Philosophy of our Worship Ministry
By Froly Lelengboto Horn
(with the help of Henare Morehu, Karen Bishop & James Senior)
Introduction
Any ministry of the church would need a basic philosophy out of which the ministry could be carried out with conviction and continuity. There are two quotations from two different leaders in the christendom which sum up what any ministry really is. Jack Hayford, Pastor Emeritus of Church On The Way, put out a statement: “Evangelism follows worship and fellowship” (Hayford, J. The Church On The Way. Zondervan:UK, 1982, p.48). While John Piper wrote: “Mission is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship…is the…goal of mission.” (Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad. Baker Books: Michigan, 1997, p.11). Evangelism and Mission could stand for any other ministry. Therefore, on the basis of these two statements, we could say that WORSHIP IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF ANY MINISTRY. The end goal of all ministries is to make worshippers of God out of nations. The end purpose of all ministries and all things that we do is to glorify God. To worship God is simply to give all glory back to Him.
Worship Ministry - The philosophy of Southside Worship Ministry is best illustrated as below
Foundation – Christ and His love for us: (illustrated here by the rock and the first layer of foundation upon which the Marae is built)
Everything starts with the truth spoken by Peter in Matthew 16:16: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” To which Jesus responded: “…on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” I believe ‘this rock’ is the truth of who Christ is. He is not just a great prophet, a Guru, or a very good man. He is the Son of the living God – the head of the Church -. As John chapter one, verse one says of Him: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He is God.
This is the main foundation of every part of church. The church is His people, worshippers of God. Therefore, our worship ministry (for lack of a better term), and every other ministries encompassed within a church community, is based on this foundation.
Out of this revealed truth, is the initial and progressive revelation of His love for us, individually and corporately. In John 15: 9, Jesus spoke this truth to His disciples: “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in His love.” This is the very heart of following and serving Christ in any ministry. This is the heart of any form of ministry. All ministries, all ‘doings’ come out of ‘being’ – that is being loved by God. All ministries/services must come out of our remaining in that revealed truth and state of being loved. It is simply keeping our hearts open all the time to receive His endless love.
Every follower of Christ treads on the paths of internal and external. These two paths comprise our journey. Therefore, in our collective worship, we pursue our internal as well as the external worship life .
In the Marae (meeting-house) illustration, there are the meeting hall and kitchen where people meet and do things together. These two places stand for the external journey. Then there is a smaller room, set aside specifically just for special dignitaries. Any one who meets a dignitary in this room would meet her/him in a more personal or private context. This special room stands for the internal journey.
arn to be in His Presence and to respond to His Presence. This is where we have our personal audience with God, where we grow internally in our knowledge of Him and of ourselves. Where we hear His instructions and bask in His life. Where we hear His heartbeat and the pleasure or displeasure of His heart.