A call to worship is directed to the people by God through the worship leader. It is an act that brings the worshiping community into being. The call to worship is directed toward the people. It is a call to focus mind, heart, and intention on the worship of God. Therefore, it is brief and emotive, not lengthy and intellectual....

Corporate worship forms a community into the body of Christ and has great influence in shaping the spirituality of its members. Every worshiping community has a great responsibility for how this influence is wielded. Communities that take seriously their corporate worship life will find great benefits in the spiritual growth and vitality of individual members....

A constant enemy of worship leaders is busyness, for it takes them away from the all-important time spent with God. Other aspects of personal preparation for worship leading include knowing the needs of the congregation one serves; beginning preparations for services early in the week, if not weeks ahead of time (by choosing sermon themes far in advance); and seeking input from others....

The Reformed Church in America has been influenced by the liturgical movement, the renaissance in the arts, and the praise-and-worship movement. While most churches observe a traditional approach to worship, a great variety of worship styles can be found in the RCA....

Worship in the United Methodist Church draws from both the Catholic and Protestant heritage. The denomination contains both strong liturgical and charismatic movements. Worship today is characterized by emphasis on the Christian year, frequent Communion, use of the arts, and commitment to inclusive language and women in liturgical leadership....

In worship a person gives to the Lord all of the conflicts, struggles, and disappointments that affect his or her life. Leaving them in the Father’s hands, the worshiper focuses attention on the power and majesty of God. As we worship, the brokenness of our lives begins to be healed....

The Evangelical Free Church does not dictate worship style to its congregations. For this reason, each community may respond to various trends. Some have been influenced by renewal movements, but most are shaped by an evangelical gospel tradition or by the more recent praise-and-worship tradition....

Christian worship from the beginning has been characterized by a variety of styles. Contemporary scholarship suggests that there was no single original style of worship, but rather that worship patterns varied from place to place in the early church. Knowing this fact, we can see the current range of worship practices as a positive characteristic that enriches the church....

There’s an old adage, typically used by educators, that “external order organizes internal experience.” When it comes to worship, the proper use of order facilitates how a church tells and acts out the story of salvation so that the congregation’s internal experience of being encountered by the story will be maximized. The ancient order of worship, one that is still practiced by liturgical churches today, was a unified four-fold action 1) Preparing to worship; 2) Celebrating the Word along with a response; 3) Celebrating the Lord’s Table along with a response; 4) The dismissal...

On a recent chilly morning as I walked home from my neighborhood coffee shop, I received a phone call from a friend who’s a worship pastor. With the holidays approaching, the conversation soon turned to Christmas....