The LifePoint staff is passionate about serving for God’s glory. Tyler Greene will celebrate one year as Director of Worship Ministries in March. He is a great addition to our team. The heart for and expression of worship at LifePoint is growing and maturing under his leadership. I want to share with you some of his heart and vision for the LifePoint worship ministry through this post he wrote. This is Part 2. You can read Part 1 here.
Pastor Lane
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The New Testament shows that the time a local church spends together in worship is meant to build up its members (1 Cor. 14:12, 26). This is because our gatherings play an indispensable role in our fulfillment of mission. The degree to which a church is strengthened through their collective engagement in worship will be the degree to which they are strengthened to make disciples. This is true because of the most essential component in a local church: the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit.
While on earth, Jesus told his disciples that he would depart from them but that he would send another who would be a Helper and a Comforter to them. And just before his ascension, he instructed his followers to wait for the Spirit who would empower them with grace to be his witnesses. This is more important for our corporate worship than we may realize.
With the Spirit’s arrival, the church was given direct access to God’s presence. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5). So many churches seldom, if ever, plunge the measureless depths of this reality. The gift of the Holy Spirit should create an explosive, impassioned response to God in every church, for his presence empowers us for mission as he testifies to the greatness of Jesus in our worship. Therefore, as we engage in worship together, we are powerfully enabled to joyfully surrender our lives for God’s mission.
As the church yields itself to experience this reality of God’s Spirit, we can expect to truly encounter God. As we encounter him, we will be transformed. As we undergo this experience of transformation, God will advance his kingdom through our lives. And as his kingdom advances, more people will encounter him. In sum, a true encounter with God’s presence through corporate worship sets in motion a vital chain of events in a church. Therefore, the way a church worships together truly does impact the way a church does mission.
Consequently, we cannot afford to resist the Spirit’s work in our corporate worship; we must be open to him, expecting much and withholding nothing. Many of our preferences and traditions aside, we have to tread new ground of receiving grace and power from him. I realize that some will keep this proposal at arm’s length for various reasons, but greater freedom in our worship experiences often provides a greater release of power in the church for mission.
After all, we have to consider this: if we desire to be as effective as the early church was at spreading the gospel, how can we expect to accomplish this apart from experiencing the Holy Spirit as they experienced him? It could get messy, but I don’t think God is afraid of the messiness. In fact, I am convinced that God delights to do great things in and through a church that is willing to take the risk and wrestle through the mess together.