"Quality Worship Leading"

      I believe that there are a lot of qualities that should make up a "quality worship leader." First of all, they should not only be worshippers in public but also be true worshippers in private. Public worship should be an overflow of a person's personal and private relationship with God. A quality worship leader should be filled with scripture along with the spirit. They should build their life on godly character not on their talent. And they should be available for the spirit to move them during a service.
     A great example of a quality worship leader is Taya Smith. Taya Smith is a worship leader from Hillsong United. The video I picked of her was from a live performance of Even When it Hurts. Taya Smith clearly represents all the qualities I mentioned before. You can tell that her worship is meaningful and is true praise for the God she has a personal relationship with. She also seems so humble, giving all the glory and honor to God. She makes worship about Him and not about her own talent. She also definitely makes herself available to the Holy Spirit and allows herself to be moved by it. You can tell by the way she improvises or ad libs during the song. Her presence and performance carries so much power and emotion that you can't help but feel connected to the song and more importantly, to God.

Reference: http://josephmattera.org/10-traits-of-spiritually-mature-worship-leaders/

"Worship is...what?!" -Tom Kraeuter

Worship is...what?! by Tom Kraeuter, is all about understanding and practicing worship from a scriptural point of view. Kraeuter recognizes that most people form their opinions on worship through their own personal experiences and other people's experiences. For this reason, he wants to examine what the bible actually says about it. In this book Kraeuter shares various definitions of worship in a way that is helpful and practical for people in our society and culture. His goal is to help us expand upon our knowledge of worship so that we could come closer to the fullness of God's desire for us as his children.

Two points:
-One definition that Kraeuter states is "Worship is: our reason for being." He explains how scripture says that the reason for our existence is to worship God. He goes on to list several biblical characters that exemplified this. His conclusion is that worship is and always will be our first priority.

-Another definition that Kraeuter states is "Woship is: wholehearted, passionate adoration of our Creator/redeemer. He emphasizes that worship is not passive. It involves action on our part. He also clarifies that worship must originate from the heart, it cannot be just heart. Worship that is heart alone is passive. Worship that is action alone is not true worship. God wants both heart and action. Again, Kraeuter goes through several biblical stories that represent this definition.

The Gift of Worship

     Today we watched a video called The Gift of Worship. It talks about how we tend to see worship as something we get instead of something we give. Worship is not about the feelings we get when we sing or about what's happening on stage. It's not about us at all. It's about Him. Life does get crazy and it's easy to get caught up in our own problems. But worship is about bringing our burdens to the cross and surrendering it to God. 

     I really enjoyed this video because it was really relatable. Often times I say that I love worship because it is such an incredible feeling to be with the band on stage and sing powerful songs. But what I forget to realize is that what really makes worship so amazing is that I have the opportunity to connect with God and put aside all other distractions. This video helped me change my perspective on worship. 

guiding principles of worship

Worship is a dialogue:
We should worship God through prayer and praise. This is how God reveals his character and acts.

Worship is focused on Christ:
When we worship, we are connecting with Jesus.

Worship is contemporary:
We should work to make our worship match the time we are in. We don't want to play too many old songs.

Worship is traditional:
Although we should be careful not to overdo it, we should incorporate hymns and some old songs to appeal to the older generations.

Worship is wholistic:
We need to engage our whole selves during worship, including our intellect, emotions, senses and body.

Worship is participative:
We need to be inclusive in our worship, involving everyone in our congregation.

Worship is inclusive:
We should strive to include all kinds of people, no matter how old or what background they have.

Worship is a balance:
It's a balance between the transcendence and immanence of God.