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Worship Evangelism Pt2
By admin | October 18, 2007
Our goal during our Worship Experiences is to help engage people in such a way that they can see and respond to Jesus. That’s the goal, plain and simple. In my mind this is worship, hearing from and responding to Jesus. This comes in various forms, but it’s not the form that is primary, what is primary is hearing from and responding to Jesus.
We state our goal this way because we want to help everyone encounter Jesus in our Worship Experiences, those who are far from God and those who claim Jesus as their Leader. For me in this convergence is “worship evangelism.”
[Caveat - I know Morgenthaler is the progenitor of this concept. I, however, have not read her fully so I do not claim that anything I am about to say is from her or lines up with her work. I just like the phrase as a descriptor for what we're trying to do.]
I want us to do things in such a way that we help those who are far from God encounter Jesus for who he really is (to have the opportunity to embrace the gospel for the first time) and for those who claim Jesus as their leader to help them more fully embrace the gospel in their lives (the gospel is central to the life of a believer, not something that we move beyond).
This means communicating the gospel, the timeless unchanging gospel, through means that are comprehensible to those living at the dawn of the 21st century. This is a huge statement and one that deserves a dissertation, not a sentence, but suffice it to say that for us this means at least a few things.
1. We use language that is common to everyone. This doesn’t mean we never use big words or words that are new, etc. It does mean, however, that we do all we can to use everyday language as opposed to Christianese (as some describe it). Partly so that we are comprehensible in our actual words (or to introduce what might be a new word, our locutions 
). But even more than that, it is so we are comprehensible as normal human beings. Using common language of the day will help to display that we are approachable, etc. This isn’t selling out. Rather, I think it is following the model of the NT.
2. We use cultural forms that are common to everyone. Without opening a can of worms that only uber-reformed folks give a rip about, we are not a pure regulative principle church (if you don’t know what the regulative principle is then don’t even worry about it). We utilize video, mainstream music, film, etc. Again, the goal is to enhance or shine light on Jesus and the gospel, not to detract from it (and I recognize that this is debatable in the minds of some, I’m not unaware of the issues).
3. We seek to be genuine and authentic in all we do. You see, for us, none of this is a show or gimmick. We’re not doing these things to be something or someone we’re not. I am, and hope to always be, a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy. I’m not feigning at authenticity or throwing up pretense. No, I’m deeply committed to being genuine in all that I say and do. This means we’re trying to break down walls for relationship. We want people to see Jesus and be transformed by his gospel. To say it differently, as a communicator, the days of keeping an arms length from your hearers is done.
Anyway, there are more (somewhat) random thoughts about what we’re trying to accomplish in our Worship Experiences. Do we always hit the nail on the head? No way. We’re not perfect. But these are things we’re striving to embody.
If you’re interested in finding out more check out our Informational Meeting next week.
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Topics: LifeConnection, Missional Movements |