Tried With Fire

Mind and heart belong together.  Strong, passionate desires for God flow from and encourage the faithful, thoughtful study of God - his nature, character, and works. We're deceived when we think we can have one without the other.  God intends us to have both. If our doctrine is accurate but our hearts are cold toward God himself, our corporate worship will be true but lifeless.  Or if we express fervent love for God but present vague, inaccurate, or incomplete ideas of him to those we're leading, our worship will be emotional but misleading - and possibly idolatrous.  Neither option brings God glory. My prayer for myself and every worship leader is that we'll become familiar with the Word of Truth as we are with our instruments. Hopefully even more so.  If we do, there's a strong possibility people are going to walk away from our meetings more amazed by our God than by our music. And that will be a very good thing. From Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin,...

The worship team at church has started reading Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin together.  Before delving into technique and style, this book starts out with the core issues of worship - what we love, what we believe, the purpose of our skills, and the lives we model. I appreciate that Kauflin devotes a chapter to the importance of doctrine and theology in our worship.  Biblical worship is impossible without these ingredients.  As we know God more accurately through his Word, our worship will be more genuine.  Conversely, without a right understanding of God, it could veer into idolatry. He gives several common misconceptions among worship leaders and musicians. Here is the first: Misconception #1: Studying This Stuff Shouldn't Be So Hard Studying doctrine and theology is hard.  Becoming a good theologian is harder than learning a new riff, and initially not as fun. Getting to know God is time-consuming.  We live in the age of instant everything. ...