there is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we may be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a profounder level, we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship, and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.
Fullerton Campus 7pm service
- at your name
- holy is the Lord
- how great Thou Art
- glory to God forever
- you save me
-you are with me still
- you never let go
In light of these posts on getting to know our interns, I thought a good topic for this week’s “Why Wednesday” would be - “Why we have worship interns”
So, here’s the main heart behind why we have worship interns at RH…
At RH, we really believe in the idea of developing leaders - across every ministry, not just worship. In worship, it seems pretty clear that skilled, passionate, Spirit-led worship leaders are needed not only within our church, but across the kingdom of God. The thing about worship leading is, that it is very difficult to teach through simply passing on information - it is not really something that is learned best in a classroom or through books. We think that the best way to prepare someone to be a worship leader, or a worship pastor is for them to spend time around other worship leaders and pastors - those who have been doing it a bit longer than they have. It’s best learned through experiencing, watching, and doing - and this is exactly what our internships aim for.
So each year, we look to take on between 3 and 6 interns, who have a love for Jesus, a passion for worship and a hunger to grow as disciples, as leaders, and as worshippers. Then, we do our best to involved them into every aspect of our worship ministry - everything:
- developmental meetings where we talk about our relationships with God, study theology, run through practicals on our instruments and singing,
- church staff meetings where we grow as part of a church leadership team
- discipleship through doing life together, having them into our home, sharing meals, etc.
- leading for various gatherings across the church, like life groups, child dedications, youth services, etc
- co-leading with staff worship leaders at various services across all of our campuses
- coffee meetings with worship pastors from other churches
- the administrative aspects of leading a worship ministry - like scheduling, emails, calendars and chord charts.
We do all we can to expose them to every aspect of ministry we encounter, in hopes that they will learn, be inspired and ask questions.
Another of the important reasons we have interns in our worship department is because they inspire all of us to keep learning. No one on our staff claims to have the art of worship leading mastered. Each intern comes with a unique set of gifts, experiences and questions, and interacting with them keeps all of us hungry to grow, and stirred up in our passion for Jesus.
Personally, I am so thankful for this year’s interns - the ways I have seen them grow, the ways they have caused me to grow, and the ways they faithfully and courageously serve our church. My prayer is that they will become the next generation of worship leaders and pastors that influence the kingdom of God toward passionately worshipping Him.
(oops, I forgot to post this yesterday)
Sunday’s setlist from our huntington beach campus -
At your name
Nothing compares
Worthy you are worthy
Everlasting God
I give you my heart
Everything
Living for your glory
Be thou my vision
Introducing Peter Berg…
This week’s “Why Wednesday” Question:
Why do we have a time of worship at the end of our services?
If you’ve been to one of our weekend celebration services, you’ve probably noticed that we spend a significant chunk of our gathering in worship. Most church services begin with worship, but not all end with an extended time of worship. You might wonder, after we’ve already sang a few songs in the beginning, and heard a message from God’s word - why would we worship again?
I’m happy to say it is much more than a way to transition, to fill space, or to end the service on a happy note. The decision to end with worship is based on a theological value we are deeply committed to: that worship IS response.
To put it simply, God reveals and we respond. Dr. Mark Roberts says, “If true worship is really a response to God’s initiative, then worship leaders should focus less on getting people to do something or feel something and more on pointing them to God’s revelation of Himself in Christ and in scripture.”
Response looks different for everyone. God reveals Himself through His Word, through prayer, through creation, and even through conversations. As God reveals His power, we respond in wonder. As God reveals His holiness, we respond in confession and awe. As God reveals His grace, we respond in humility and gratitude. As God reveals His purpose, we respond in surrender and commitment. There are so many ways to respond to God, but our response should always be marked by sacrifice and surrender.
So if we believe that one of the ways that God reveals himself is through the teaching of his word, it makes sense to us that we would create space after receiving the message to respond to what He is doing in us. In this space we can pray prayers of thanksgiving, respond with praise, repent, reflect, listen or rejoice. I think for us, worship as a response gives us a real freedom to respond individually and authentically. God is revealing Himself to each of us uniquely and as a result our response will be our own.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge You, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.”
We get a lot of emails each week asking what songs we are singing these days, or what songs were played on Sunday at church. So, we will highlight a service from one of our campuses each week and post the setlist so you can see what songs we are leading at the moment. Enjoy!
Central Campus 9am
-cannons
-this is our God
-we exalt Thee
-heart of worship
-Lord I give you my heart
-only you can satisfy
