something not many people are able to visualize. The concentric circles of discipleship is a helpful model to visualize how discipleship, worship, and relationships are intertwined together as one. Using shared vision, shared, preparation, and shared execution, we have a common focus that all worship leaders can have.

There are many things we can learn and like in this book. Most of all, it is the valuable practical experiences that Harland brings to us. Readers will find this book a gentle guide that points out our mistakes but does so in a very understanding manner. Worship leaders will do well to buy this book and share the tips within with the rest of the team. Better still, get worship teams to use this book as a study or discussion guide each time they meet.

Mike Harland is the Director of LifeWay Worship. He leads worship at various churches. He also writes songs and books. He is a graduate of Delta State University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of B&H Publishing and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.