A few years ago the Worship Commission published the “Covenant Core Values of Worship”. These are available (in text and as a pdf) if you click the Resources tab on this page. However, in discussing them with members of my worship team , we found them a little difficult to understand. I think, perhaps, the language carries an academic and theological tone that obscures the meaning for those who are unfamiliar with the terms.
Frankly, I don’t know if mine (written here) is any better. That’s why I’d love to hear back from you…
What do you think?
A re-statement of the “Covenant Core Values of Worship”:
“When Christians worship, we celebrate God’s initiative in creating us and calling us home. We delight and trust in His saving grace in Jesus Christ. God’s Word is central to our lives; we worship through expressions rooted in our common history and our response to God’s self-revelation using the language and metaphors of our culture. In our worship God draws us closer to Himself and one another and the Holy Spirit forms us into a community of Disciples of Christ.”
Narrative
We rehearse the story of God our Creator and Redeemer; celebrate the exemplary life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Christ, and we see our own story as part of His story (Acts 2.22-24).
Incarnational
As disciples of the incarnate Christ, we minister to God and to one another using human language, arts and culture, empowered and inspired by the Holy Spirit (Col 3.12-17). Following the example of scripture, our vocabulary of worship is broad and expresses a wide variety of emotions and attitudes.
Relational
United by the Spirit, we celebrate together and encourage one another to deepen the relationship with God, for which we were made and into which we are redeemed. We are committed to obeying the Great Commandments (Matt 22.37-40) and fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28.19-20).
Transformational
As we draw near to God (James 4.8), not trusting to our own righteousness but invited as a privilege granted by Christ, (Hebrews 10.19-25) God is present in our company. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word and inspires our celebration of His kingdom; and, from time to time God will open our hearts and minds to a clearer view of Himself.
Disciple-making
We respond to Christ’s invitation to follow Him (Lk 6.26-27). As we follow, we also seek to lead those who are younger in faith and life to take His example and ours. (1 Cor 4.16-17; 11.1)
GMT
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