Rebuttal of “Twittering in worship”

Hi all, as promised, here is the rebuttal that I sent to the editor of the Methodist Message regarding Dr Goh’s article. (See below for The Editor’s reply).

Disclaimer: I cannot stress this enough: I agree that Twitter can be a distraction, just as talking, or sms-ing during worship can be distractions. My main objections with the article were the arguments he used to substantiate his point.

So here are Dr Goh’s arguments, and my subsequent rebuttal:

1) Moods and feelings have no part in worship, and Twitter is all about your own feelings and emotions.

We are commanded to worship God with our emotions – "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27).

When David dances with joy in his linen in 2 Samuel 6, or when Isaiah feels guilt at having seen the living God in Isaiah 6, are their personal emotions not a valid  essential component of their worship? They are both means by which David and Isaiah express their response to the Glory of God.

2) Twitter is about the self, and that is not right in corporate worship.

This is a gross misunderstanding of Twitter. Twitter is merely a tool. You can use it to draw attention to yourself, or you can use it to draw attention to God.

Using this same argument, would not preaching from a stage or a pulpit be said to be drawing attention to the preacher, and not to God? Should we abolish it from our worship services? Surely not!

3) It is distracting and disrespectful to God.

Only if you let it be. If you use if for personal communication e.g. “hey guys where shall we go for lunch later?”, yes, it is distracting.

Twitter is a tool. The result is not a reflection of the condition of the tool – it is a reflection of the condition of the heart of the user.

4) It fails the condition of worship being inclusive because some people can’t or don’t know how to use Twitter.

I can’t believe he actually used this as an argument. Shall we exclude dumb people who cannot sing hymns? Shall we exclude the lame because they cannot stand? Or the blind because they cannot read our liturgy? Enough said.

5) Worship is not virtual, it is physical – we should be present in worship.

Twittering about the sermon may actually increase my levels of engagement with the worship service. Just as taking notes helps one to remember the applicable points of the pastor’s sermon, Twittering forces you to listen, process, and reproduce what the preacher is saying.

It really depends on how you use Twitter.

6) God does not have a Twitter account.

*Slaps head*. Do I really have to explain this one?

Conclusion

There are ways in which Twitter can be creatively used in church. Dr Goh has simply dismissed Twitter without examining the ways in which Churches can and are creatively using Twitter to engage youth during a service.

As mentioned, the editor, Mr Peter Teo, did reply and thanked me “for my views”. He also asked me to write a 500 word article supporting the use of Twitter in church/worship.

I will publish that 500 word article in my next blog post, so stay tuned!

What do you think of Dr Goh’s arguments? Leave a comment.

Twittering in Church: Good Idea?

Hi all, just in case you haven’t been following the Twitter stream, I recently read this article entitled “Twittering in worship: One Methodist’s perspective” by Dr Anthony Goh in the November Issue (Vol 111 No 11) of the Methodist Message.

Dr Goh discourages from Tweeting during worship because:

1. Moods and feelings have no part in worship, and Twitter is all about your own feelings and emotions.
2. Twitter is about the self, and that is not right in corporate worship
3. It is distracting and disrespectful to God.
4. It fails the condition of worship being inclusive because some people can’t or don’t know how to use Twitter.
5. Worship is not virtual, it is physical – we should be present in worship
6. God does not have a Twitter account.

The last two points (5 & 6) look suspiciously like they came from this article called ""4 Reasons to Stop Twittering in Church” by Curtis Honeycutt.

What do you think of the article and Dr Goh’s arguments? Leave a comment.

Bible Study on Worship

Hi all, as I mentioned, I’m conducting Bible Study on Worship this week. Here are a few posts which I feel give a good overview of what worship is:

Part VI – Defining Worship & the Worship Service
Here I try to distinguish what the BIG concept of “worship” is, as well as break it down into the “worship service”, and “worship songs”.

Good summary of the biblical definitions in the first segment.

A Biblical Theology of Worship by Dr. Simon Chan (TTC Lecturer)
This was a course I attended, where the lecturer went into both the Old Testament and New Testament basis for worship. This is the 3rd post in that series, where he brings it all together as a “biblical theology of worship”.

Good way of seeing biblical worship from a more modern perspective.

If you have time:

Part I – Definition of Worship in the OT & NT
Part II – Definition of Worship in the Church
Part III – Definitions by Experts on Worship
Part IV – Why it’s our fault Worship is all messed up
Part V – Differences between Individual and Corporate Worship

You can post your questions here! Leave a comment!

Bible Study on Worship

Hi all, I’m going to be conducting a bible study next week on “biblical worship”, and some of the ways in which we can conduct worship in a cell/small group. So I’ve been thinking through everything I’ve written on this blog and try to apply it to a cell.

In many ways, the early church most closely resembled a cell group setting. However, we don’t always conduct communion, or have time for prayer & word & fellowship in the 2 hours or so that we meet.

So how do we properly “worship God” in a cell setting?

I’ve learnt in writing this blog that worship is defined as a:

• “means of engaging God on terms that He alone proposes”
• “spirit inspired-response to God’s revelation of Himself”

So I’ll be sharing about how best during cell “worship”, we can best lead our fellow cell members to engage with God, and respond appropriately, according to God’s word.

What are the ways you worship in your cell group? Leave a Comment!

I Have a Reason To Worship

Hi all, I was just listening to Tear Down the Walls this week. In the CD, there’s also a re-recording of the Desert Song (nono not dessert song).

I think it’s a great song, very well arranged especially in This Is Our God. However, I haven’t yet chosen to sing this song when I lead, because of the bridge:

All of my life, in every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

It’s the last line that puzzles me – “I have a reason to worship”. It seems a bit of a strange thing to have to say, because we only worship when there is something worthy of our adoration.

One can worship if and only if there is a reason to worship in the first place! So it doesn’t make sense to me to say that we have a reason to worship.

The only way I can think of it is that there is a case where we worship without needing a reason?  Kinda like paying lip service, or (gasp!) singing songs in church without meaning it? But then it wouldn’t be worship.

What do you think? Do we need a reason to worship?

Surrender

Just musing today with Ian… being a worship leader is really tough. There are songs that you love and that have ministered to you and you sing over and over again them with your guitar in your room.

But when it comes to choosing songs for the service.. those songs.. just don’t fit! You’re struggling to rearrange the order, changing the keys… but in the end – God says no.

I’m glad I lead at P&P (adult service), because it really reminds me that being a worship leader is about leading the congregation to God. Congregation/God. That’s it. I have to pick songs that will lead THEM to God, not what leads ME to God.

Surrender.

A Service Format – Proposal 0.1 beta

Hi all! Those of us in the committee to plan the the upcoming/possible/in-the-works young adults service have come up with a service format which we think incorporates the elements of 1) participation, 2) relevance, & 3) community.

The service is also based on biblical liturgical principles emphasising the Church as the living, breathing Body of Christ, which we hope will create a place where Young Adults will feel a part of, and be blessed by.

We’d like to hear your feedback on it! (all comments welcome!)

Proposed format

Pre-service fellowship

1. Opening prayer/scripture reading/song of preparation
2. Praise songs
3. Scripture Reading
4. Sermon (sermon discussion, if applicable)
5. Song of response/Prayer/Ministry time
6. Offering – Doxology
7. Announcements and sharing of Church concerns
8. Community time
1. Small group sharing/report
2. Testimony/Sharing of prayer requests
9. Corporate prayer/prayer song
10. Communion (once a month)
11. Closing song
12. Benediction

Post-service fellowship

Note that the placement of the announcements allows for a seamless transition from
“worship” to the sermon, maintaining the focus and the mood, while allowing time for the activities of the church to be shared with all.

Also, a dedicated “community” segment consisting of sharing, testimony and prayer will help the church to be more aware of each other and foster a sense of community.

We’d of course refine it to see what works best, SO – What do you think ? Leave a comment!

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A Service Format from Engaging with God (David Peterson)

As I’m planning a service format, I came across David Peterson’s Epilogue to his book “Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship” where he describes a fictitious account of a worship service.

Here’s how his “ideal service” might pan out:

It starts with the pre-service segment:

• Informal singing
• Reading of scripture
• Prayer of confession

Followed by the actual liturgical service:

• Songs of Praise & Thanksgiving
• Reading from OT & NT
• Prayer before the sermon
• Sermon (thematic, or expository; based on scripture discussed by small groups earlier in the week, prior to the sermon)
• Prayer & closing song
• Announcements

Time is given for public ministry:

• Public sharing of prayer requests
• Sharing of ministry work
• Testimony
• Sharing of thoughts on the sermon

Which is followed, of course, by prayer:

• Corporate prayer (involving spontaneous prayer by the congregation)
• Prayer in small groups (sharing with those seating nearby)

Then the matter of Holy Communion:

• Communion song/hymn
• Prayer of thanksgiving
• Communion (either by passing the bread & wine, or coming forward in groups)

Closing the service:

• Rededication (through song & prayer)

WOW! Okay that’s quite a lot to go through for a single service! But I think there’s lots of good ideas in there which involve more participation by the congregation, which I think its a bit lacking in our services today.

David Peterson writes:

“In fact, much of the service seemed to be concerned with what would come after – in the time of informal conversation after church, in home groups during the week, and in the opportunities for ministry that many shared in the neighbourhood, in the workplace and beyond.

Although the focus of the gathering was on heavenly or spiritual realities, the relevance of these truths to the world in which they lived was the pre-occupation of those who participated.”

See anything in there that you wish we had in our services? Leave a comment!

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Young Adults Ministry – Designing a New Service Format

It’s an exciting time for our church as we minister to the Young Adults (YAs) in our congregation. I’ve been asked to propose a service format that will resonate with YAs, hopefully resulting in a unique service for (but not limited to) the YA’s.

I’m going to need your help with suggestions and critiques! I’ll be posting up my proposals on this blog and it’d be great to hear what you think =)

We’ve been talking to the YAs in our church and we’ve identified 3 points that we feel define what they are looking for in their experience of church.

1. Sense of Community
2. Participation/Engagement
3. Relevant Teaching

While all churches are supposed to provide these things, it seems that YAs and the youth (Generation Y??) find these 3 things lacking most in our big church. The question is – how do we incorporate this into a service format?

Things that we usually do in our service (in order):

1. Songs
2. Prayer
3. Welcome/Announcements
4. Offering
5. Scripture reading
6. Sermon
7. Communion
8. Benediction
9. Ministry/personal prayer time

We’ve had suggestions for improving this – such as public prayer request/testimony time, as well as group discussion/prayer time.

So watch this space! Subscribe via email/RSS/Twitter (see the column on the right).

Meanwhile, what’s your ideal service format? How would you reach out to Young Adults? Leave a comment!

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1.3 In Spirit and In Truth by Dr Simon Chan

We’re looking at Dr Simon Chan’s overview of a Biblical Theology of Worship (as promised). Do see the previous posts: 1.1 & 1.2.

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A Biblical Theology of Worship

According to Dr Chan, the foundation of worship is the revelation of the triune God – that is, throughout the bible, the only basis for worship is responding to the acts of God and revelations of Himself.

SO then, WORSHIP is the “spirit-inspired response to the revelation of the triune God”, defined by two “movements”:

1. God’s approach to us via His revelation (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
2. Our response to His revelation

God’s Revelation

Specifically, God reveals Himself as three distinct persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As such, God is predominantly described in human terms – His “characteristics”.

Note: It’s up for debate as to whether God possesses these characteristics as we understand them as human beings, or it is just our interpretation of Him.

The 2 MAIN characteristics of God are:

1. Holiness
2. Goodness

Dr Chan argues that they are often seemingly at odds with one another – a God that judges, yet forgives, a God that is set apart, yet approachable. Yet these inalienable characteristics of God must be accurately portrayed in our Christian worship.

God’s Holiness convicts us of our sinfulness and need for forgiveness. We then offer a sacrifice (OT – lamb, NT – Jesus), then God reveals His goodness through forgiveness, which redeems us as His people and we are able to commune with Him as His Church.

Dr. Chan argues that to portray either one without the other is incorrect, and I will agree that having either one without the other just doesn’t make sense – a Holy God who doesn’t redeem us condemns us all to die. A good God that isn’t almightily powerful is just a God that is doing us a favour (like He owes it to us or something).

Worship leaders have a duty to portray each one in the light of the other, balancing the two (no one said it was an easy job!).

Our Response

Here’s where things get a little tricky – Dr. Chan asserts that there are pre-determined responses to God’s revelation. In studying the OT and NT forms of worship, it seems that worship follows a certain pattern, and that pattern of worship is consistently repeated, as are the responses. What’s more, the responses are commanded by God in the OT.

The 5 Basic Responses in worship:

1. Adoration (of God’s character)
2. Confession (of our sins)
3. Thankfulness (for God’s goodness in forgiving and redeeming us)
4. Intercession (because now we are part of the “body”)
5. Dedication (to a holy and good God)

Here’s a comparison of God’s revelations and the responses. The responses in Isaiah 6 are perhaps involuntarily, but have parallels to the sacrifices.

Revelation	OT Response *	Isaiah 6	Response
God’s holiness	Exo 19: Enter into covenant **	v1-3	Adoration
God’s judgement	Lev 4, 8: Sin Offering Lev 6, 8: Burnt Offering	v5	Confession
God’s goodness	Lev 3: Fellowship Offering Lev 2: Grain Offering	v6	Thanksgiving
God’s communion ***	Lev 3: Fellowship Offering		Intercession
God’s call	Lev 6, 8: Burnt Offering Lev 2: Grain Offering	v8	Dedication

* see OT Sacrificial System

** Israel’s response to God’s revelation of His might acts, and rescue for Egypt was to enter into a covenant with Him, by which He spelt out the requirements of worship.

*** God’s redemption is that of collective redeeming of His church – the “body of Christ”, hence the emphasis on the collective “body”.

Dr Chan (and most of liturgical church history) seems to argue that we must enact these revelations and responses in our weekly Sunday worship in order for us to accurately understand what holistic worship means (which extends to our daily living).

Phew! That’s taken me a while to digest and produce. But what do you think? Should Worship Leaders always strive to evoke these 5 Basic Responses in every worship ‘set’? How do you like to structure your worship services? Leave a comment!

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