A word from Michael...

Contextualization

For the very few of you who have been biting nails waiting for the next "installment" of this page, never fear! Updates are here!

It has been brought to my attention that some comments I've made before regarding the purpose of a "worship service" need some explanation. No one likes criticism, but it's one of the best ways to refine one's opinion from "what I'd like to say" to "what I really think."

A worship service is about God--but not at the expense of all other considerations. It is easy for us music types to idealize the worship service, not taking care to articulate our intentions within the context of the individual church. Where is it located? What kinds of people are its core? Its attenders? Its prospects? All of these issues have a bearing on what will constitute authentic worship.

From that standpoint, it is impossible to separate the emphasis on the worship of God from the context of the individual congregation. We can talk about our heavenly impressions of what makes up a good worship service until we're blue in the face, but if we are not sensitive to the spiritual abilities of our congregation, these angelic offerings of praise turn out to be little more than pie in the sky.

When we're talking about a worship service, it is impractical--and not altogether biblical--to assume that we can just shrug off who and what our congregations are (and, more specifically, what they're made of) and choose worship elements regardless of said congregation's "worship capabilities." Some congregations will be more mature than others, so you might be able to get away with a heavier approach to the theology of mature Christian living; others will be populated predominantly by seekers and "nominal" Christians, for whom such a deep worship approach will be impractical and fruitless.

(continued)

| Home | About Michael | Philosophy | Testimony | Family |
| Music | Recordings | Resources | Contact | Other Links |
Best if viewed in a version 5 browser or later, Safari, Mozilla, or Firefox.