NORDIC & BALTICSchool of Congregational
Development
9/1-6/09 – Oslo, Norway
“new communities of faith with new people”
“HEARTS STRANGELY WARMED, AGAIN”
DYNAMIC WORSHIP - SYNERGY & INTEGRITY BETWEEN
TRADITIONAL & CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP
Rev. Kelvin Sauls [email protected]
THE PRESENT & FUTURE?strategies/methodologies that got us
here will not sustain us where we are,
nor grow us to where we need to go
“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person.
When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?"
He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry
person is bread.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu
South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
“To be Christian is to be global. Deeply incarnate in every soil where
it is planted, the gospel of Jesus Christ
knows of no boundaries. Its song sprouts strong & travels unto the very ends of the earth, declaring the marvels of God’s
salvation”
Jorge LockwardDirector, Global Praise
The General Board of Discipleship
Whether traditional or contemporary, the essentials of
worship are: recognize, evangelize & mobilize.”
Worship ought to help people recognize & re-cognize God;
seek & surrender to God continuously;
be energized & excitedto make disciples of Jesus Christ
for global holistic transformation.
BIBLICAL FRAMING John 4: 1-30 (CEV)
19The woman said, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
20 My ancestors worshiped on this mountain, [b] but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.“
21Jesus said to her: Believe me, the time is coming when
you won't worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem.
22You Samaritans don't really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using
us, God will save the world.
23But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the
Father is seeking to worship him.
BIBLICAL FRAMING John 4: 1-30 (CEV)
25The woman said, "I know that the Messiah will come.
He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
26"I am that one," Jesus told her, "and I am speaking to
you now."
Psalms 96:1-3 (NIV)
O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless God’s name; tell of God’s salvation from day to day. Declare God’s glory among the nations,
God’s marvelous works among the peoples.
John Wesley’s Aldersgate Experience
In 1738, in his 30’s, he attended an evening worship service in
London which moved him deeply. "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society
located on Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's
preface to the Epistle to the Romans…
John Wesley’s Aldersgate Experience
“…while the leader was describing the change which
God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did
trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was
given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin
and death”
Worship – whether traditional or contemporary - need not be a test
of endurance. Worship plays can be a significant resource for tools of endurance, empowerment and
enlightenment. We can overcome challenges prior,
during and after our worship.
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship ought to move people from loneliness to authentic community
Worship ought to move people from hopelessness & brokenness
to hope & healing
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship ought to move people from self-centeredness to God-
centeredness
Worship ought to move our values from a mainstream ethic to a Jesus-
ethic“Mainline or Methodist” – Rediscovering our Evangelistic Mission” – Scott Kisker
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship ought to move people from cowardice to courage
Worship ought to remind us of our identity & ability in God
“Secrets of the Vine” – Bruce Wilkerson
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship ought to help people respond to an alter in their lives
that’s positive & an altar that’s transformative
Worship ought to invite people into a disposition of individual &
corporate thankfulness to God
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship ought to facilitate forgiveness, faithfulness &
fruitfulness
Worship ought to be about the renewal of faith
& the refreshing of spirituality
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
In its essence, our worship unto God invites us into a lifestyle where we don’t just come to Church, but be and become the Church of Jesus
Christ – daily!
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
Worship is more about what happens before the processional &
invocation, and after the benediction & recessional; more
about what happens the other six days of the week, than what happens on Sunday.
Everyday ought to be “Sonday”!!
CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &
AUTHENTICITY
The substance of worship is not its style, but God’s presence. The style
of worship is not what makes us United Methodist. What makes us
United Methodist is that our worship facilitates a connection
with God that enable us to embrace and practice a spirituality that can
facilitate personal holiness and social righteousness.
Embedded in a Wesleyan methodology of hymnody is a Wesleyan theology of worship:
incarnationalcontextual
practicaltransformational
missionalinvitational
The audacity to imagine the otherwise is at the heart of Christian
worship & faith. Such an audacity can fuel
a renewed way of looking at one’s identity & spirituality; ability &
activity; destiny & divinity. This can be the imagination &
mobilization for a post-modern Methodist Revival that’s individual &
experiential, holistic & global!
ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE
ACKNOWLEGEMENT move beyond denial & engage in
assessment; knowing where you’re going
starts with knowing where you are appreciation, evaluation & elevation
ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE
BOLDNESS ask the “why” questions; listen to & learn from answers; take risks to discern, design
& determine the next level
ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE
COLLABORATEorganize & mobilize those inside
& outside the church; connect your service of worship
with your worship through service
ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE
DETERMINATIONpractice patience, persistence &
perseverancevictory is given to those who aren’t just
looking for quick fixes, but who are in this for the long haul
CALL TO WORSHIP
Like Jesus, we have to go through Samaria; Like the
Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, we must leave our
buckets; For the John Wesley’s of today, we must become a
people & places where hearts are strangely warmed!
SENDING FORTH
Like Paul & Silas, allow courageous & contagious
worship of God to free you from whatever is keeping you
imprisoned & incarcerated from God’s purpose, power &
possibility
GROW! GLOW! GO!
BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES
FOR ONGOING GROWTRH Barna, George.
Growing True Disciples. WaterBrook Press, 2001The Second Coming of the Church. World Publishing, 1998
Blackaby, Henry & Richard. Spiritual Leadership. Broadman & Holman, 2001
Easum, Bill. Leadership on the Other Side. Abingdon, 2000
Global Praise, The General Board of Global MinistryNew World Outlook Mission Magazine. March/April, 2009
For Everyone Born: Global Songs For An Emerging Church, 2008Charles Wesley at 300, 2007
Hybels, Bill. Courageous Leadership. Zondervan, 2002
Johnson, Spencer. \Who Moved My Cheese. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998
Knight III, Henry H. & F. Douglas Powe, Jr.
Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Your Faith, 2006
Kotter, JohnOur Iceberg Is Melting: Changing & Succeeding Under Any Conditions, 2006
BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES
FOR ONGOING GROWTRH Percy, Harold.
Your Church Can Thrive, 2003
Ruffle, DouglasRoadmap to Renewal: Rediscovering the Church’s Mission, 2009
Stewart, Carlyle F. Reclaiming what was Lost, 2003
Kisker, ScottMainline or Methodist? Rediscovery Our Evangelical Mission, 2008
Sweet, Leornard. AQUA Church, 1999
Teykl, Terry. The Presence Based Church, 2003
The United Methodist Publishing HouseThe United Methodist Hymnal, 1989
With One Voice: Discovering Christ’s Song In Our Worship, 1989
Wilkinson, Bruce. Secrets of the Vine. Multnomah, Inc., 2001