Kindle Notes & Highlights
Several factors contributed to worship going mainstream,
First of all, Christian radio was a huge catalyst.
This awakened even more listeners in the Body of Christ to the worship movement.
Young people were leaving their Baptist churches in favor of Charismatic churches that were going with the new songs.
Worshipers could choose between a traditional and contemporary service. The traditional service was typically a service with hymns in the 1960s tradition, often accompanied by a piano and/or organ; the contemporary service was typically a worship service with the latest songs from Christian radio, led by a worship band composed commonly of keyboards, guitars, bass guitar, drums, and singers.
Four things seemed to explode simultaneously.
Musicianship e...
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Songwriting exploded.
Technology exploded.
The latest technologies suddenly became universally accessible.
there was the release of hands.
It was right around 2000 that most churches and denominations opened to lifting hands, clapping hands, and shouts of joy in praise.
To say it another way, the Charismatics and Baptists joined together in the 2000s and became unified in their expressions of worship.
Th...
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streams that had run parallel for thirty years joined up again into one river...
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The Baptists became more tolerant or amicable toward the Charismatic practice of speaking in othe...
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When the walls of antagonism toward tongues melted, tongue-talking Charismatics began to migrate to Baptist churches, bringing their instruments and worship styles with them.
It hardly matters the name on the church door; you’re likely to experience similar worship on a Sunday morning in almost any church you enter these days.
The changes in worship over the past sixty years are nothing less than spectacular. YouTube
When we understand our yesterday, we gain clearer perspective on where we are today. When we recognize today, we’re able to prepare more effectively for tomorrow.
When Jesus pointed to these end-time storms, He indicated they would increase as His return draws near. Changes seem to be happening in our world with both increasing intensity and frequency.
In this kind of shifting world, we want to know where we’re going. Specifically, we want to know where God will be taking us in worship so we can engage with our changing world and prepare the Bride of Christ for His return. As we look at the future of worship, therefore, we’re looking at it through an end-time lens.
Today’s worship is passionate, energetic, expressive, Christcentered, and it’s led by worship bands who have a Levitical calling to minister to the Lord.
We’re enjoying unparalleled levels of musical excellence. We’re equipped with more worship-enhancing tools than any preceding generation. We have 24/7 worship and intercession in a manner church history has never seen.
God is for us, and He’s taking u...
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some worship leaders who wonder if the global Church may be a bit stuck right now in our worship—as though we don’t k...
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where a...
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I would describe our current place with the term ...
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YouTube Playlists
When you select a YouTube worship playlist on your device, the songs are stacked on each other,
Sunday morning worship in many churches happens in a similar structure. It almost doesn’t matter your nation, denomination, or church name, Sunday morning in many churches looks something like this.
After the fourth song, the worship set is finished, and the service moves to the next thing in the service order (such as announcements or offering or prayer).
We’re back in the 1960s model of four songs. No matter the name on the door, almost all the churches are doing the same thing: four songs, one after the other. It’s much like a YouTube playlist.
Once again, almost all the churches are singing the same songs—except they’re not from a hardcover hymnal, but from the latest YouTube worship hits. Four in a row, one after the other. We’re back in the 60s paradigm. How did we circle back here?
You know it’s playlist worship when you could have had the same experience by staying home and watching a YouTube playlist.
God never intended for corporate worship to be a playlist. There’s something about congregational worship that is vital, living, breathing, and organic. Corporate worship is a dance, a divine romance. It’s the song of the Bridegroom and the song of the Bride. It’s a one-of-a-kind, never-seen-before, never-to-be-seen-again, dynamic love exchange.1 It’s a place of holy encounter with the living God.
The Worship Leader
We won’t discover the breathing vitality of worship by following our digital click tracks, but by following the movements of the Worship Leader, the Holy Spirit.
All the metaphors for His movements—wind, breath, oil...
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Playlists click, but true worship breathes.
The worshipers of the world have a message for the worship leaders of the world:
We didn’t come to the house for your set list. We came for the “you had to be there” moments in the room.
We came for a living, organic, spontaneous, raw, visceral, sympho...
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We want worship where there’s nuance, ebb, flow, passion, tears, and joy. We want worship in Spirit and truth.
He’s going to help us continue to develop and mature so we can flow with the Spirit’s progressive movements.
In March 2020, the coronavirus outbreak caused many churches around the world to close their doors temporarily as our globe fought to contain the spread.
many churches conducted online services, and as a consequence, many believers became comfortable with doing church online at home.
When churches were finally able to gather again, many had a fraction of the attendance they had before coronavirus. This triggered an ecclesio...
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We could strengthen our preaching—but that wouldn’t actually bring them back because they could still enjoy the impact of our sermons by watching the webcast in their pajamas at home.
We could strengthen the excellence of our worship ministry—but playlist worship doesn’t bring them back to the congregation because the impact of playlist worship is the same whether you’re in the church building or watching the webcast at home.
