Commitment - To the Church

• Worship team members should have attended The Body of Christ Ministries for at least six months after having officially declared it as their home church.
• Worship team members should be committed to attending as many services as possible.  To be a part of a team, you must “show up.”  Our team is counting on YOU!  You are a vital part of our ministry!   Prayerfully consider this serious commitment.
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Commitment - To Rehearsals

• In order for us to effectively minister as a team, we need to worship and rehearse together.  There are no “lone rangers” on this team!  We all need each other, and need to be worshiping in the unity of the Holy Spirit.
• Worship rehearsal is Friday night from 7:00 p.m. to around 9:00 p.m., unless another time is established.
• If you are unable to attend rehearsal or a worship service, a call should be made to the worship leader or the pastors as soon as possible.  The worship services are planned with your participation in mind; these plans may need to change if you are absent.
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Attitude - A Servant's Heart

• Our worship of God is not entertainment, nor is it a performance.  We have the high honor of leading the assembled church in praise and worship to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Worship is never about bringing glory to ourselves, but about bringing glory to God.  To this point, we should leave a worship service asking ourselves not, “What did I get out of this?”, but rather “Did I bless God with my whole body, soul, and spirit in my worship?”
• Worship should be all that we are (body, soul, and spirit) responding to all that God is, says, and does.  If you are having physical, mental or emotional problems and therefore cannot give all your attention to worshiping God, please take the time to cast all your cares upon God and then make others aware of your need for prayer.  Remember, praise is sometimes a sacrifice: a sacrifice of our needs, our rights, and our emotions.  Praise focuses our attention on who God is, not who we are or what we are feeling.  It lifts us up out of our present earthly struggles into “heavenly places.”   If, after taking these steps, you still feel you are unable to focus on God fully, then you may want to allow others in the team to lead as you praise and worship God with the rest of the congregation.  Having said this, remember that a measure of the glory of our faith is to sing and worship God during times of hardship and trouble.
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Attitude - A Teachable Spirit

• Please be ready to learn some different styles of music.  We are trying to serve the ENTIRE body, which has varying backgrounds and various ages.  Songs are chosen by what the leader believes the Holy Spirit is saying; suggestions are welcome, but the leader’s decision must be final.  Songs of the Lord and songs on your heart, however, are ENCOURAGED to be brought forth as the Spirit leads, both during the service or for special music.  Please be ready to do the same songs at different tempos, according to how God is moving in our midst. Be sensitive to how the Spirit is moving and be careful to listen and follow the leader’s tempo when we do those songs that the Lord has prepared beforehand.
• Dress in a way appropriate to meet the King of Kings, because that is what we are doing!  We represent the Most High God, and must sometimes sacrifice personal comfort for the high calling of being up in front.  Because we are leading others, we must set a Godly example in our dress (i.e., nothing immodest, torn or otherwise inappropriate).
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AT THE BODY OF CHRIST MINISTRIES OUR GOAL IS TO WORSHIP AND EXALT GOD BY:

Giving Praise and Thanksgiving (Heb. 13:15; Col. 1:12; 3:15-17). 

Believers need to be taught and challenged to live by praise and thanksgiving as they share together in the riches of Christ.  To encourage this, the church needs some public opportunity to express its adoration to God individually as well as corporately.
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Singing and Making Melody (Acts 16:25; 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). 

As with all other aspects of worship, music must be the product of Spirit-motivated expression to God and should be in accordance with God’s desire to encourage and unite hearts in adoration of Him.  Real, meaningful worship with God’s people is not optional, nor is it a suggestion.  Worship on the Lord’s Day should be the crowning joy of a week spent worshiping and enjoying the Lord’s presence everyday.  It is our opportunity to once again focus our minds on God; to bask in His presence; to corporately drink from His Word; to give of our talents and resources; to encourage and to be encouraged; and to offer thanksgiving and praise and adoration together.
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Worshiping God in Truth and Spirit  (Ex. 34:6, Ps. 25:10; John 4:23-24; Phil. 3:3).

In many churches, music services that once revolved around truth and the systematic teaching of the Bible have been replaced by flashy entertainment.  In other words, praise and worship has been totally eliminated and replaced with the singing of a few songs and an occasional solo.  As salvation is more than just “fire insurance,” so praise and worship is more than just singing songs.  The real heart of these songs is in their meaning, i.e., in the truth contained in their lyrics. In both the Old and New Testaments, truth is a fundamental moral and personal quality of God (e.g., Exodus 34:6).  All of His paths are “mercy and truth” (Psalm 25:10). Truth is the foundation from which our praise and worship flows.  The New Testament saints knew that worship was more than just Spirit. The apostle John wrote in John 4:23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  Truth is what makes our music a load-bearing pillar in the church and not just another tradition.  When music is based on truth, it elevates our thoughts to “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”  More importantly, it takes our eyes off ourselves and lets us see and feel the glory of God, as we give glory to Him.  It heightens our awareness of His holiness.  It arouses our sense of both our unworthiness and our utter blessedness. Music stirs emotions.  However, the emotions should come in response to truth, and not at its expense.  By themselves, emotions never qualify as worship.

On the other hand, there are many churches that are singing great old hymns, (yes, and even choruses as we do), wonderfully full of the Truth, but their hearts are not in their singing.  Their spirits are not listening to what the Holy Spirit is trying to say, and they are unwilling to wait, listen and then act upon what the Spirit is trying to do in their midst. Can there ever be true worship without the Spirit?  To experience the fullness of God, let us strive  to worship the Lord in Spirit and Truth.  Phil. 3:3 tells us, “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”  We believe with Paul that our message in worship should be “not with enticing words of men’s wisdom,” but “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (I Cor. 2:4).  This demonstration can only come as we lay down our own agendas, and become obedient to what God is trying to do in our midst.

God desires that we worship Him in song; with instruments (Psalm 150); with the lifting up of hands (Psalm 134:2); with a new song (Psalm 149:1); with the dance (Psalm 149:3), and with clapping and shouting (Psalm 47:1).  Since God is the object of our worship, He has the right to tell us how to worship Him in song (John 4:24).  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). Therefore, while we are to “teach and admonish one another” in our singing, this singing is not for human entertainment.  Our singing is rendered “unto God” (Acts 16:25). Singing is to be rendered “with the understanding” and “with the Spirit” (cf., I Cor. 14:15). The types of songs mentioned in Ephesians 5:19 are “psalms” (praise of God), “hymns”, (teaching), and “spiritual songs,” as well as “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

The scriptures teach congregational singing as well as personal worship.  Again, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

The Bible tells us that, if we worship God, He will come.  As we worship in Spirit and in Truth, we are blessed with the presence of God. How beautiful is the freedom He purchased for us on Calvary as we openly express our love for Him through dancing, clapping, and shouting His praises, as well as bowing at His feet in worship.  How glorious and wonderful it is when we imitate on earth the chorus of heavenly angels, as we worship our Creator with hymns and songs. 
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