Making Your Own Shift

          Jerry Harris preaches to a remarkable church in Quincy, Illinois.  In addition, the church has a number of satellite Churches; each one is successful and growing. But, something hit Jerry one day.  He writes about it in his book Shifted: The Crossing Story.

            “If we look out on the faces of our congregations, how many actual disciples do we see? How many are personally convinced that they are disciples but are sorely mistaken? How many of them believe this fallacy because of the bar we have set them? Real Life (Real Life Ministries, led by Jim Putman) chose Matthew 4:19 as their definition of discipleship seeing Jesus calling His own disciples. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” There are three criteria that help define discipleship in this divine statement. Am I genuinely following Christ? (follow me...), being changed by Christ ?(...and I will make you), and living life on mission for Christ ?(...fishers of men.) _This is the question I honestly wasn’t asking myself or confronting others with until this point. ”Are we making disciples”? The difficult truth for me was that with all my education, experience, and success, I really didn’t know how to mobilize a church to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.” Jerry goes on to explain how they developed a Relational Discipleship approach at The Crossing.

            The statement that caught my attention was, “The best I was providing was an environment for them to figure it out for themselves.”

Is the development of a spiritual life solely the job of our preachers and the leadership at our church? Can we blame others because we are not growing?

Churches are constantly exploring new ways to maximize the growth of their members. But you don’t need to wait for the next great program to come along. The reality is that the body of Christ does create an environment where you can develop into a mature believer. There is no reason to sit back and wait for the next program to come along. Take hold of your own spiritual growth. Make the most of every worship opportunity and grow.  How?

            Worship is an art. It takes practice, and an understanding of how to worship is essential. The Art of Worship helps you understand how to make the most of your worship experience. This book is a must read for every believer.

            If you have ever been board with church, wondered if you were missing something, or felt like your faith has gone stale, then The Art of Worship is for you.

            Look for The Art of Worship, at the beginning April from your favorite book seller, and begin to make sense of your worship.

Worship is an Art

            What does it mean when we use the word worship? The answer seems to mean something different depending upon who is using the word. On Sunday mornings in sanctuaries and auditoriums all across America believers gathered for what they called worship. But worship was also taking place in schoolhouses, in the back of biker bars, and in storefronts. Worship services take place on horseback, and in empty fields.  The word worship is often used interchangeably with singing. But there is so much more to worship than just music. Worship is not confined to a single place, or accomplished in a single style. Worship includes so many different elements, and all of them are important.

            The last year of my life has been invested in studying all that the scripture has to say about worship. What things fit into the concept of worship? What behaviors are important to be able to say that worship is taking place? Does worship happen on Sunday only? Can our job be called worship if we aren’t in the ministry? These questions have resulted in a new book, due out early May, called The Art of Worship.

            Those who have previewed the book have called it an essential read for every believer, a textbook for those involved in worship ministry, keys to opening hearts. One of my readers has already assembled a list of people that they are buying this book for.

            Have you ever wondered if something is missing in your relationship with God? Are you putting yourself in the place where God can bless you? The Art of Worship will explain the total worship experience in ways that are easily applied.

           Worship is an art, which takes practice. With practice we grow in our understanding of worship, sharpen our ability to experience worship, and broaden our understanding of what worship means. As a result, our relationship with God grows and we discover deeper aspects of his love.

           What is your worship like? Is it possible that The Art of Worship might make your worship even better? The Art of Worship is coming. Watch for a great pre-order offer coming next week.