"FIVE FRESH FLAVORS FOR THE FIRST”
by Sandy Hoffman
Here in New Mexico, we love our chile. Hatch green chiles, from the little village of Hatch, New Mexico, are world famous for their flavor, aroma and serious “punch potential.” In my opinion, Chimayo red chile peppers, from just up the road, run a very close second. When the two are combined (green and red), we like to call it “Christmas,” though some uninitiated taste buds might argue that it’s more like the Fourth of July! Suffice it to say, in Santa Fe we like it hot! Funny thing though, it only takes a few chiles to dramatically transform a bland, lifeless meal into a full-on culinary fiesta. Worship can be that way too. A pinch of green here, a splash of red there, and suddenly we’ve moved our praises from bland to blessed. It’s the start of a new year! What better time to consider five fresh “flavors” to spice up our worship expression? This year, why not gear ourselves to celebrate every worship time like it’s the Fourth of July?
FRESH FLAVOR #1: IMAGINE A MISSION. A team mission is like the rudder of a ship. Webster defines rudder as a guiding force or strategy. Our missional rudder keeps us sailing in a predetermined direction, and signals the need for course correction when necessary. It gives us confidence to imagine that we might just land at our desired destination. To borrow from the book of James chapter one, verse six: without a clear, faith-filled focus, our ship of praise is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. We desperately need a team mission to keep us moving in a straight line toward the ultimate goal of glory. How big is your worship team? How many services do you lead per week? What’s your worship ministry budget for the coming year? Answers to important questions like these become totally irrelevant when our team finds itself floundering in a sea of directional uncertainty. This year, let’s begin by defining who we are, and what we intend to accomplish as a worship ministry. Imagine your mission, stay focused on it and by end of the year you’ll be counting and celebrating your team successes.
FRESH FLAVOR #2: WRITE YOUR WORSHIP. Ps. 33:3a says: “Sing to Him a new song . . .” (NIV) Why not write that new song yourself, or in collaboration with other team members? Nothing adds fresh enthusiasm and excitement to our worship times like a brand new song, especially one that’s birthed from the beating heart of the body we’re leading. Keep your fingers on the pulse of your congregation, then write praise and worship tunes that express the rhythm of their collective heartbeat. Praise songs flowing from the lives of the people are like the spiritual finger prints of the body of Christ. They identify us forever as His people.
FRESH FLAVOR #3: UPGRADE YOUR GEAR. “. . . I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing . . .” (King David, 2 Samuel 24:24b, GNB) David’s principles are to be admired, and his heart for the Lord, unquestioned. He recognized that without a sacrificial investment, the returns on his worship-offering would be greatly diminished. If we really want to put some fresh flavor into our worship this year, let’s go out and spend some of those hard-earned bucks as an offering which actually costs us something. If we’re honest, we’ve probably just been waiting in the wings for the right opportunity to buy that new axe anyway! Here’s our chance. The more of our time, energy and money we invest in our worship ministries, the greater value we will attach to them. Wherever a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also. Our offerings to God will be literally richer, and at the same time, we will improve our sound by using higher quality gear in our worship. This year, let’s give the best we can afford; glorifying the One who gave His all for us.
FRESH FLAVOR #4: ADOPT A DAILY LIFESTYLE. In the last six verses of Acts chapter two, God has clearly given us five daily devotional habits for the believer: study, fellowship, pray, give and witness. As a worship team, the corporate practice of these daily habits will most certainly yield similar results to those we see in the final verse: “Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (NKJV)
FRESH FLAVOR #5: FINE TUNE THE FLOW. “. . . the Levites who were the singers, all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments and harps, and with them one hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets— indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “for He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God." (2 Chronicles 5:12-14, NKJV) How amazing it is that those who played the cymbals, stringed instruments, harps, one hundred and twenty trumpets and all the singers were so unified in their worship flow. They made just one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. In the vernacular, they were tight! As a worship leader/team member you know how hard it is sometimes to get just a few people to play in sync. But judging from the results, it’s totally worth the effort: “...the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” Wow! I know we all share this same desire to see God’s glory fill our houses of worship. If you’ve read this far, you’re hungry for fresh flavor in the life of your worship ministry. In the coming year, let’s take the extra measures required to fine tune the flow of worship. Sectional rehearsals of voices, rhythm and obligato instruments, corporate workshops and conferences, even private lessons may be in order. Why not aggressively go after every opportunity to grow in flow? We are His workmanship, created for good works in Christ. If we’re willing to do the work, soon we’ll begin to reflect the unity of heart and musicianship spoken of in 2 Chronicles 5. Five fresh flavors, and these are only the tip of the iceberg (or the green chile as the case may be). As we move rapidly into 2009, let me challenge you to create your own local recipes for worship success and flavor, and then allow them to begin to spice up your worship times, right where you live!
Keepin’ it fresh,
Sandy
