Praise & Worship

An area of strong disagreement within the church arises from the style of music and the choice of songs used for congregational praise and worship. In recognizing that the Bible offers little clear instruction as to these things directly, we remain flexible, choosing liberty rather than restriction.

When it comes to our style, though we do enjoy singing hymns from times past, we also value the singing of contemporary songs with contemporary style which represent a fresh expression of our adoration for God. We should recall that even the old hymns were once fresh and contemporary to those who sung them for the first time.

We find validity in the reasoning behind differing personal preferences, but for the sake of clarity as to our ethos and identity, these are some values that help to guide our practice at Shoreline Calvary.

1. God Centred - We want to ensure that we are worshipping God.

• Self is Submitted
• • Some of the most popular modern worship lyrics are undeniably self-focussed. While there is a place for songs of petition and inward introspection, we strive to ensure that much of our time in congregational praise and worship is spent singing songs which direct our attention from self toward God.

NOTE: This may include songs which deal with self-surrender as well as those which focus on theological declarations of the nature of God and His work on our behalf.

• Sentiment is Secondary
• • We do not direct our worship service to cater to sentiments or feelings of the congregation, nor do we judge a worship service on the basis of how it moved people emotionally. While we do attempt to choose songs that people can connect with and we do embrace genuine emotion, we do not attempt to manufacture or manipulate emotive responses through mantra style repetition, unnecessary musical crescendos, or great shows of emotion from the front. These things are more about self-service than God focus.

 

2. Biblically Sound - We want to ensure that we are worshipping God in truth.

• Our Standard

• • We strive to ensure that the songs we sing are Biblically sound and theologically true. This does not mean that every song will have the same amount of theological depth, but that God’s word remains the standard by which every song is judged from comprehensive and meaty hymns to simple focussed chorus’.

NOTE: There may be times when congregants understand things differently from us, and we appreciate it when valid concerns over the theology of a song are brought to our attention.

•  Our System

• • Some people may wonder how we go about choosing our songs. Because our standard is scripture, we tend to choose songs on the basis of their individual merit. We recognize that there may be some songs that are written by individuals, church groups, and ministries that have questionable or objectionable theology, and while we are cautious with these groups, we don’t believe that our singing of a particular song should associate us with their movement, denomination, or theology.

NOTE: If we choose to sing a song produced by Elevation or Hillsong Church, it doesn’t mean that we ascribe to prosperity teaching. If we sing a song from Bethel or one of their artists, it does not mean that we agree with the teachings of the NAR movement. Should we choose to sing a song produced by Sovereign Grace it does not mean that we adhere to reformed theology or the teachings of Calvinism. If we sing a song written by City Alight, it doesn’t mean that we have become an Anglican Church. If we sing a song from Vinyard Music, it does not make us a hyper charismatic church. We want to keep it about Jesus, and when a song magnifies Him according to what is clearly Biblically sound, we are open to it.

3. Spiritually Sensitive - We want to ensure that we are worshipping God in Spirit.

• Sincerely Spiritual

• • In Hebrews 4:12-13 we are taught that the word of God divides between soul and spirit and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Without God’s word a person may interpret a soulish (emotional or intellectual) as a spiritual experience when this is not always the case. It’s only through God’s word that we can truly discern these things. Spiritual worship is more than the engagement of our bodies, minds, and emotions; it is the engagement of our spirits with the Spirit of God!

• Spiritually Submitted

• • To be sensitive to the Spirit also mean that we don’t do things which draw attention to ourselves. When the Spirit leads, he does not do so by distracting people from Jesus by strange words, movements, or actions of individuals, but instead He speaks of and leads people to Jesus!

NOTE: Spirit led worship is sometimes wrongly connected with disorder, which conflicts with the teaching of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:40. Being sensitive to the Holy Spirit does not mean that we throw out structure, or fail to plan, but that our plans are continually yielded to His work at and within our services. This pursuit of His leading begins when we organize our teams, and when we choose and rehearse our songs. It also means that during our service times we remain yielded to His leading in extended periods of prayer, congregational response, acapella singing, or longer periods of music only.

We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.

We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give a great place to music in our worship.

We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshiped.

We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him.