hope.glory – challenging worship perceptions and practices in Salvation Army gatherings

By Phil Laeger

As I write this, I’m listening to the near final mix of our live worship recording that took place in November of last year. I can’t wait to release the album and DVD. This project is—for me anyway—the culmination of the hopes and dreams and prayers and tears and frustrations and vexations and sweat and optimism and roadblocks and open doors of the past 10 years. Wow. Maybe I need to unpack that run-on sentence a little…

I have been so privileged to be part of music ministry in The Salvation Army over the past nearly 15 years. It has been a great journey and the groups I have played in and led have been given incredible leeway in a lot of ways. We’ve led worship at youth councils and conferences, camps, retreats, etc, etc. Some of those times have been life transforming for me. We have seen people give their life to Christ, people broken free of addiction, people transformed in a very real way by the power of God in worship. It has been humbling to be used by God in that way. We have had extended times of energetic praise and extended times of reverent and precious worship, dripping with the presence of God.

Read the rest of the article at:  http://www.phillaeger.com/hope-glory-challenging-worship-perceptions-and-practices-in-salvation-army-gatherings/

Wonder

"Most high, most excellent, most potent, most omnipotent; most piteous and most just; most hidden and most near; most beauteous and most strong, stable, yet contained of none; unchanging, yet changing all things; never new, never old; making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud and they know it not; always working, yet ever at rest; gathering, yet needing nothing; sustaining, pervading, and protecting; creating, nourishing, and developing; seeking, and yet possessing all things."1.

If you skipped over that last paragraph I suggest you read it over carefully.  There is an incredible sense of wonder in it, as though when St Augustine spoke it he couldn't contain his awe toward God. 

In a world where every bit of information is at our fingertips and everything can be explained it's easy to lose our child-like wonder at who God is and what he does in our lives.  But we must never forget the GREATNESS of God if we are to worship Him sincerely.  In Job 36:26 it says "Behold, God is great, and we do not know him."  Can we ever know God or even explain him completely?  No of course not.  That's where wonder comes in.  Paul wrote in Roman 11:33 "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out!"

When you have your devotional time, or when you go up on that stage to play an instrument or to sing, remember to revel in God's wonder.  Express your sincere praise to the Creator of it all and stand amazed at his awesomeness.

1.The Confessions of St. Augustine, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol.1