True Life Church
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True Life Church |
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Ministry
Worship/Preaching style and ministry preferences
What does worship mean? Worship is a vital key in leading people to the throne of God. Contemporary and traditional forms of worship are both valuable and beneficial. Traditional worship, such as hymns, remind us of our hallowed past and allow us to stay connected to our spiritual roots, while contemporary praise and worship allows us to enter into a fresh breath of God’s Spirit. Worship allows the believer to focus on God and helps them prepare to receive from God’s Word. Worship paves the way to receive God’s Word with an open heart. Worship was so important to God He created an angel by the name of Lucifer with musical instruments created into his body. Lucifer was the anointed cherub that covered God’s holy throne in heaven with heavenly worship. He led the heavenly choir in worshipping God until the day iniquity was found in him and he rebelled against God and was kicked out of heaven forever. This same Lucifer has taken his musical talents and perverted and corrupted them and now uses them to corrupt music that was once holy to God.
Overall what style of a worship service do you prefer? I enjoy both contemporary and traditional forms of worship. Both styles are valuable and beneficial to leading people to the throne of God. Traditional worship, such as hymns, remind us of our hallowed past and allows us to stay connected to our spiritual roots while contemporary praise and worship allows us to enter into a fresh breath of God’s Spirit.
What style of worship music do you like? My personal preference is contemporary praise and worship. However, I love many of the traditional hymns. They both move my heart to worship and honor God.
Describe the content of a worship service (music, prayer, preaching, etc.). A basic format would be to begin service with praise and worship that encourages the believer to focus on and draw intimately toward God. This allows the Holy Spirit freedom to minister to the congregation in whatever way He wills. After worship we often move into having our healing team pray for the sick and minister to the needs of the congregation. We do this at this time because of the heightened presence of the Holy Spirit during and directly after worship. After ministering to those who desired ministry, We begin to teach and preach the Word of God. At the end of service we give an altar call for those seeking to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. Before closing, we receive tithes and offerings.
What is your belief regarding exuberant forms of worship (dancing, spontaneous and/or rehearsed, banners and/or flag waving, etc.) in church services? This can be a challenging area to address. When we accept or reject something altogether, it doesn’t allow for the free movement of the Holy Spirit. Problems are often avoided when there is mature oversight so that order and balance are maintained. There is some behavior and activity that is not appropriate at any time. Otherwise, acceptance of different forms of ministry are based on what the leadership and congregation are comfortable with. Proper, mature oversight helps prevent overzealous and fleshly behavior from disrupting the service. Each situation would have to be judge on an individual basis.
How often do you think a church should celebrate a communion service and what is your preferred method? How often is basically left up to the individual church and their tradition. The Bible does not specify how often communion must be taken, only that it should continue until the Lord’s return. I personally serve communion once a month. My current method has been to have the ushers come to the front of the sanctuary where my wife and I hand them the trays after I have taught and prayed over the communion elements. They hand out the elements and we receive them together. This by no means is written in stone.
What style of preaching do you enjoy the most? (Evangelism, expositional/teaching, doctrine, etc.) My teaching style uses topical and expository with narrative as it fits the message of the sermon. The subject matter and text will determine which style is used. When teaching a series such as marriage or family, I will tend to use a more topical application. If teaching through a chapter or book of the Bible, I will do more expository teaching. I enjoy using PowerPoint presentations to help the congregation follow along and keep focused on the subject. Drama and video is used to help make the message clear. I strongly believe the spoken Word is the most effective way to plant the seed of God’s Word in the heart of the believer. I often interact with the congregation in order to help them think outside the box and recognize how the sermon is applicable to their everyday lives.
What balance do you strike between application and instruction in a sermon? Good instruction allows the meaning of a biblical passage to become clear to the student of the Word. This instruction allows God to make clear how the scripture can best be applied. A preacher who knows how and when to use good application can make unclear passages in scripture come alive. People want to know how to apply the Bible in today’s world. The Bible is living and can be applied in our lives to give us guidance. I try to use both instruction and application when teaching.
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