Stonebrook Music

This fall our music ministry will be reading through Christ Centered Worship by Bryan Chapell together. We are planning to take 20-30 minutes of each practice time and read a section of the book together, and reflect on what we’ve read.

Our goal is to understand the purpose of corporate worship from a Biblical perspective so we can help communicate to people why it is important that we arrive on time with hearts prepared to engage in the music, scripture, prayer, offering, and announcements, with the same expectation as we do the sermon, rather that simply seeing it as a big “warm up” or “prelude” to the “real meat” of the service.

I’m looking forward to this study, I’ve benefitted greatly in my thinking on corporate worship from this book, and I hope you will too.

Please check out this 3.5 minute video of Bryan Chapell explaining why he wrote the book:

Few people have helped expand my view of God in worship as Louie Giglio.  The author of many popular contemporary worship songs (a co-writer with Chris Tomlin), speaker, and author of several books, including this short gem: “The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life“. In the past I have ordered cases of this book to hand out to every member of our music ministry. Definitely worth the time.

This is not a new book by any stretch but one that was instrumental in helping me realize some great error in my thinking and approach to corporate worship music.

Using incisive humor and satire, along with serious teaching Nick Page helps show weakness in the overly emotive, vague, and self centered approach of much of what passes for modern “worship music”. (Boy did that last line sound snobbish… sorry about that…)

Have you ever asked yourself why you bother setting up chairs, vacuuming carpets, running sound cables, lugging guitar gear, and showing up for practices week after week for little or no recognition or thanks?

Does the thought of putting down your instrument and changing diapers in the nursery week after week make you cringe slightly?

It did for me.

I recommend Nate Palmer’s excellent, short book Servanthood as Worship to help bring a biblical perspective to service in the church.

I wrote a short review of it on my other site.

This wonderful resource book needs to be in the arsenal of every music ministry team. Wonderfully helpful articles on the meaning, purpose, significance of each part of a worship service, special dates in the church calendar, with helpful tips and examples for good recognition and “performance” of each.