The Worshiping Artist: Equipping You and Your Ministry Team to Lead Others in Worship

By Rory Noland and Chuck From

Whether you serve as a vocalist, instrumentalist, technician, dancer, actor, or in some other role, you know what a blessing it is to serve on your church’s worship team. But you also know that some days you’re more technically prepared than you are spiritually prepared for the ministry of leading others in worship. In the midst of rehearsals, setup, and myriad distractions, not to mention the busyness of daily life, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. How can you and your fellow team members be prepared to worship in spirit and truth as well as lead others in worship with integrity?With thirty years of experience in worship leading, Rory Noland knows the issues—in both the private life of the worship team member and the public ministry of a worship team. In this readable book, he offers practical insights on how to• Grow as a private worshiper• Encounter the character of God during worship• Respond to the character of God during worship• Be transformed by the character of God• Learn from ancient worship leaders… and more.So relevant you’ll think the author was eavesdropping on your last church service, The Worshiping Artist is ideal to read either by yourself or as a team.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Aug 30, 2009
• ISBN: 9780310867098

Rory Noland

Rory Noland es el director de Heart of the Artist Ministries, un organización dedicada a los artistas en la iglesia y ayuda los equipos de artistas a dar una vuelta entre comunidades de tolerancia. Un compositor, un autor, y un hablante, Rory es un graduado de Chicago musical College a Roosevelt University y sirvió por 20 años como un director de música a Willow Creek Community Church en South Barrington, Illinois. Es el autor de dos libros publicado por Zondervan.

Book preview

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT

THE WORSHIPING ARTIST

Wow! Rory has done it again! The Worshiping Artist is the most theological yet applicable resource on worship I’ve seen. Rory does a masterful job of teaching the core competencies of worship yet relating them to everyday life and the circumstances we face in arts ministries. Thanks, Rory! Our teams already enjoy a deeper understanding of our calling and abilities because of your previous books. I anticipate an even greater impact with The Worshiping Artist.

LARRY HARRISON, Worship and Teaching Pastor,

Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Rory helps you consider what matters most: it is not about serving in worship as part of my life—but integrating a lifestyle of worship into my service—this book will be a great tool to go through and grow through as a team.

CONNIE LEACHMAN, Executive Producer,

Living Word Community Church

The Worshiping Artist—it’s fresh, biblical, eye-opening, practical, substantial, helpful, provocative, instructive, debunking (tired stereotypes); wisdom for the in-the-trenches-worship-leader drawn from worship-leader-creatives of the Bible and the Church’s history. One of the best guides for Worship Leaders I’ve seen in my forty years of worship ministry!

REV. BYRON SPR ADLIN, President, Artists in

Christian Testimony International

A must read for anyone wanting to grow as a private worshiper or as a public ministry leader. Practical, biblical, and refreshing. I highly recommend it to those looking to enrich their personal worship experience.

RICK MUCHOW

In today’s complex and often controversial landscape of worship within the local church, Rory has written the definitive textbook/handbook to help us create God-honoring and culturally relevant worship environments—an incredible resource!

DENNIS WORLEY, Music and Worship Minister,

Brentwood Baptist Church

Rory Noland has produced his most mature work yet with The Worshiping Artist In the past, he has taught us servanthood, he has taught us how to thrive as artists, now, most importantly, he has taught us to worship. Amidst all the self-absorption and self-congratulation of the contemporary church, Rory Noland points us back to God and his magnificent attributes. And he does it in a way that integrates the senses into his maturing theology. This book will be useful to Christian artists everywhere because it points them back to the ultimate Artist. What lessons there are to be learned!

TONY PAYNE, Director, Conservatory of

Music, Wheaton College

Rory Nolan has again written a must-read for all worship leaders—a primer on worship, a peek into the mind and heart of the artist, and a thorough biblical challenge to Godly leadership. Above all, this is a pastoral book—written with a deep love for the church and for those who lead in worship. This book both affirms and challenges: gently pulling us up and encouraging us at the same time. For the seasoned worship leader, Noland affirms core beliefs. For the less experienced, Noland offers pages of aha moments.

RANDALL BRADLEY, Professor of Church Music, Director

of the Church Music Program and the Center for

Christian Music Studies, Baylor School of Music

I definitely want to recommend Rory’s new book to any worship leader or worship team. This book contains the nuts and bolts of what it takes to worship the Lord. Developing his material around the three questions—Who is God? Who am I (in God’s view)? What is God asking me to do?—has challenged me in simplifying my approach to leading others in worship. As you read The Worshiping Artist you will realize that Rory has developed a systematic theology for the worshiping artist that will be a reference book that you can return to again and again as you experience worship privately and lead others in worship publicly. What a great reminder to me of the basic building blocks and essentials that must continue to stay in my life and heart as I seek to lead others into the presence of the Lord. The questions and practical guide at the end of each chapter challenged me personally and would stretch any worship team that plans to lead an authentic worship experiences.

DAN FERGUSON, Worship Arts Director,

Park Avenue Baptist Church

ZONDERVAN

The Worshiping Artist

Copyright © 2007 by Rory Noland

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86709-8

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Noland, Rory.

The worshiping artist: equipping you and your ministry team to lead others in worship / Rory Noland.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-27334-9

ISBN-10: 0-310-27334-x

1. Public worship. 2. Christian Leadership. 3. Christianity and art. I. Title.

BV15.N65 2006

264.0088’7—dc22                                                                                           2006037569

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The poem Sunday Morning with the Sensational Nightingales is from The Art of Drowning by Billy Collins, © 1995. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TNIV are from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version™ TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Interior design by Mark Sheeres

Contents

Title Page

Copyright page

List of Illustrations

Foreword by Chuck Fromm

Introduction: Help! I’m a Back-Row Choir Guy Leading Worship!

Part 1 Worshiping in Spirit

1. Growing as a Private Worshiper

2. Encountering the Character of God

3. Responding to the Character of God

4. How God’s Character Shapes Our Character

Part 2 Worshiping in Truth

5. Who Is God?

6. Who Am I?

7. What Is God Inviting Me to Do?

Part 3 Learning from Ancient Worship Leaders

8. The Levites

9. Asaph

10. The Iconographers

Epilogue: Worship—Our Most Common Ground

Notes

About the Publisher

Share Your Thoughts

List of Illustrations

Plate 1. Bathsheba Receiving David’s Letter by Jan Steen

Plate 2. The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio

Plate 3. The Holy Trinity Icon by Andrei Rublev

Plate 4. Sinai Pantocrator Icon

Foreword by Chuck Fromm

From the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties I visited Willow Creek Community Church on several occasions. My own journey as music publisher and producer, caught up in the gale force winds of the Jesus movement, took me across the nation and the world. At the time a well-disciplined group of talented men and women was emerging, and they were bringing about a radical, imaginative change in worship style, often sparked by a simple guitar and drum accompaniments. These leaders rapidly forged a new community at Willow Creek, noted for communicating the good news of Jesus Christ in a manner that was truly both good and news.

Since then, those men and women have become mentors for subsequent generations around the nation and the world. The true test of their giftedness and calling is not just their relevance during those early days of an extraordinary revival but also how their ideas have continued to grow and mature.

That is the story of Rory Noland, the author of the work I am privileged to commend to you here. Please read the instruction in this book carefully; reflect on it and pay heed to it. Rarely can you find such a unique combination of biblical truth and practical experience from a single source.

Rory speaks as not just a survivor of change but as one who has learned to surrender to God alone in the process. His words carry the authoritative echo of an elder-teacher from the ancient house of Asaph, but he speaks in our present context as a brother and fellow artist. Being a worshiping artist is not a new idea for Rory, it has been his life.

A constant theme in the life of any artist is the discovery of an identity, the ongoing pain and struggle of imaging out something from deep within the soul. The final product is an artifact that invites the involvement of others, that asks them to experience a new insight, to share in the artist’s wonder, joy, and even suffering.

Rory shares his own discovery with us. He gives us a primer in a biblical theology of worship. For example, he points to the first time the term worship is used in the Scriptures—when Abraham is called upon to experience the heart of God in the suffering of sacrificing his only son. Rory reminds us that the worship artist’s work must always be balanced with the devotional life of a humble, face-down, worshiping servant. Be ready for hard work and sacrificial demands.

As you read this book, you’ll need to dust off your Bible. Rory takes us to the Scriptures that unscramble the identity of those called to serve in God’s house of prayer. Just as many Old Testament prophecies gave Jesus an early clue to his own identity and ministry, Rory challenges his fellow artists to discover their own calling in these ancient prophetic writings. It is in this personal enactment of Scripture—and its ultimate revoicing in the heart of the worship artist—that the word becomes alive and the art transcends mere performance.

Rory is most instructive when he reminds us that worship is not ultimately about the rituals we enact but rather the transformation that takes place in God’s house, a place of partnership between those called to serve as Levites and priests—that is, pastors and worship artists—and God himself.

To lead, Rory reminds us, you must know the way. He doesn’t simply give the reader abstract principles and platitudes. Instead, he offers illustrative models that relate to his own experience. He invites us to become apprentices to a master teacher, to learn the spiritual disciplines required to be a servant of prayer, a minstrel in the house of God. He instructs us to take off our shoes in the presence of a Holy God as we move from our American Idol culture to the ancient tradition of the icon. An idol points to itself, while an icon, ultimately, points to God.

This book itself is a sacrificial offering of praise, as Rory graciously invites us to learn through his own transparency the faithfulness of God and his sufficiency in our weakness.

Charles E. Fromm, Founder and Publisher,

Worship Leader Magazine, February 16, 2007

Introduction

Help! I’m a Back-Row Choir Guy Leading Worship!

Of all the creatures both in sea and land

Only to Man thou hast made known thy ways,

And put the pen alone into his hand,

And made him Secretary of thy praise.

From Providence by George Herbert

An astute guitar player recently asked me, How should I prepare myself spiritually to lead worship? He practiced his guitar regularly and never missed rehearsal, yet he sensed intuitively that leading worship demanded spiritual preparation as well. His question, echoed by dozens of other church artists I’ve met, served as the motivation for writing this book.

In the Bible, artists are often at the forefront of worship. In Psalm 68:25, David describes a team of artists leading a procession of worshipers into the sanctuary: In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the maidens playing tambourines. Jehoshaphat once assembled a choir to lead an army of worshipers into battle (2 Chronicles 20).

Much like David’s praise team or Jehoshaphat’s worship choir, artists today are on the front lines of worship ministry. In fact, unlike any other time in church history, worship today is led predominantly by teams of artists. While some are on staff at the church, the majority are volunteers with day jobs during the week. Yet, on weekends they serve at their church. For example, they play in the praise band, sing in the worship choir, or help in the audiovisual area. The majority of these church artists are neither seminary graduates nor even Bible college alumni, yet they are called upon every week to lead hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people in worship.

Given the responsibility of such a vital priestly function, one would assume that every artist would make spiritual preparation top priority. Unfortunately, so much time goes into other tasks such as rehearsing, practicing, and/or setting up, that there is little or no time left for spiritual preparation, especially for the average volunteer with family and job obligations.

To complicate matters, some church artists don’t readily view themselves as worship leaders. For so long, that title has traditionally been given to the up-front paid professional at the church—the person who puts the worship order together and speaks during transitions. However, today there is a growing realization that if you’re using your artistic gifts to facilitate worship in any way, you are indeed leading worship. Whether you sing, play, write, paint, act, dance, mix sound, run lyric slides, or direct lighting, whether you solo or sing in the choir, whether you lead visibly up front or labor behind the scenes, the congregation follows your lead. Hence, you are a worship leader. Or to use the phrase most people are using these days, you are a lead worshiper.

While this may be a new concept for some, I continually hear worship pastors address all their artists (not just the musicians) as fellow worship leaders. One young leader told his team, "I’m not the only worship leader here; we’re all leading worship. Last year I heard a pastor in Florida address his artists and thank them for their commitment and faithfulness to ministry. Then he reminded them that, no matter their role, they were all worship leaders. Afterward, I overheard a vocalist soberly exclaim, Wow! I’m just a back-row choir guy; I never thought of myself as a worship leader before." This realization amounted to a new calling for this man and changed the way he approached his role in the choir.

The goal of this book is to help you prepare your heart and soul for leading others in worship. The first part defines worship and delves into the heart of worship, which is to encounter God and be transformed by his character. The second part provides the basic theology one needs to know in order to lead others in worship by examining the truth about who God is and who we are. The third part analyzes the spiritual practices of some ancient worship leaders and suggests ways for us to apply those principles in worship today.

This book is written for all artists who are involved in any way with the worship services at their church—the musicians, media team, technical help, dancers, actors, visual artists, writers, and producers. When David wrote, Praise him, you servants of the Lord, you who minister in the house of the Lord (Psalm 135:1–2), he was referring to all of us who facilitate worship. As we minister in the house of the Lord, may we all grow in our understanding of what it means to be a worshiping artist.

part one

WORSHIPING IN SPIRIT

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit.

John 4:24

Because God is spirit, he is not confined to time, place, or other physical limitations. Therefore, we must worship him in spirit; we must connect with him on a soul level. Contrary to common belief, the soul is not separate from the mind or body, but is the life center of every human being. The soul integrates every facet of our being—our thoughts, feelings, convictions, relationships, as well as our physical bodies. The soul represents the deepest part of who we are. That’s the level on which God wants to relate to us, the point at which we meet him in worship.

Worship may at times seem ethereal, or other worldly, but it is never divorced from the real world. We tend to regard Sunday as relegated for spiritual things, like going to church, singing, and praying. The rest of the week, then, is devoted to the real stuff of life—work, soccer games, carpooling, and PTO meetings. However, worship and all other spiritual activities are every bit a part of the real world because they bring God into all of who we are and all we do. Also, worship deals with the soul, the only part of us that’s going to live forever. For that reason, it could be safely argued that worship is the real world.

chapter one

GROWING AS A PRIVATE WORSHIPER

This evening as my sunset becomes a sunrise for someone else, I repeat once again my day’s mantra, You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lights my darkness…. In the praying of these few lines I have found sufficient nourishment on this desert day.

From A Tree Full of Angels

by Macrina Wiederkehr

Troy slept through his alarm this morning. He finally woke up after his wife jabbed him in the side and asked, Aren’t you supposed to sing at church this morning? At that, Troy flew out of bed, threw on some clothes, and was out the door. That’s how his day started and it only got worse from there.

It’s normally a half-hour drive from Troy’s house to the church, but with no traffic and all green lights, the trip is cut to twenty minutes. That would put him arriving in the middle of sound check—not bad, considering the circumstances. However, Troy hit every red light. And maybe it was because he was in a hurry, but every red light seemed longer than usual. He was growing impatient. About halfway to church, he came upon a stop sign with no other cars in sight. He slowed down but then sped through the intersection without stopping. Just then a squad car pulled out from a side street with lights flashing. Troy promptly pulled over.

Are you in a hurry? the officer asked.

Yes, I’m late for church, Troy confessed, hoping that speeding for a noble cause would get him off the hook.

License and registration, the officer curtly demanded. I’m going to cite you for running a stop sign. There are a lot of little kids in this neighborhood.

While the policeman wrote up the ticket, Troy tried to call the church on his cell phone, but he couldn’t get through. He tried to call the music director, but all he got was voice mail. Troy had never been late for a sound check before. He managed a construction company and prided himself on being dependable and responsible, so he was very upset with himself for being tardy.

By the time he arrived, Troy had missed the entire sound check. He apologized profusely to his team leader, who promptly caught him up to speed on all the final instructions he had missed. Then before he had time to catch his breath, Troy was on the platform singing the first worship chorus.

However, he immediately discovered that he was not in good voice. He sounded like a cat with a hair ball. He tried to quietly clear his throat, but to no avail. Then he started coughing, so loud in fact that the guitar player came over and offered him a bottle of water. Troy soon recovered, but started the second song in the wrong place and forgot the tag at the end. The third song was even worse. The music director had assigned a solo to Troy, but Troy couldn’t remember whether he was supposed to sing the first or second verse. He opted for the second verse; he guessed wrong. After the band intro, there was an awkward silence. The music director looked back anxiously, so Troy jumped in, mid sentence, stumbling over words and fumbling for the right pitch. He was embarrassed. The rest of the worship set went without incident, but the whole time Troy kept thinking about the solo he messed up.

After the service, Troy was walking to the parking lot with Susan and Buddy, a married couple on the team. Susan plays piano and Buddy plays drums. Just then, the pastor approached them with exciting news. I just want you to know, he said, that a man I’ve been praying for this past year accepted Christ this morning, and it was during the worship time that he sensed God speaking to him. I want to thank you all for the part you played this morning in my friend’s coming to salvation. That was certainly one of the most anointed worship times our church has ever had.

As the pastor hustled happily to his car, Troy and his friends stood there in this strange mix of shock, disbelief, and joy. Wow! Troy finally spoke up. I’m thrilled that someone found Christ, but that worship time felt anything but anointed. I don’t know about you guys, but my head was not in the game this morning. It was all pretty much a blur to me.

Me too, said Susan. I’m still learning how to read chord charts, so I’ve got my head in the music stand the whole time. But I think that’s the worst we’ve ever sounded.

Well, it always feels like a whirlwind of activity to me, added Buddy. I’m pretty much in my own little world behind those drum shields. I can barely hear the singers. Sometimes I have no idea where we are. All I’m thinking about is not messing up.

They all laughed, but Troy looked concerned. Aren’t we supposed to be thinking about the Lord during worship?

Of course we are, answered Buddy, but how can we focus on the Lord when there’s so much other stuff to think about? You know what I mean—tempos, transitions, solos, and, by the way, where are we in the chart? They all laughed.

You’re right, Susan chimed in. If we don’t concentrate on what we’re doing, we could have a train wreck up on the platform, and then no one would be able to worship.

Troy pushed further. Is it okay then to be thinking about other things besides the Lord while we’re leading worship?

I don’t see any other way around it, Susan replied.

Me neither, agreed Buddy.

Questions for Group Discussion

1. Why were the three artists in our story shocked that someone found Christ during worship that morning?

2. Why did worship feel like a blur to Troy and some of the others?

3. Is there anything Troy could have done differently to prepare his heart and mind for worship?

4. Have you ever left a worship experience feeling like you weren’t able to connect with God, only to hear everyone else describe it as deeply meaningful or even anointed? If so, how do you account for that?

5. Has worship ever felt like a whirlwind of activity to you, devoid of God’s presence? If so, what contributed to that?

6. What can be done to always make sure one’s head is in the game while leading worship?

7. Is it possible to focus totally on the Lord while leading worship? Why or why not?

8. How does one stay focused on the Lord amidst all the necessary details demanded by the task of leading worship?

9. Is there anything you could do personally to simplify your role in leading worship?

10. Is there anything you could do personally to minimize distractions as you lead worship?

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

A pastor stopped me recently and asked, What’s the next big innovation on the horizon for worship? He believes the worship movement is in a rut and needs a shot in the arm. Not long after that, a couple colleagues called to ask, Who’s the next big, up-and-coming worship leader? They both felt that the worship scene needed a new spark. Then a friend who is disillusioned with the worship at his church posed this question, Do you know any churches in my area that are doing worship right?

I can’t help but notice that these well-meaning questions illustrate the fact that our concept of worship has become far too narrow. I’m a musician, I write worship music, but I would be the first one to admit that worship is much more than singing catchy little tunes in church. Simply put, worship is our response to the presence of God. Therefore, worship is more than merely an emotional feel good experience; it is more than a program at church or a concert by my favorite worship leader. Worship is participatory; it is not something done to me by