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| The stage at Northside Baptist Church's building (without the worshipers.) |
As I write this, it is Wednesday night and I'm still smiling thinking about this past Sunday.
You see, we did something a little different than the norm.
I forced some people to sing in the church choir Sunday morning.
Well, maybe not forced, but pressured them into it for sure.
I'd done this a few years ago at my former church and it went well, so I tried it again.
Wednesday night in choir rehearsal, I explained to the choir what we'd be doing. I told them that, Sunday, everyone would just sit with their families, then during the fellowship portion of the service, they were to each bring someone into the choir loft with them. I knew this would cause people to laugh and cut up and have conversations like:
Congregant : "I'm not going up there!"
Choir member: "Why not? Do you not love Jesus?"
Once we were all in place, I'd take a few minutes to discuss worship and how important it is that we smile and worship with more than just our words...
If we are just singing the words on the screen, that's not worship. That's just singing.
Worship has to start with our heart,
that overflows into our thoughts,
then that overflows into our facial expressions and voices.
Sunday, when our impromptu choir began singing "Shout To The Lord" (a song I felt confident everyone would be familiar with), I was blown away by the volume and by the great sound the choir had. Many of our choir members chose people to bring up that had been in the choir before or who they knew could sing well.
It sounded great! I was blown away by both the beautiful harmonies and the expressions of worship in smiles, raised hands, etc. It was a day of worship I won't soon forget.
Big thanks to Tonya Rice for posting the video to facebook.
There were other great moments in the service too.
Here's a full list of what we did Sunday...
click the song title to go to lifeway and hear the exact version we did.
Looking back on this, I see that I was very 1990's in my song choices.
But that's ok with me. I wanted to stick with songs most people would be familiar with.
It was a good day worshiping God with my church family.
Congregant : "I'm not going up there!"
Choir member: "Why not? Do you not love Jesus?"
Once we were all in place, I'd take a few minutes to discuss worship and how important it is that we smile and worship with more than just our words...
If we are just singing the words on the screen, that's not worship. That's just singing.
Worship has to start with our heart,
that overflows into our thoughts,
then that overflows into our facial expressions and voices.
Sunday, when our impromptu choir began singing "Shout To The Lord" (a song I felt confident everyone would be familiar with), I was blown away by the volume and by the great sound the choir had. Many of our choir members chose people to bring up that had been in the choir before or who they knew could sing well.
It sounded great! I was blown away by both the beautiful harmonies and the expressions of worship in smiles, raised hands, etc. It was a day of worship I won't soon forget.
Big thanks to Tonya Rice for posting the video to facebook.
There were other great moments in the service too.
Here's a full list of what we did Sunday...
click the song title to go to lifeway and hear the exact version we did.
Sunday School Report/Announcements -
John
Come Christians, Join to Sing (An updated arrangement of a good old hymn)
Welcome / Prayer / Kids
Message - David
Choir Special - Shout To The Lord
Offertory Prayer
Offertory Interlude
Message - David
Invitation - Wherever He Leads I'll Go
Closing Prayer
Looking back on this, I see that I was very 1990's in my song choices.
But that's ok with me. I wanted to stick with songs most people would be familiar with.
It was a good day worshiping God with my church family.
How would you react if someone forced you onstage on Sunday morning?
This post is part of the blog carnival at TheWorshipCommunity.com. You can go here to see what other churches are doing in their services around the world.
