Jeremiah Worrell Music: Music Ministry That Works for YOU

Well, here goes nothing.....

I've been dreaming for years.  Now, it's time to put my dreams into action.

    

Jeremiah Worrell Music

Music Ministry That Works for YOU

I consider myself a supporter, one who supports the visions of others, helps to carry out the plans of those I'm connected to. Most people who don't know me won't believe it, but although I've found myself in the front in ministry for years now, I've always had a certain level of discomfort with being out front. Besides, helping is easier than creating.  The level of responsibility automatically doubles, triples even as soon as you are the primary person in command.  Although I serve in leadership within my local church and have done so now for almost 15 years, I answer to a couple of levels of leadership that cover the ministries that have been placed in my hands.  The ministries I lead in my church are a part of the larger vision of my church and Pastors.  I am extremely grateful for these opportunities and I endeavor to always carry the weight of them with grace and to give them every fiber of my being.

But, what about what God has given ME to do...alone? 

I believe wholeheartedly that God expects us to serve in our local churches, but I also believe that there are times when God calls us to share what He's given us personally beyond just our local sphere.  We all have a unique set of experiences that makes us qualified for whatever God has called us to.  Each of our qualifications are different than anyone else's, like a ministry DNA.  Our make up, our upbringing, our training, our interactions, our pain, our triumphs all shape us to be able to better those with whom we come in contact.

I never knew growing up in eastern North Carolina, attending a small rural church, and leading a choir in a small ministry at the age of 12 would prepare me to lead two stellar choirs today in a world-renowned ministry. It doesn't add up, but God used it to make me who I am.  But it doesn't end there.

Working in my current capacities has given me the training to be able to share with other ministries, ministers of music, directors, praise and worship leaders, and even Pastors about the ins and outs of music ministry excellence. My goal with Jeremiah Worrell Music is to share what I've learned with church music ministries and their leaders to guide them to the next level in their musicality, organization, structure, presentation, and overall ministry.  I don't have self-promoting visions of grandeur, but I do have tunnel vision of sharing the wealth, paying it forward, and being an asset to the body of Christ.  And this is just beginning.....

I'm right where God wants me, 
and I can't wait to see what He's going to do with me next.
Stay tuned.  More to come.....

Jeremiah Worrell Music

Music Ministry That Works for YOU

www.jeremiahworrell.com

7. Ten Reasons We Need The Choir

Obviously I'm partial to choirs, choir music, and choir singing. However, I have good reason to be. Let's get right to it, shall we?

(Greater Mount Calvary Celebration Choir, 10th Anniversary Concert, photo courtesy of Deshon Gales)

1. Choirs mirror Heaven and the angelic host
Luke 2:13-14 declares that the Angelic Host Choir sang to announce the birth of Jesus and give praise to God.  Choirs give praise in our weekly services by lifting their voices and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. On earth, as it is in Heaven....

2. Choirs give opportunity for musical service
Many churches have reverted to only having praise teams instead of a full choir.  Usually a praise team consists of 6-8 people.  If your church is small, this makes perfect sense as there may not be an influx of people who have musical gifts and talents.  However, if you have a church of 100 people or more, there are more than 6-8 people in your congregation with the gift to sing. It slights those who are gifted to sing and short-changes your church and worship experience when you don't provide an adequate opportunity for those who have singing ability to use it in God's house. The more the merrier!

3. Choirs bring a sense of belonging
Not only is the opportunity to serve musically in the house important, but it's also important for singers to be able to self-identify with other individuals who love to sing God's praises. Choir members probably fellowship (officially and unofficially) just as much or more than they sing.  Christians should fellowship with one another, and having a choir in your church gives an opportunity for great camaraderie with those who have similar interests and gifts. Choirs also serve as family for those who may be in your church but away from their home and blood relatives.

4. Choirs can minister holistically to the body
Praise teams have a set assignment in the house of God. Their job is to bring the people into one accord so that we can corporately worship.  The choir's job is a little different. While the choir can and does do the same job as the praise team, the choir can also encourage, tell biblical stories set to music, remind, warn, and even express sentiments about current events.  As parishioners come to God's house each week, they are coming to be equipped and empowered for life once they leave church. An encouraging word in song from the choir can be just what someone needed to hear in order to lift them to another level.

5. Choirs bring variety to the service
Again, in contrast to praise teams, choirs have a much wider range of music that they can do. It is expected (or should be) that what is shared during praise and worship is simple enough that a "non-singer" can catch it and worship along with the worship leaders.  While many choir selections may be singable by the average congregant, choirs are also able to minister anthems, hymns, chants and more polished, exciting, and challenging pieces that can add quite a bit to any church service.

(Ricky Dillard and New G at their live recording in Toronto, Canada, photo courtesy of the web)

6. Choirs train singers on multiple levels
Some of the best choirs in the world are able to effectively do several different genres of music, all while giving glory to God through the use of their voices. Choirs can train singers in many different musical genres, but choirs also train people for life.  I first joined the "Twilight Choir" at my home church when I was four years old. It was in the choir where I learned and developed discipline, working well with others, and being accountable in ministry.

7. Choirs can get a point across to the congregation
The importance of the preached Word of God cannot be stated enough.  With that said, preachers often ridicule the music ministry with statements like, "The Word is the only thing that is going to last." Well, if the choir isn't singing the Word of God, then what are we singing?  Think about this.  When we were in preschool, they taught us our ABCs.  We did not learn them by simply writing them on paper or having them recited to us.  We first had to memorize them. How did they make sure that we could do this quickly and easily? They set the ABCs to music.  The musical component brought a methodical and patterned sensibility to what we were learning.  Congregants will often remember a song before they remember a sermon.

8. Choirs are yet relevant
Choirs have evolved over the years. I sometimes watch old videos on YouTube of Rev. Milton Brunson and the Thompson Community Singers from Chicago.  Back in the 1950's, there were videos of them singing in what looked like graduation robes and barely moving (not even swaying to the beat) while singing.  However, if you look at a video of them from the 1980s and 90s, the robes were eye catching, the movement was more exciting, and the sound was more captivating.  They were even known more popularly as "The Thommies" by this time. They evolved.  Today's choirs don't have to necessarily look like a choir from the 1980s or 90s even.  Find what works for your congregation, especially and most importantly when dealing with younger people. Find out what they like to sing, and how they like to sing it, and allow the creativity to flow. The choir is about bringing people and their voices together. It's not about being stuck in any particular era.

(Deitrick Haddon and the League of Xtraordinary Worshippers, photo courtesy of the web)

9. Choirs attract servants
Now, I'm going to say this, and some will not like it.  Some of the best servants in the church can be found in the choir.  Between weekly rehearsals, Sunday mornings (in some cases multiple Sunday morning services), week night services, traveling with the Pastor (in town and out of town), and other tasks as assigned that sometimes have nothing to do with singing, choir members exemplify their servitude through the choir ministry.  People who have the gift to sing but are too grand to sing in the choir show their lack of a servant's heart.  As a choir director and leader, I'll take a faithful "ok" singer over someone who is super gifted but has to be begged to serve. Hats off to faithful choir members who make serving look easy and get the job done with excellence every week!

10. Choirs are fun!
Every choir has its own personality, and in the down time before and after rehearsals or during a trip to sing, you find out who the choir clowns really are. I have had some of the most hilarious moments with the choirs that I am blessed to serve. They keep me laughing, but the fun is not just relegated to those times. True choir singers enjoy what they do.  There is an inward pleasure that comes from joining together and giving voice and expression to your love for Christ through song that cannot be explained....

The choir is not a lost art form. As long as there is church and music, the choir has a place!

6. Conflict

It's inevitable.

You will not agree with every person that you work with in ministry. This can occur because you think totally different from the person you're bumping heads with, or because of a misunderstanding, or due to different goals or mindsets...or you may not even be sure why you don't see eye to eye.

So what do you do when you're involved in a disagreement among ministry workers?

1. Don't assume the problem is them.  Always begin with self-examination first. What did I do to contribute to the problem? What could I have done differently? Don't discount the notion that you and your ideas aren't perfect either.
2. Lower your ego.  Make sure that your feelings are not fueled by a need to be right, seen, or in charge.  All of these things have no place in ministry.
3. Don't lower your standards.  You aren't responsible for what they do, but you are ultimately responsible for how you react.  Even if you have to be silent.  Trust me, IT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE, but it is possible! Let the holy ghost lead and you take a back seat.
4. Remember, you don't have to agree.  As a matter of fact, truth be told, you don't even have to be friends.  If an immediate resolution isn't possible, work toward your common goals and move forward in mutual respect until things are resolved.
5. Compromise, but know your limits.  Be willing and open to give in a little, but if you feel strongly about something, especially as it relates to pleasing God, bettering the people you serve, or accomplishing the goals you've set, stand firm.  Know what you are and are not willing to compromise in order to try and bridge the gap between you and the other party.
6. Keep the main thing the MAIN THING.  The ministry, the people, and ultimately God are what's most important.  Don't be guilty of majoring in minors and minoring in majors.  God stands behind you when your true aim and heart's intent is the main thing.  What's the main thing?  To bless God's people and give God the glory.

You'll never agree on everything. Find your common areas of agreement, and work diligently from there.

5. Glory

I'm currently at a place where I just want God to move how He wants to move. I'm learning that we have created boxes for God's movement and as long as He moves within those boxes, we are fine.  What do I mean by boxes?  Often the boxes manifest as denominations, styles of music, worship, or instrumentation, or even time constraints, among other things.

I want to see a move such that our little, insignificant, self-made boxes are blown away by the wind of God.  I want to see people changed, not just inspired or even worse, simply entertained.  I want revival...not a series of scheduled services, but an uncontainable life restoration that is so big, so rare, so noticeable that it can't be ignored, downplayed or stifled...individually, corporately, or globally.

I've found myself praying today, but not praying for any particular service.  What I hope to see God do is bigger than a service.  I'm not praying for a particular church or denomination, because what I want God to do will transcend all of that.  I want to see God blow away all of the things that hinder His glory from being revealed and get us back to the essence, the root, the purity of where His glory resides...in HIM.

I'm beginning with me.  Where have I gone wrong?  How did we seemingly get so far away?? How did we get so sidetracked by our own ideas of what the glory of God looks like??  That's the thing: there is no one reason.  Here are a few contributors that I've observed.

1. We limit ourselves by marking moments that we feel God's presence, and then we try to mimic those moments in hopes that we will get another similar visitation. We talk on social media and in discussions about how "God's presence really took over service today", but we fail to recognize that God's presence can't be contained in a moment.  If and when He truly moves, it doesn't come in a praise break and leave as suddenly as it came.  God's presence lingers and it accomplishes something.  We like the feeling of God's presence but we don't look for what God's presence is there to do for us and in us.  I heard a preacher say this before, and I connected with it immediately: It's almost like we're praising praise.  We yearn for a dance, or a feeling more than we yearn for the God whose presence is supposed to be behind the praise.  We should long for whatever and however God wants to move, not for a repeat of the feeling we had in a memorable moment of worship. Scripture strongly suggests that He may not show up the same way everytime.  Chase God, not the feeling.
2. We confine ourselves by our own culture and prejudices.  God's presence and creativity is too vast to only show up when a Hammond B3 organ is playing.  God's presence is too great to only linger with an acoustic guitar.  God is too big to only be praised in the dance.  God is too mighty to only be felt in worshipful tears.  And certainly God's presence, power, and anointing are not at all limited by manmade denominations and factions. It's all His praise....or is it?  When we limit God and only see Him through our own cultural or preferential lenses, we aren't giving Him His just due.  Some people even declare that other styles or ways of singing, worshipping, etc are "ungodly" or "not anointed".  Who are we to determine what gives God praise and what doesn't?  I mean, the Bible declares that if we don't praise Him, the rocks will, which proves that God will get praise one way or another...with or without your methods. We are in essence making more of the method than of the God we are supposed to be praising. Let's move beyond our personal style limitations and see God's praise, presence, and glory however HE decides to manifest it.
3. We only know Jehovah Jireh.  We only know and praise the God who provides. We've reduced praise (and for that matter faith, spirituality, and blessings) to material things.  We will shout more for a big offering than we will for souls saved (I'll leave that there). Our ancestors praised God with nothing, and at times, seemingly for nothing since everything seemed to be going wrong in their lives at times.  Now, we get depressed and will not praise if we don't get a promotion we thought we deserved.  Here's my question: What is God to you when you remove all of the stuff that He's so carefully provided for you?  This speaks to relationship. If we only tap into one aspect of God's personality (ie. provision) then we don't know how to praise or appreciate the other aspects that He equally wants to share with us.  We must know God to be able to feel when He moves and sense what He's doing.
4. We're in a rush.  For most of us, long gone are the days of being in church all day on Sunday (sun up to sun down in a lot of cases), and 3 or 4 more times during the week for services and prayer.  I agree that there is no reason to have superfluous, repetitive long services and large quantities of church for the heck of it.  However we've moved to this dangerous place where time restraints are placed on everything and if God's presence begins to move on people's hearts, the statement is made "we have to move on".  But didn't we come to God's house for Him to move exactly how and as much as He wants to move?  There's a delicate balance in being overbearing and being overly time conscious.  This applies at church and in our home life as well.  There is equally a balance between the natural obligations we have in life and the needs of our spirit man. The correct balance is best determined by the Holy Spirit.  Don't let a clock rob you of what God wants to do for you in His presence.
5. We leave God at church.  What happened to personal devotion?  What happened to private time in prayer?  What happened to time spent reading the Word? What happened to worship time alone?  The God of Sunday morning is the God of Thursday afternoon.  The God of the sanctuary at church is the God of your kitchen at home. The God of corporate worship is the God of private intimacy.

I'm sure, like myself, you can find yourself in one or more of these categories. These are just a few of the things that I've observed.  I'm sure there are many more that can be added.  I'm not an authority. I just want to see us all move closer to God and to the pureness of worship and longing that He deserves so that His glory can be revealed in us and through us for the world to see.

What steps, adjustments, or changes in attitude can we make individually that will make the move of God easy?  What walls have we built that need to be torn down in order for God to really send revival in our lives and in the earth?

4. Discretion

Let's jump right in, shall we?

There's a Pastor on a popular TV show who was seen smoking a cigar at a hookah bar.  Another Pastor recently started a Go Fund Me account to help finance a new jet that he wants to purchase.  A lot has been said on both sides of the fence regarding both issues.  Here's my two cents...since it is my blog, right? :-)

There are areas that we may disagree on as it relates to our everyday walk, practices and teachings.  (Yes I'm going to say it): Christianity, as we (the church at large) know it and present it, leaves room for a lot of grey areas.  I know...I know...someone just closed my blog and decided that I'm a heretic, but think about it.  What may be acceptable in my church, in my reformation, or even in my culture, may not be acceptable in yours.  And this can vary in its reasoning, from how the Bible is interpreted from one person to another, to how our parents or grandparents taught us, to what we are comfortable with or not comfortable with according to our own dispositions and, yes at times, even our own prejudices.

So does this mean that we are free to do whatever we decide to do as long as we're happy with it?  Not by any means.  Does this even mean that we are free to do whatever we want as long as we know within ourselves that it will not send us to hell?  The answer to that would be no as well.

A word of scripture...

Romans 14: 14-17 (New Century Version)
14  I am in the Lord Jesus, and I know that there is no food that is wrong to eat. But if a person believes something is wrong, that thing is wrong for him.

15  If you hurt your brother’s or sister’s faith because of something you eat, you are not really following the way of love. Do not destroy someone’s faith by eating food he thinks is wrong, because Christ died for him. 

16  Do not allow what you think is good to become what others say is evil.  (The King James Version says: "Let not then your good be evil spoken of.")

17  In the kingdom of God, eating and drinking are not important. The important things are living right with God, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Some things we don't do because they are wrong to God.  Some things we don't do because they aren't good for us.  And some things we don't do because they don't look good to others.  All three of these hold their own weight.  We must remember, as representatives of the Kingdom, our decisions are never just about us.

2. Growth

So, choir rehearsal is on Tuesdays.  It snowed Tuesday.  We turn music in to the band etc 2 weeks in advance.  It snowed Tuesday.  Saturday rehearsal is basically just a run through of what was learned on Tuesday.  It snowed Tuesday....Then what???

It snowed Saturday. We waited until the last possible moment, but we had to cancel. No way we could have choir members out in the inclement weather as it worsened. So for clarity sake, it snowed on both of our rehearsal days this week which means no rehearsal since last month.

I remember like it was yesterday.  There was a time when I would be in a panic inwardly.  I would overthink what songs we would substitute on Sunday, how the congregation would receive them, even how the choir would adjust to the changes and repeats.  Now, after doing this for so many years, I can honestly say, I'm over that.

I've grown.  In the 10 years that I've directed this choir, I've become more secure in my own decision-making skills.  I've become more secure in what I've instilled in those that I lead.  Most importantly, I've become more secure in the God that's in me.  Sometimes decisions have to be made. I pray about it, put it in motion, and move on.  Even when I wasn't sure, I've seen God's hand move and bless our efforts. I've seen God anoint us even when we weren't totally prepared.  I've seen God use us when our attitudes weren't the greatest.  I've seen God use us when the people we were ministering to didn't want to hear us.  I've seen God use us with no  musicians.  I've seen God use us in so many different ways, times, and situations, that a little snow no longer panics me.

I've grown, I tell ya.  However, if you've read my previous blog post, then you know that I still have this thing with nerves at times.  Here's the thing about growth: it never stops unless you stop it.  There's always more territory to be explored, more challenges to be conquered, more rivers to cross.  However, every now and then, you must stop, look back, recall, reminisce and ultimately, thank GOD for progress.  Celebrate that the things that once stopped you, now don't hinder you at all.  Celebrate that the things that once stopped you, now only slow you down.  Celebrate that the things that once stopped you, now only stop you every now and then.  It's all progress, it's all God, and it's all worth celebrating.

Remember where you were. Celebrate where you are. Push forward to where you're going. Your past, your present, and your future are all important parts of your story.

3. Grace

The topic of "grace" seems to cause quite a stir these days.  The prevailing question seems to be, "Does grace run out?"  Here's a few things that I think we should remember about grace.

1. Grace comes from God.

We are not the inventors of grace, therefore we cannot control where grace is applied.  It's a gift that we receive from God.  God is the ultimate and sole executor of grace.  A person can't take it from you.  Conversely, there's nothing you can do to keep it if it's gone.  That control is God's and God's alone.

2. Grace is a gift.

Grace is given to us by God.  We cannot afford grace.  God knows this.  That's why He gives it to us freely.  We can't earn and do not deserve it.  It's not merit-based.  It's simply a gift from God.

3. Grace is different than mercy.

While grace deals with favor given to us because we need it for everyday life and assignments, mercy is the absence of final judgment when we do wrong.  Grace is an addition on top of the everyday mercies that we receive.  Mercy says "don't punish him according to his wrong", but grace says "treat him like he never did the wrong".

4. Grace is sufficient.

We're imperfect.  We fall short.  God's grace never does.  His grace can reach where you can't and can do what you can't.  Do your best, but know that God's grace follows you along with His mercy everyday of your life.

Why are we so caught up in trying to earn God's grace?  Why do we sometimes try to revoke grace from those who we deem unworthy?  Taking grace from another won't give you any extra.  These activities are pointless.  The best thing we can do with our gift of grace is to simply receive it.

Grace is not a pass.  Grace is not a medal.  Grace is just grace...and without it we would all fall flat on our faces.