Worship, a lifestyle

BESJ Focus 2002

PRAYER AS A STYLE OF LIFE

"Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy." (Deut. 19:2) "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father also seeks such as these to be His worshipers." (John 4:23)

Worship has gained prominence in our churches in recent years. At least as a buzzword, it is everywhere - there are "worship songs," "worship parts" in worship, and "worship leaders." Yet ideas of worship vary widely.

While some seek more quiet worship, to others it means joyful celebration and movement! So, although the word is on everyone's lips, there is a need for clarification. The two keynote addresses at the beginning of this issue outline the concept of "worship" from a biblical, holistic perspective. They shed a somewhat different light on it. Perhaps too often we confuse "praise" and "worship," as Arne Kopfermann repeatedly points out. While praise is an outward form and expression of our worship, worship happens in depth, with the whole life. That's why we deliberately speak of "worship as a lifestyle."

In children's and youth ministry, worship is largely uncharted territory from this perspective. Singing with kids, the band in teen worship - both have long been mandatory. And emotionally, everyone is in on it. But what is happening in depth? Are we really leading our youth into the worship of the holy God? Possibly we as leaders would need to lead the way: Why not live out worship as a team?

The practical applications are brief in the booklet. We believe that true worship has less to do with methods and forms than with personal devotion. Those who grasp this will have no trouble developing their own ways from the ideas given.

To this dossier

The BESJ annual focus on "Worship" follows the theme of "Vision" (teamweekend 01). After the forward focus, now the upward focus. Devotion and discipleship have already emerged as two key themes in the context of vision.

This dossier primarily reproduces papers and seminars from the Main Leadership Weekend 02. We would like to thank all the speakers who contributed or made their papers available.

We hope that the dossier will be of interest to all

We hope that these contributions will have their effect in Christian children's ministry - also beyond BESJ.

BESJ Youth Ministry Office Uster, June 26, 2002 Giancarlo Voellmy

Table of Contents

Introduction to 1993 Annual Focus

• Worship as a lifestyle
• The Power of Worship
• Worship Course
• Worship as a Team
• Worship in nature
• Rapping Bible verses
• Creative prayer with kids
• Worship with Kids

Source reference:

Content and cover: BESJ Focus 2002, Main Leaders Weekend, March 9-10, 2002

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