HERE'S MY HEART

The ministry of worship.
Firstly, I must confess that in the last several months, my mind was all set on many things until a number of issues God had been wanting me to see and face began to arise. And so, over the last few weeks, I have spent time in prayer and the Word with GCF Ortigas Exalting Ministry in mind. In the process, I realized the Spirit kept directing me back to four important passages of Scripture.

While I recognize that each church is in varying circumstances and stages in their experience of worship, but the passages I cite are crucial to every Worship Ministry (Leaders and Members alike) to consider among other scripture texts when it wants to help the community of faith to be drawn in a deeper life of worship.

1. A NEW THING.

In my visits to other churches, I have reason to believe that GCF is very much at pace with the current trends in Evangelical worship. We are even more updated in terms of music materials than the churches I visited. But in my visits, I also realized how we fall behind in terms of capturing the essense- the spirit of evangelical expressive worship which is reflected in the way the congregation responds to our facilitation of worship. Don't you sometimes feel like going down from the stage and shake up people in our congregation who just won't participate during praise and worship? I do!

As I read ISAIAH 43:19 where God says,

Technically, the verse talks of the redemptive work of God when He freed Israel from bondage in Egypt and causing water and food to miraculously appear in the wilderness, and that He is able to do that again for Israel. But, in relation to GCF worship life, I could't help but ask, "What is that new thing God is doing?"

Recently, we had a guest music minister who led the choir and congregation to a more expressive worship style that drove our people to believing that such an experience of worship is what they need- a more Spirit-controlled, Bible-defined free and expressive kind of worship. I have reason to believe that, compared to other Baptist churches, our worship is more expressive! But since our community feels led to a deeper life of worship, and there's clamor for styles that facilitate such. People wanting a deeper and expressive life of worship is a new thing- the wave the Spirit is causing to rise! I believe we need to be prepared to ride the surf.

2. HIS RENOWN, OUR DESIRE.

When I arrived at GCF and started leading worship, I realized as a 23-year-old Bible college intern that I had just joined performance/entertainment-oriented church! With the many artists and musicians in the congregation that were and are part of the Ministry of Worship, the church is presdisposed to such a culture. I was in denial for a time-- I would not admit that I was in an entertainment-oriented church where people expect to be pleased by the people on stage Sunday after Sunday- since I drew that out of an observation on my part. Until I heard one person said, "The people liked our performance a lot. It's good they were amused!" I never talked about this observation and conclusion I made to any of the Worship staff - present and past.

Praise God that in the last few years that orientation has slowly changed. Worship leaders and pastors wish for their teams to become like Hillsong, Abundant Life, Prestonwood, etc.- and there is nothing essentially wrong about that, but I pray that at GCF, people, particularly the leaders and the team- will be known for their heart for the Lord's renown! Isaiah 26:8 , Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. (NIV) will be the cry of our hearts as we srtive for godly excellence!

Should the Lord take GCF Worship Ministry to a higher level of influence it will solely be for His renown, not ours. I was telling some Worship Team members of our Singles Ministry that my prayer for them is to be an excellent team that even other churches will desire to invite to lead and facilitate a genuine worship experience because they live and breathe God's renown.


3. HIS NEARNESS IS OUR GOOD.

I envision a Worship Ministry whose members cannot live a day without having had a genuine and heartfelt quiet time with the Lord. I pray for Ministry members who will love the Lord with all their hearts more than their skills and crafts-- more than pianos and guitars, above their earthly/numan relationships. People who are so committed to the ministry that they will not exchange being in a worship event over work, play and fun!

My heart wishes to see the day when all our volunteers, and the entire church desire growth in their walk with Christ, and would live exemplary lives before God and men, and get others to walk with Christ with them.

4. LIFE-CHANGING WORSHIP EXPERIENCES.

Corporate worship is part of that idea of being joined together. Individual praise to the Lord is richer when it is given in the harmony of fellowship with others. Together, our love for God and our sense of being His children becomes much more powerful and real to us than when we are alone. Of course this means each of us must be walking with Him in truth, living our Christian lives with integrity. Fellowship is marred when even one member of the Body of Christ has unconfessed sin in her life. I can do little about the person next to me, but am responsible for keeping my own life clean and my sins confessed.

I pray and envision a GCF worship service where all-- not just a majority, but all people worshipping God expressively, pouring their hearts out in praise, and there's genuine repentance whether singing an old hymn or a new song, and the manifest presence of God is discernible by all, even by those who come for the first time just as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14, 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in...he will be convinced...he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"


Here's my heart.