I am encouraged to report that income in July returned to the level that we need to maintain current operations. We thank both pastors and members for responding to the need. As Bernie Schnippert's column on page 3 shows, July income was higher than June's. We pray that this level will be maintained, rather than being a short-lived response to our appeals.
Income in August so far has been lower than in July. The last few days have once again been very low and troubling. We continue to look to God and request your prayers about the finances.
Our income is important, of course, but it is much more important for our hearts to be right. Our hearts need to be given to God in entirety. All that we do should be for his honor and glory--and we rejoice in being called to proclaim his praises (1 Peter 2:9).
God has done marvelous things for us! The love he has shown us in Jesus Christ is beyond our ability to understand (Ephesians 3:19). The joy he gives us in salvation is beyond our ability to express (1 Peter 1:8). The peace he gives is also beyond our comprehension (Philippians 4:7).
Words simply fail to describe adequately the experience of salvation we have in Jesus Christ.
How shall we respond to these magnificent blessings? With worship--with praise and thanksgiving, giving glory and honor to God. This is our privilege and our joy. Our relationship with God is characterized by love, joy, peace, praise and worship.
In the past few months, many congregations have been doing things differently in their weekly meetings. Church services are called worship services. Song leaders are called worship leaders. We have more music, and a greater variety of music. The goal, of course, is that we become more conscious that we are gathering to worship our Creator and Savior, and that we express that worship in the words we sing and in the emotions that songs can convey. In a way, the "culture" in the church is changing.
It should be no surprise that some of us find this change uncomfortable. We have grown used to our traditional way of meeting, and we can easily view a change in music as an unnecessary interruption of our comfort levels.
With that in mind, I would like to share with you a slightly edited letter I recently sent a member in response to questions about our changing worship format. Since we will soon be celebrating the fall festivals--with songs of joy and praise--it might be helpful to address this subject again before the Feast.
Here's the letter:
You question whether a revised worship format can bring anyone closer to God. It is true that simply changing terminology and behavior cannot force anyone to change their hearts.
However, it can facilitate a change of heart. I do not know what songs were done in your church area. I do know that contemporary worship songs have helped many members come to greater awareness of why we gather each week: to worship, to praise God, to rejoice before the Lord.
Salvation is a wonderful gift--better than winning a million bucks in a sweepstakes. Should we treat it as a ho-hum, matter-of-fact experience? I think not. The knowledge of salvation should make us excited, expressive, enthusiastic, anxious to praise our Father and Savior. For many people, this is done with lively songs.
As you note, the way people sing praise to God has varied from culture to culture and century to century. Eighth-century chants were effective worship expressions in the eighth century. Today, they are not. Eighteenth-century hymns were also worshipful in the 18th century. Some still are; others are not.
Each type of song began as contemporary music. As time went on, it became traditional and some other style became contemporary. Today, different styles are becoming contemporary, and 18th-century hymns do not invoke worshipful thoughts in large segments of the population.
You suggest that we are changing our worship song styles without scriptural precedent. I believe that Scripture actually gives us precedent for much greater change. Scripture tells us about very expressive worship styles:
* "I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High" (Psalm 9:2).
* "Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" (Psalm 32:11).
* "Shout with joy to God, all the earth!" (Psalm 66:1).
* "May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds--his name is the Lord--and rejoice before him" (Psalm 68:3-4).
* "Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains!" (Isaiah 49:13).
* "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you--I, whom you have redeemed" (Psalm 71:23).
* "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation" (Psalm 95:1).
* "Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem!" (Zephaniah 3:14).
* "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise" (James 5:13).
Have you ever shouted for joy--in the presence of other believers--at the blessings God has given you? Have you ever exulted in God? Has your heart leaped for joy? Have you clapped hands in worship? There are scriptural precedents for these. We want our worship services to allow people to express their praise and joy in the Lord.
You note that some of our minority members prefer traditional music. That is true. It is also true that some white members enjoy minority music. We want to provide a variety of musical styles that reflects the variety of people that we have in our fellowship. Of course, music preferences change over time, too. After listening to a style of music for a while, it can become more enjoyable.
Another thing that we need to consider is the people who do not attend our services, and yet we want them to. What styles of music will help them worship? What songs will best express to them the joy Christ is giving us? What will magnify the Lord to them?
If we want our church to grow, if we want people to stay to hear the gospel message, then we need to consider their preferences, too. Some songs are more beginner-friendly than others.
I hope you can take that into consideration, too, because that is another reason we wish to have more variety in our worship music. We want the church to grow, to bring more people to salvation through Jesus Christ.
We no longer live in "Mayberry, R.F.D.'' Opie is now an adult with his own teenagers, and we must reach out to the generations born after we were. Many people coming into the church today were born after the end of the Vietnam War. They were born after the last man walked on the moon. Those things that are recent history to us are ancient history to these new Christians.
As a church, we must reach out not only to baby boomers, but also baby busters, the MTV generation and generation X. Some young adults view the Beatles as classical music, for those songs were written long before these adults were born. So when we consider music for our worship services, it is helpful to be reminded of their perspective on music.
I have commented at length on worship style, for that is a subject close to my heart. However, the main point of your letter concerned the role of women in the worship service. Let me comment on that.
First, you seem to believe that worship leading is a leadership role. This depends on how you define leadership, I suppose. We do call the person a worship leader, but this is not an authoritative leadership.
We need to distinguish between different types of leadership. For example, we have traditionally accepted women as leaders for church potlucks. Women help organize the food and run the kitchen. They even have the authority to tell men to get out of the kitchen, and where to set the tables, etc. We have commonly accepted this type of leadership role for women.
When Paul said that he did not allow women to teach or lead men (1 Timothy 2:12), what kind of authority was he talking about? If a man becomes lost while driving in your neighborhood, is it permissible for a woman to explain to him where to go? If a woman is waxing the floor, is it permissible for her to tell a man where to step? Of course. Paul did not prohibit all forms of instruction and authority of women over men.
We might ask, how much authority does a worship leader have? How much teaching is involved? Don't we let teenagers do this sometimes?
My point is that worship leading is not an authoritative role. Perhaps it is better described as a facilitating role, an encouraging role, a coordinating role. The worship leader is not giving a sermon--he or she is simply selecting which praises to give and helping the congregation praise in unison. (Sometimes the songs are even chosen by someone else.)
For many years, we have let women sing solo special music, in which we presumably follow the words silently as she praises or prays in song. She is, in fact, leading the congregation in worship. Do you think this is wrong, or do you think it is wrong for the congregation to join her in singing praises?
I think some of the lines we have drawn in the past have been artificial and are not consistent.
There is scriptural precedent for women having roles in worship. Miriam sang praises before the Israelites (Exodus 15:20-21) and led the women in worship in both singing and dancing. Deborah sang praises and spoke the word of the Lord (Judges 4:4-6, 14; 5:1-31). Huldah gave authoritative words to high-ranking men (2 Kings 22:14-20).
On Pentecost, both men and women prophesied (Acts 2:17). Philip's daughters prophesied (Acts 21:8-9), and in doing so, they spoke infallible messages from God.
In Corinth, women were prophesying and praying out loud in the assembly (1 Corinthians 11:4-16). Paul told them how to dress (verses 4-5), but he did not tell them to stop praying and prophesying in the meetings. I believe that women worship leaders today are not exercising any more authority than Scripture already has precedent for.
I know that changes can be uncomfortable. Staying the same can also be uncomfortable for many people. It is my role, as worship leader of the Worldwide Church of God, to encourage people to express praise, faith and joy in God.
Our traditional format, although effective for some members, was not effective for many, and rarely effective for new people. I believe that Scripture not only permits a more expressive approach to worship music, it actually exhorts more lively music.
Scripture allows women to do more things than we have traditionally allowed. For example, nothing in the Bible forbids women from passing around bread and wine at the Lord's Supper. Nothing forbids them from collecting offerings. And yet in times past, we often did not allow women to participate in these roles.
Scripture shows women singing in church services; it shows women speaking and men listening. I believe we are on firm scriptural ground when we allow women to be worship leaders.
We are studying the role of women in depth. Hopefully in a couple of months we will have a study paper ready to distribute. This will explore in greater detail what Paul wrote, and it will become a basis for further study and discussion.
Thank you for writing, and for your concern about the spiritual health and worship of your congregation. I pray that the Lord is blessing you with peace and joy, and with enthusiasm for his work.
The letter quoted above covers two important issues: worship and women. Now I would like to say a few more words about the Festival, since this will be the last issue some members will receive before the Feast of Tabernacles.
The theme of the Festival this year is "A Celebration of Salvation." To the ancient Israelites, the Festival celebrated two things: 1) the annual harvests (Deuteronomy 16:13) and 2) the wilderness journey while the Israelites were coming out of Egypt and going toward the land of Canaan (Leviticus 23:43). The Israelites gathered to rejoice before the Lord to thank him for the good land he had given them.
For Christians today, the spiritual counterpart of the promised land is salvation. This is our promised inheritance: life with God forever and ever.
This is what Christians celebrate at the Feast of Tabernacles. We celebrate the fruits of salvation that we already enjoy: love, joy, peace, faith, humility, etc. We have been blessed to experience many aspects of salvation even in this age.
We have been saved, Paul says in Titus (Ephesians 2:5). We are already living with God, for he lives in us, and we enjoy his presence in our lives. We rejoice in him.
Our inheritance has been promised by Jesus Christ, and guaranteed by the presence of the Holy Spirit--but we have not completely arrived yet. We are, spiritually speaking, on our journey, in the wilderness. We have been rescued from Egypt and are moving toward the promise.
We live in mortal bodies--temporary dwellings. Yet we rejoice because we are on a journey. Jesus Christ is the Rock who is leading us. We rejoice before the Lord, celebrating salvation. The Israelites, in their booths and with their harvests, pictured in a physical way what we Christians can celebrate regarding salvation in Jesus Christ.
I hope that as many as can will join us in celebrating at the Feast this year. We hope to make each day an opportunity for praise, worship, learning and rejoicing before the Lord.
Jesus Christ is the reality that the festivals pictured. He is Lord of all, Lord of the festivals. We claim these days as trophies, testifying to the fact that our Savior rules both time and space. To him be all honor, glory and praise!
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