Divine Order for Ministry in the Sanctuary Note: All of God's people are priests unto Him. The NT church model gives all of us the liberty
scriptural basis to prescript or pre-order the songs. Almost all protestant churches do so though. There is a divine order for appointing worshippers or worship leaders in the House of the Lord, whether that sanctuary is a church, a coffee house, a home or a strip mall. The appointing of worship leaders, whether they are musicians, singers, psalmists or dancers etc. without giving heed to or aligning with the God ordained qualifications is unscriptural and will result in confusion, strife and the eventual failure to establish a pattern of Worship that is acceptable before God. David appointed singers, musicians and dancers according to what God had shown him by his Holy Spirit. 1 Chronicles 28:11-19, and 2 Chronicles 29:25. Heaven is a place where appointed worshipers minister unto God with singing and movement. Revelation 14:2-3; 4:9-11; 15:2-4: David did not do this haphazardly. He did not just chose musicians because they could play cool riffs and runs, or because they jammed well together. It was David who established the instruments to be played, not the musicians. Spiritual Qualifications He appointed worshippers in the sanctuary according to God’s rigid requirements. So should the NT church leaders. 1) Only Levites, or those who would qualify as priests in the house of the Lord. IE same requirements as deacons and elders. 2) Even as Levites joined themselves to Moses, appointed worship leaders should be joined to church leadership. 3) They were to have a special love and reverence for the house of God 4) They were to be servants of God and God’s people. 5) They were to have a teachable spirit. Younger Levites learned from the elder Levites. 6) They were to have a sanctified lifestyle, sprinkling, shaving their flesh and washing their garments. The NT equivalent would be daily studying God’s word and applying it to their daily walk and keeping themselves unspotted from the world. See Ephesians 5, Hebrews 4, Revelation 3. Under the spiritual qualifications #1 through 6; 1) Most churches have musicians on their worship team who could not meet the scriptural requirements of a deacon or an elder. Those appointed as musicians, singers and the worship leaders should be considered as part of church leadership, and not just an adjunct ministry or utility of the church. 2) Worship team members who have little or no relationship with the pastor, or elders have no business being on a worship team. 3) Far too often, worship team members enter into little jam sessions after service, which hinders any ministry or fellowship in the sanctuary. Often these jam sessions are mere renditions of secular rock groups whose music is wholly immoral. I have actually heard so called worship teams play music by known satanist, sodomites and lesbians after the service in the house of God. I have been on worship teams where such action was permanently stopped by removal of those who participated, as should have happened. If music in the house of God does not touch the heart of God, those playing it are not showing reverence for the house of God. 4) Any musician who is playing to be heard or seen IS NOT a true worshipper. A true worshipper of Jesus Christ will seek to become invisible so that only Jesus can be seen through them. In my many various experiences on worship teams, electric guitarists and sometimes drummers are the most likely to fall into this trap. I know also because I was one. Often a guitarist who is forced to turn down the volume, will resort to overly dramatic and grandiose hand and body motions as if even a novice guitar riff required them to engage their whole body. Some will do anything to be seen if they can’t be heard. Some have been watching too much MTV. The only cure for these types is to be sat down for a long time. Guess what? 90 % of the time such a person will show his true motive when he leaves the church shortly after some disciplinary action is imposed upon him / her. 5) If you can’t teach them the Word, if you can’t teach them how to blend in and play with finesse, if you can’t teach them to play prophetically, they have no place on the team. Numerous times I’ve seen musicians on worship teams who were there for one reason. To play music. Learning anything of the Spirit, the Word, or even fellowshipping with the rest of the congregation was not on their agenda. 6) How many musicians on the worship team know basic doctrine and theology? I’ve seen some who are Biblically illiterate. These people don’t qualify to be on a worship team. Musical Qualifications David also required musical qualifications for appointed worship leaders. So should NT Church leaders. 1) Musical excellence 2) They were to play skillfully with cunning. 3) They were to be instructed in the songs of the Lord. This would mean to know the Word of God which is where the songs of the Lord come from. Psalm 33:3, Psalms 137:5, 2 Timothy 2:1, 1 Chronicles 25 Under Musical Qualifications #1 through #3 1) Musicians on worship teams need to know more music on their instruments than the repertoire of the team requires. Some can only play the songs the team has taught them to play. Therefore they are either mechanical or wooden when they play during the service to God. Such musicians have little ability to play prophetically or to follow the team when it plays prophetically. 2) Skillful musicians are a dime a dozen, but are they true worshippers or just jammers? David required cunning musicians. He himself was called a “cunning” musician. The Biblical definition of “cunning” in the context of music means to be discerning, understanding and to have insight. A skillful musician who plays without these attributes is usually offensive to the congregation and grieves the Holy Spirit. They are easily spotted. You can hear them. They never stop playing through a song. In other words they machine gun you with notes, riffs, and runs. What they are playing does not fit the spirit of the song or the attitude of worship, much akin to hearing “Dueling Banjos” at your Mamas funeral. 3) Musicians who don’t know the Bible cannot possibly play or sing the songs of the Lord. Personal experience has shown that the more a musician is in the Word of God, the greater their capacity to sing or even play instrumentally and prophetically music that touches the heart of God. David also installed the appointed worshipper by the laying on of hands and/or by public recognition after they had proven themselves worthy. If you have a team of appointed worshippers who are not appointed by the laying on of hands after proving themselves responsible and worthy to serve in the sanctuary and house of God, you have a recipe for disaster. Scripturally, worship team members should be church leaders, treated as such and act as such. |