NORDIC & BALTICSchool of Congregational

Development

9/1-6/09 – Oslo, Norway

“new communities of faith with new people”

“HEARTS STRANGELY WARMED, AGAIN”

DYNAMIC WORSHIP - SYNERGY & INTEGRITY BETWEEN

TRADITIONAL & CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP

Rev. Kelvin Sauls ksauls@gbgm-umc.org

THE PRESENT & FUTURE?strategies/methodologies that got us

here will not sustain us where we are,

nor grow us to where we need to go

“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person.

When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?"

He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry

person is bread.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu

South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

“To be Christian is to be global. Deeply incarnate in every soil where

it is planted, the gospel of Jesus Christ

knows of no boundaries. Its song sprouts strong & travels unto the very ends of the earth, declaring the marvels of God’s

salvation”

Jorge LockwardDirector, Global Praise

The General Board of Discipleship

Whether traditional or contemporary, the essentials of

worship are: recognize, evangelize & mobilize.”

Worship ought to help people recognize & re-cognize God;

seek & surrender to God continuously;

be energized & excitedto make disciples of Jesus Christ

for global holistic transformation.

BIBLICAL FRAMING John 4: 1-30 (CEV)

19The woman said, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.

20 My ancestors worshiped on this mountain, [b] but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.“

21Jesus said to her: Believe me, the time is coming when

you won't worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem.

22You Samaritans don't really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using

us, God will save the world.

23But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the

Father is seeking to worship him.

BIBLICAL FRAMING John 4: 1-30 (CEV)

    25The woman said, "I know that the Messiah will come.

He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."  

26"I am that one," Jesus told her, "and I am speaking to

you now."

Psalms 96:1-3 (NIV)

O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless God’s name; tell of God’s salvation from day to day. Declare God’s glory among the nations,

God’s marvelous works among the peoples.

John Wesley’s Aldersgate Experience

In 1738, in his 30’s, he attended an evening worship service in

London which moved him deeply. "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society

located on Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's

preface to the Epistle to the Romans…

John Wesley’s Aldersgate Experience

“…while the leader was describing the change which

God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did

trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was

given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin

and death”

Worship – whether traditional or contemporary - need not be a test

of endurance. Worship plays can be a significant resource for tools of endurance, empowerment and

enlightenment. We can overcome challenges prior,

during and after our worship.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship ought to move people from loneliness to authentic community

Worship ought to move people from hopelessness & brokenness

to hope & healing

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship ought to move people from self-centeredness to God-

centeredness

Worship ought to move our values from a mainstream ethic to a Jesus-

ethic“Mainline or Methodist” – Rediscovering our Evangelistic Mission” – Scott Kisker

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship ought to move people from cowardice to courage

Worship ought to remind us of our identity & ability in God

“Secrets of the Vine” – Bruce Wilkerson

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship ought to help people respond to an alter in their lives

that’s positive & an altar that’s transformative

Worship ought to invite people into a disposition of individual &

corporate thankfulness to God

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship ought to facilitate forgiveness, faithfulness &

fruitfulness

Worship ought to be about the renewal of faith

& the refreshing of spirituality

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

In its essence, our worship unto God invites us into a lifestyle where we don’t just come to Church, but be and become the Church of Jesus

Christ – daily!

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

Worship is more about what happens before the processional &

invocation, and after the benediction & recessional; more

about what happens the other six days of the week, than what happens on Sunday.

Everyday ought to be “Sonday”!!

CHARACTERISTICS OF WORSHIP WITH INTEGRITY &

AUTHENTICITY

The substance of worship is not its style, but God’s presence. The style

of worship is not what makes us United Methodist. What makes us

United Methodist is that our worship facilitates a connection

with God that enable us to embrace and practice a spirituality that can

facilitate personal holiness and social righteousness.

Embedded in a Wesleyan methodology of hymnody is a Wesleyan theology of worship:

incarnationalcontextual

practicaltransformational

missionalinvitational

The audacity to imagine the otherwise is at the heart of Christian

worship & faith. Such an audacity can fuel

a renewed way of looking at one’s identity & spirituality; ability &

activity; destiny & divinity. This can be the imagination &

mobilization for a post-modern Methodist Revival that’s individual &

experiential, holistic & global!

ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE

ACKNOWLEGEMENT move beyond denial & engage in

assessment; knowing where you’re going

starts with knowing where you are appreciation, evaluation & elevation

ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE

BOLDNESS ask the “why” questions; listen to & learn from answers; take risks to discern, design

& determine the next level

ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE

COLLABORATEorganize & mobilize those inside

& outside the church; connect your service of worship

with your worship through service

ABCD’s of WHERE to GO from WHERE you ARE

DETERMINATIONpractice patience, persistence &

perseverancevictory is given to those who aren’t just

looking for quick fixes, but who are in this for the long haul

CALL TO WORSHIP

Like Jesus, we have to go through Samaria; Like the

Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, we must leave our

buckets; For the John Wesley’s of today, we must become a

people & places where hearts are strangely warmed!

SENDING FORTH

Like Paul & Silas, allow courageous & contagious

worship of God to free you from whatever is keeping you

imprisoned & incarcerated from God’s purpose, power &

possibility

GROW! GLOW! GO!

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES

FOR ONGOING GROWTRH Barna, George.

Growing True Disciples. WaterBrook Press, 2001The Second Coming of the Church. World Publishing, 1998

Blackaby, Henry & Richard. Spiritual Leadership. Broadman & Holman, 2001

Easum, Bill. Leadership on the Other Side. Abingdon, 2000

Global Praise, The General Board of Global MinistryNew World Outlook Mission Magazine. March/April, 2009

For Everyone Born: Global Songs For An Emerging Church, 2008Charles Wesley at 300, 2007

Hybels, Bill. Courageous Leadership. Zondervan, 2002

Johnson, Spencer. \Who Moved My Cheese. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1998

Knight III, Henry H. & F. Douglas Powe, Jr.

Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Your Faith, 2006

Kotter, JohnOur Iceberg Is Melting: Changing & Succeeding Under Any Conditions, 2006

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES

FOR ONGOING GROWTRH Percy, Harold.

Your Church Can Thrive, 2003

Ruffle, DouglasRoadmap to Renewal: Rediscovering the Church’s Mission, 2009

Stewart, Carlyle F. Reclaiming what was Lost, 2003

Kisker, ScottMainline or Methodist? Rediscovery Our Evangelical Mission, 2008

Sweet, Leornard. AQUA Church, 1999

Teykl, Terry. The Presence Based Church, 2003

The United Methodist Publishing HouseThe United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

With One Voice: Discovering Christ’s Song In Our Worship, 1989

Wilkinson, Bruce. Secrets of the Vine. Multnomah, Inc., 2001