The late John Wimber, founding leader of the Vineyard, was a songwriter as well as a pastor, church planter, and church renewal leader. His heart for worship has impacted church leaders around the world, and his influence on the worship practices of the contemporary church cannot be overstated. Here are a few quotes from John about worship and its leadership.
“…We don’t use worship for anything else but to worship God – not even emotion. People are emotional and that’s fine, but we don’t use anything to cause the work of the Holy Spirit. Let God be God and do what He wills….”
“…Thus worship has a two-fold aspect: communication with God through the basic means of singing and praying, and communication from God through teaching and preaching the word, prophecy, exhortation, etc. We lift Him up and exalt Him, and as a result are drawn into His presence where He speaks to us….”
[bctt tweet=”Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It’s about God.” quote=”Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It’s about God.”]
“…I think it’s important for our worship leaders in the Vineyard to know what they’ve been invited to. They lead us to the throne, but then they need to get out of the way. We’re not there to worship them, so they need to point us to Jesus… period.”
“Values affect what we think, and consequently, what we do. Our values are an intrinsic part of us, although we seldom think about them in a conscious fashion. They determine the ideas, principles, and concepts a person or group can accept, assimilate, remember, and transfer. They can be fallible and must be constantly revised and reviewed in the light of Scripture.”
“…Not only is it helpful to understand why and how we worship God, it is also helpful to understand what happens when we worship God. …Keep in mind that as we pass through these phases we are headed toward one goal: intimacy with God. I define intimacy as belonging to, or revealing one’s deepest nature to another (in this case to God), and it is marked by close association, presence, and contact….”
-JOHN WIMBER
[Quotes excerpted from Why We Worship & The Phases Of The Heart;
The Values Of A Worship Leader; John Wimber Facebook Page]
